Want a self-care Checklist to help make self-care a habit?
Whether you’re looking to try some new self-care activities or you want to track some everyday simple self-care routines, using a checklist is the best way to stay on track.
Life can be challenging. When you’re struggling through a tough day, self-care can help you reset, recharge, and take a much-needed break from the stressors of everyday life.
However, you may not have the energy to think about your own needs when you’re emotionally or physically drained. You may not know where to begin or what you can do to help yourself feel better.
This is where a self-care checklist comes in.
A self-care checklist is a simple list of activities that remind you to take care of yourself. It helps guide you in meeting your physical, mental, and emotional needs.
How To Create a Self-Care Checklist + Printables
To help you develop a personalized self-care plan that truly works for you, I’m sharing some of my best tips as I walk you through the process.
You’ll also find links to 15 different printable self-care checklists. You can use these for inspiration as you create your own.
Click below to learn more about how to create a self-care checklist and access the right checklist for you.
- Benefits of using a self-care checklist
- How to create a self-care checklist
- 5 tips for using a self-care checklist
- 15 self-care checklist printables
Benefits Of Using A Self-Care Checklist
When you’re stressed, taking care of yourself may drop to the bottom of your to-do list.
You may feel too busy to make time for self-care. However, neglecting your own needs can backfire.
Instead of being able to pour your energy into the things that matter most, you may end up feeling drained and unmotivated.
By including self-care in your daily routine, you’ll be better equipped to handle whatever challenges life throws at you.
Key Benefits of Using a Self-Care Checklist:
- Helps you stay consistent with taking care of yourself. This consistency is vital for supporting your well-being in the long run.
- Jump straight into a self-care activity instead of wasting time trying to figure out what you should do. This makes self-care more doable, even during busy seasons.
- A self-care checklist considers your interests, budget, and needs. Creating a list of activities tailored to your preferences will make you more likely to commit and stick with it.
How To Create A Self-Care Checklist
Now that you know why creating a checklist is a great idea, let’s look at the steps you’ll need to take to make one of your own.
Reflect On Your Needs
The best way to ensure your checklist takes care of your mental health is to be realistic about your needs.
- Take some time to reflect on how life is going right now.
- As you reflect, jot down some areas that could use a little bit of self-care love.
- Is there anything in your life that is lacking?
- Are there any activities you enjoy that you’d like to do more often?
These notes will form the basis of your self-care checklist and help you focus on what matters most.
Address Different Areas Of Self-Care
What comes to mind when you hear the word self-care?
While bubble baths and fancy spa days might enter your brain first, those aren’t the only way to care for yourself.
There are many different areas of self-care, and you should make sure your checklist addresses them all. That way, it can be a holistic guide to good mental health, no matter the situation.
Let’s look at five main types of self-care in more detail, along with some activities you can use for each.
Physical Self-Care
You only get one body, so it’s important to look after it properly. Physical self-care includes exercising, eating a balanced diet, getting enough sleep, and caring for your hygiene.
Regular visits to the doctor and dentist are also part of your physical self-care. So is being mindful of your physical safety.
Here are some of the best ways to take care of yourself physically:
- Go on a walk
- Create an evening routine to help you wind down before bed
- Go to bed at the same time each night so you can get adequate sleep
- Cook (and eat) a healthy meal
- Drink a glass of water
- Take a shower
- Get some sunshine
- Use a face mask designed to rejuvenate your skin
Intellectual Self-Care
Taking care of your mind is just as important as caring for your body. Intellectual self-care includes activities that help your brain stay sharp and function optimally.
It also reduces stress overload, so your mind can take a break from all the information it takes every day.
Intellectual self-care includes reading, playing board games, disconnecting from technology, learning something new, and engaging in creative activities like painting or photography.
Other personal growth activities that help improve your intellectual self-care include:
- Listening to music
- Taking a break from social media to quiet your mind
- Reading a favorite book or a piece of classic literature
- Learning a new skill
- Spending time on your favorite hobby
- Trying something new
- Putting your cognitive skills to work on a crossword puzzle
Emotional Self-Care
Big emotions can often be overwhelming, but they’re a normal part of life. Emotional self-care involves dealing with your feelings in a healthy way.
It’s about noticing when you need to take a break and allowing yourself the time to process your emotions instead of suppressing them.
Examples include mindfulness practices, yoga or meditation, talking with friends, and creative activities like journaling or coloring.
You may also benefit from a physical release of your emotions. A punching bag, exercise ball, or trampoline can provide a safe space to express your feelings.
