Crafting Your Calm: Creating a Personalized Self-Care Plan
- Debbie Airth
- Mar 14
- 4 min read
Updated: Jul 8
Welcome back to our journey of finding calm within the chaos. Over the last few posts, we’ve explored the impact of stress on our body, and how practices like breathing, movement, and mindfulness can help soothe our systems. But knowing a handful of techniques isn’t enough on its own, especially when life gets overwhelming.
What really supports lasting change is having a self-care plan that’s personal, intentional, and rooted in your real life.
Because self-care isn’t a luxury, it’s not just bubble baths and spa days (though those can be lovely!). True self-care is about tending to the different parts of yourself —physical, emotional, mental, relational, and spiritual —in a way that builds resilience and helps you come home to yourself, again and again.
What Is Self-Care, Really?
Self-care is about staying connected to ourselves in a world that constantly pulls us away. It’s how we show up for our nervous system, our values, and our needs, especially when things feel hard.
It’s also deeply personal. What restores you may not restore someone else. What you need might shift depending on your week, your season, or your healing journey. That’s why we don’t follow a template, we create a practice that’s unique to you.
Step 1: Start With Self-Awareness
Before you start filling in a calendar with wellness goals, pause. Take a breath. Get curious about where you’re really at right now.
Here are a few reflection prompts to guide you:
Where in my life do I feel depleted?
What helps me feel grounded, connected, or more like myself?
What tends to overwhelm or trigger me?
What do I need more of, and what do I need less of?
You might journal your answers, sit with them quietly, or talk them through with someone you trust.
Step 2: Identify Your Self-Care Needs
A meaningful self-care plan supports the whole of you. That means looking at different domains of your life and exploring where care might be missing, or where you want to focus more energy.
Here are a few areas to consider:
🧠 Mental & Emotional
Do I need time to process feelings or reduce overstimulation?
Would I benefit from therapy, journaling, or simply slowing down?
🏃♀️ Physical & Physiological
Am I moving my body in ways that feel good, not punishing?
Am I sleeping, eating, and hydrating in ways that fuel me?
🧘 Spiritual & Reflective
Do I need quiet time, nature, or space for meaning-making?
What helps me feel connected to something larger than myself?
❤️ Relational
Are my relationships nourishing? Do I feel seen?
Do I need more boundaries, deeper connection, or time alone?
💻 Occupational
Am I burning out or overextending myself at work?
Could I benefit from better work/life boundaries or support?
Step 3: Build Your Personalized Plan
Now that you’ve identified what matters to you, it’s time to shape a plan that’s both realistic and compassionate.
Here’s how to get started:
1. Start Small
Don’t try to do everything at once. Choose 1–2 practices in each category that feel doable and nourishing.
2. Schedule It In
Put your self-care in your calendar like you would any other commitment. You’re showing up for you.
3. Make It Enjoyable
Self-care doesn’t have to be another to-do list. Choose things that feel good, not like punishment.
4. Stay Flexible
Plans should serve you, not the other way around. If life shifts, your plan can too.
Examples of Everyday Self-Care
Domain | Examples |
Physical | Stretch in the morning. Go for a 20-min walk after dinner. |
Physiological | Drink more water. Create a wind-down routine for better sleep. |
Emotional | Journal for 10 minutes. Send a text to a friend. |
Mental | Do a puzzle, read a chapter, or try a new skill online. |
Spiritual | Spend time outside. Meditate for 5 minutes. Light a candle and reflect. |
Relational | Say no when you need to. Plan connection time with someone who sees you. |
Workplace | Step away from screens. Take a real lunch break. Close the laptop on time. |
The Wellness Wheel: A Deeper Dive
If you want a visual tool to help map this out, the Wellness Wheel breaks self-care into eight dimensions:
🔸 Physical
🔸 Emotional
🔸 Intellectual
🔸 Social
🔸 Spiritual
🔸 Occupational
🔸 Environmental
🔸 Financial
You can rate each area, reflect on what’s out of balance, and create small actions to nourish what’s been neglected. It’s a great way to check in with your whole self.
Your Task: Craft Your Calm
Today, I invite you to create your own self-care plan, one that feels like you. Write it down. Revisit it. Revise it when needed. Let it grow with you.
If you feel inspired, share one self-care intention in the comments. Your courage might be the nudge someone else needs.
Resources: Self-Care Plan Assessments
These documents will help you create a Self-Care plan.
This document will help you create a Self-Care plan using the Wellness Wheel as a starting point.
A Reminder as You Go
You don’t need to “earn” rest.
You don’t have to get it perfect.
You are already worthy of care.
Self-care is how we remember that.
Next up, we begin a new chapter: Connecting with Empathy & Authenticity. We’ll explore communication, boundaries, and deeper relationships, the ones where you feel safe being fully you.
Until then, take good care.
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