As business leaders, we know the importance of having a business plan. We do budgeting and planning multiple times during the year, checking in on our progress and making adjustments along the way.
But how many of us have a self-care plan?
What’s a self-care plan? It’s a personalized strategy for proactively managing one’s well-being by incorporating intentional activities to promote physical, mental, and emotional health.
Just as a business plan drives your activities and goal setting/measurement during the year, a self-care plan can do the same.
The challenge is that most business leaders are diligent about their business planning and put their own personal well-being on the back burner. If they focus on it at all.
But do you think about the fact that your business plan will only succeed, if you and your team are healthy, have a growth mindset and the energy to carry out your objectives.
So, how do you create a self-care plan? An obvious way is to use AI as a thought partner. It doesn’t take much to give instructions to an AI tool to help you create a plan. But, for me, this is not the most engaging way to go about it. I think a self-care plan needs to feel personal and relevant to you as an individual human.
How about carving out 15-20 minutes this weekend to think about where you are right now, in these five areas:
Physical
Emotional
Social
Spiritual
Intellectual
Write down adjectives that describe your current state. And don’t just use negative words like “tired, empty, or unsatisfied.” You might describe yourself as energetic, happy and busy.
And then write down how you want to describe yourself in 3 or 6 months. Don’t be overly ambitious; think about small changes you can make, which would help you make progress toward your goals.
For me, in the area of physical and emotional, I find that a weekly visit to the chiropractor and regular massages are a great balance to my exercise routine. Scheduling no more than 2 or 3 lunches or dinners with friends weekly, fills my social and emotional buckets.
And here is the key to my self-care plan. I am intentional about almost everything. I don’t just let life happen. I make my life happen.
I track what I do in my Month-at-a-glance calendar, and then review it at the end of each week and month. I monitor my progress.
If I’m feeling tired, I review how many hours of sleep I have been getting or how often I am exercising. If I feel lonely, I look to see if I have get-togethers, or phone calls with my closest friends planned. Adding the element of Facetime to a phone call can create more of a connection and it feeds your social area.
Don’t feel like you have to have a self-care plan that is a project in and of itself. Leverage how you want to feel with what it takes to give you that feeling.
My own self-care plan includes:
- Weekly chiropractor visits and massages
- Daily exercise, varying daily, with a combination of weight training, cardio and golf
- Sleeping 7-8 hours a night
- Planned time monthly with my daughters and grandson
- Phone calls, texts or visits with my closest friends and former colleagues
- Reviewing my bucket list for travel plans as I look out 12 months
- Writing personal notes each week, to people I care for or have met
What should a self-care plan look like for you? It should reflect whatever is important to you. By prioritizing your self-care, you may find that you will be more successful and satisfied in other parts of your life.
If you are pondering the ever present “work/life balance” conundrum, think how creating your own self-care plan can get you one step closer to feeling as if you have work/life balance.
Everyone deserves to have control over a part of their lives. It’s time to take action for you to create a life that you love!
Onward and upward,
Executive Coaching and Consulting for CEOs, Presidents and Owners in all industries
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