Other ideas for emotional self-care include:
- Referring to a feelings chart to help you identify your feelings
- Setting boundaries
- Avoiding toxic people
- Identifying your emotional triggers
- Taking deep breaths
- Engaging in positive self-talk
- Using positive affirmations
- Scheduling regular self-care days
Spiritual Self-Care
This type of self-care is about connecting with something larger than yourself. It could be anything from finding peace in nature to exploring your faith or beliefs.
Spiritual self-care can also involve developing gratitude, being mindful of others, and participating in charitable activities.
Here are some spiritual self-care activities you could include in your checklist:
- Praying
- Meditating
- Reading scriptures or other sacred texts
- Speaking to a pastor or someone you trust
- Volunteering to help others
- Following religious practices of your choice
- Spending time in nature
- Practicing gratitude
Social Self-Care
Humans are social creatures. Even introverts need to spend time with other people once in a while. Social self-care is about building healthy relationships with the people who matter most.
As part of your social self-care routine, you might regularly walk with a walking buddy, meet a friend for coffee on the first Saturday of the month, join a book club, or write a letter to your grandmother.
You can use these additional ideas to fill out your checklist:
- Make friends with different people at work
- Have a family game night
- Send a text to a friend who’s going through a rough patch
- Call your mom or another family member
- Go on a date with your significant other
- Snuggle with your puppy (or another fur baby)
- Visiting a shut-in
- Taking your child out for a milkshake and a chat
- Joining community groups that align with your interests
Brainstorm Activities
Once you’ve considered all five main areas of self-care, it’s time to brainstorm activities to include on your list.
On a piece of paper, write down the five areas above. Then, write down activities you can do regularly to ensure your self-care needs are met in your everyday life.
Create Your Checklist
Now that you know what activities to include in your self-care routine, it’s time to create a checklist.
If you don’t want to make one from scratch, use one of the self-care checklist printables below as a starting point. Then you can tweak it to fit your specific needs.
You can also consider using a digital checklist, such as Todoist or Trello, for easy access on the go.
Tips For Using A Self-Care Checklist
Creating a checklist is a great start, but don’t stop there. An important part of self-care is doing it on a regular basis. Use these tips to help you do just that.
Make It Part Of Your Daily Routine
Set aside time each day to complete some of the items on your list. This could be first thing in the morning or just before bedtime – whatever works best for you and fits into your daily schedule.
Set Reminders
Use reminders or alarms on your phone or computer to help you remember to complete your self-care tasks. This can be especially helpful if you tend to forget or push things off until later.
Be Flexible
Your self-care routine should never feel like a chore. So, don’t be afraid to switch things up and add or remove items from your list as needed. It’s supposed to make your life better, not be a burden.
Don’t Give Up
Life happens. Some days, you may not get a chance to accomplish everything from your self-care to-do list.
When that happens, you may be tempted to give up and tell yourself you don’t have time for this self-care thing. Don’t do that!
Instead, give yourself forgiveness and remember that tomorrow is a new day.
Schedule Regular Check-Ins
Self-care isn’t a crockpot. You can’t simply set it and forget it. Instead, you need to regularly check in and honestly evaluate how things are going in your personal life.
During your check-in, self-reflect and ask yourself questions like these:
- Are my basic needs being met?
- How is my physical health?
- Are my stress levels too high?
- Am I eating a well-balanced diet?
- How have my energy levels been?
- Do I feel like I have a healthy lifestyle?
- Does my schedule allow for adequate free time?
- Do I have new self-care ideas to try?
- How can I take better care of myself?
Let your answers to these questions guide you as you change your self-care plan.
15 Self-Care Checklist Printables
While you need to customize your self-care checklist to work for you, there’s no need to reinvent the wheel completely.
Instead, you can use one (or more) of these printables for inspiration.
1. Self-Care Routine Checklist
Print off one of these weekly checklists to help keep your days on track. The list includes 16 items, from starting the day with a drink of water to getting in bed before midnight.
With the ability to track your self-care habits from Monday through Sunday on a single sheet, you can see how you’re doing at a glance.
2. Daily Self-Care Checklist
This daily self-care checklist has two pages. The first has self-care practices listed for you to check off. The second is a blank template that you can customize for your needs.
Most items on this list address physical self-care (such as taking vitamins and exercising).
However, a few of the tasks are from other areas of self-care. For example, one idea is to do something you’ve been putting off, and another is to meditate.
3. Weekly Checklist
Use this one-page weekly checklist as a reminder to take care of yourself.
With tasks such as eating veggies with every meal and tidying up your space, it helps you create a well-balanced day.
4. Self-Care Checklist for Introverts
Wondering how your self-care impacts your overall happiness? This weekly checklist includes a section at the bottom to document your daily feelings.
You can use this to find correlations between your regular self-care activities and how you feel at the end of each day.
5. Daily Self-Care Checklist
Sometimes a daily list is too overwhelming. If you’re looking for bite-sized help in the self-care department, this version of a daily self-care checklist might be a good fit.
It breaks the day into three sections (morning, afternoon, and night) and lists five activities for each.
6. Self-Care Checklist for Moms
When you’re a mom, self-care might look a bit different. However, it’s still important. After all, you can’t pour out of an empty cup.
To help you get the mental strength you need to care for your family effectively, this printable includes waking up an hour before your family, dressing to feel good, and setting realistic daily goals.
7. Weekly/Monthly Self-Care Checklist
Since it doesn’t assign a timetable for completion, you can use this printable as you see fit. It includes tasks you might want to do daily, weekly, or monthly.
This link above also has a download for a Self-Care Bundle of Activities with a Bingo Board, Self-Reflection Journal Prompts, and a Mindfulness Tracker. When used together, these pages can help you make self-care a priority.
8. Self Care At Christmas Time
The holidays can be stressful! Since there’s so much to do, you might find yourself pushing your self-care to the back burner. However, that’s a mistake! You’ll get more stressed and overwhelmed if you don’t care for yourself.
This self-care checklist features some holiday-specific tasks to help keep you on track from Thanksgiving through New Year’s.
You’ll find items like not getting caught up in the family drama and having quality alone time. These can help you put the joy back into the joyous season.
9. Weekly Self-Care (Template & 75 Ideas)
Meet your self-care goals with this customizable template. It includes the five areas of self-care mentioned above to create a well-rounded self-care list.
The printable also provides plenty of ideas for each self-care type. Altogether, you’ll find 75 activity suggestions to help you care for yourself.
Plus, there’s a spot at the bottom for notes. You can use this to document how you’re feeling or jot down changes you want to make the following week.
10) Simple Self-Care Checklist
Want a super simple checklist to help you meet your self-care goals? With only five items, this one might be a good starting point for you.
The tasks help you focus on life’s simple pleasures, which can help lift your spirits and bring you joy.
11) Monthly Self-Care Checklist for Teachers
Small changes can lead to big results. This self-care checklist for teachers has twelve ideas for you to try, one for each month.
Each one is designed to flow into your current lifestyle, and you can continue beyond the month if you desire.
However, the items included aren’t specific for teachers, so even if you have a different profession, it’s worth checking out.
12) Self-Care Checklist For Depression
Written with mental health challenges in mind, this checklist encourages you to care for yourself in realistic, non-overwhelming ways.
The ideas include spending time with an animal, writing out your thoughts to clear your head, and getting some fresh air.
As you complete each one, it can help you cope with the symptoms of depression and remind you that life is worth living.
13) Self-Care Coloring Checklist
If coloring helps you relax, you may enjoy this self-care planner. Each page has a pretty pattern for you to color.
Since building a habit takes time, this checklist is designed to be used for three weeks. Each week, you’ll find checkboxes for Monday through Sunday for a dozen self-care tasks.
14) Self-Care Checklist – 5 Categories
Track your self-care and mood with this printable. It’s broken down into the five main areas of self-care. You’ll find a few activities and a mood tracker for each one.
As you complete each task, you can evaluate how it made you feel. This can help you create a more effective self-care routine that you enjoy.
15) Weekly Self-Care Checklist
On this printable, you can fill in circles as you complete each task. It’s designed to last a week, so you can look for patterns in which activities you do or don’t do regularly.
The link above also includes a self-care checklist for depression. So if you’re struggling with your mental health, be sure to check it out.
Self-Care Checklists: Recap
I hope you found this list of self-care checklists helpful and it helps you make self-care a daily habit.
Choose one self-care checklist to get started and give it a try for a week or a month. Then you can try a few others after that if you wish.
Enjoy and remember that self-care isn’t a luxury, but a way to help us balance our busy, everyday lives.
Related Self-Care Resources:
- 75 of the Best Self Care Sunday Ideas
- 17 Evening Routine IDeas To Help You Unwind
- 30 Self Care Journal Prompts To Improve Mental Health
What Self-Care Checklist Are You Going To Try First?
Let us know in the comments below and also share some of your favorite self-care activities.
About Yolanda
Website Owner / CONTENT CREATOR
I’m passionate about helping you live life to the fullest so you can choose to find happiness and purpose. Learn how to CREATE THE LIFE YOU LOVE with intentional living and discovery of the simple things life has to offer. Learn more…
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