Bullet Journal Self Care
Did you know you can use your bullet journal for self care?
In this article, we’ll cover what is self care, why it’s important, and how you can incorporate it in your bullet journal to live your best life.
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What is Self Care?
According to Psychology Today’s Dr. Maria Baratta, “self care is the mindful taking time to pay attention to you, not in a narcissistic way, but in a way that ensures that you are being cared for by you.”
Self care is for those of us that have busy and hectic lives that need a way to unwind so that we don’t burn out.
Are you caring for an elderly parent or grandparent? Or a child with special needs? It’s also important for care givers like you to practice self care so that you avoid compassion fatigue.
Dr. Baratta also goes on to say, “I think there’s a better way and incorporating self care every day helps to serve as an armor to protect the energy that we need in order to survive and thrive. Self care goes a long way in managing stress and living your best life.”
Why Self Care is Important
When you are caring for everyone except yourself, you can end up sick and not able to care for all of those you have been looking after. In addition, you’ll need others to take care of you. It will provide the forced rest you need but you can avoid it by caring for yourself first.
Dr. Baratta covers 10 ways to take care of yourself. Here there are in a nutshell.
Self Care Ideas
Know your limits.
Get enough sleep and know when to rest
Eat well.
Find ways to decompress throughout the day.
Change difficult work situations.
Get to know yourself better.
Identify hobbies and passions and incorporate them into your day.
Debrief and clear your head after a day of work.
Feed yourself spiritually.
Take time to love yourself.
Self Care Plan
According to Mindful.org, it’s also beneficial to have a self care plan or routine.
The top three reasons for having a self care plan are:
It’s a preventative measure. Creating a roadmap when you aren’t in crisis provides a guide for where to turn when things get overwhelming.
It give you a framework for what to do in times of crisis. When you have a plan in place, you’ll have a place to go when things get tough. You’ll feel more in control of your life rather than feeling chaotic.
It helps you stay the course. Having a plan allows you develop a routine and stay the course when things get tough.
How to Develop a Self Care Routine
We all have different areas of our lives that need attention. Break out the areas of your life and then make plans in your schedule to do something good for yourself. It could look something like this:
Work - Rather than eating lunch at your desk, get out and go for a walk, meetup with a friend, or listen to music or a favorite podcast.
Home - Build time in your day to do things you love such as a bubble bath, reading a book, crafting, or watching favorite tv shows.
Family/Friends - Just because they are family doesn’t mean they are easy to deal with. Limit the time spent with difficult family members and set ground-rules for yourself on how and what you will accept from them. Rid yourself of toxic friends and commit to surrounding yourself with only people who lift you up rather than put you down.
Health/Fitness - This is an easy area to let go by the wayside especially when life gets in the way. Recommit to making your health, diet, and fitness an integral part of your life. Those around you may scoff at first, but stay the course and eventually, they will admit they are proud of your efforts. They may even join you for a workout.
Spirituality - This may just be one of the most important parts of self care…your spirit. How to care for your spirit is easier than you think: practice meditation, get out in nature, pray, and connect with others in your community.
Now that you’ve identified YOUR self care areas. Schedule time in your week/day to accomplish those tasks.
Taking care of yourself isn’t selfish. It’s the best thing you can do for you.
11 Self Care Ideas for your Bullet Journal
As usual, I rounded up lots of great ways to incorporate self care in your bullet journal.
When you look at the layouts, be sure to read all of the self care ideas you can use in your life. I just picked up a so many great ideas!
Mashaplans created a colorful self care on-the-go page in her bullet journal. Her self care ideas are listening to your favorite music, unplug for 15 minutes and just enjoy the moment, a quick face mask, meditate for 15 minutes, treat yourself to a delicious smoothie, paint your nails, and have a cat nap.
Each self care idea is accompanied with a cute doodle.
Journalwithrae created a self care challenge page! There are numbered blocks for every day of the month along with a self care treat each day. The self care ideas include: light a calming candle, find some new music, have a healthy snack, relax for 10 minutes, clean your room, talk to a friend or sibling, take a digital detox, go for a drive, pamper yourself, meditate, take a nap, go for a walk, buy yourself something nice, stretch, get a good night’s sleep, listen to music, have a cup of tea, exercise, read a book, watch a movie, take a bath, yoga, have a quiet night in, do a face mask, and have a mini dance party.
Enemesis_4 dazzles us with a beautiful self care page spread in her bujo. Self care is written in large lettering across the top accented with a feather. The quote, “we are all a work in progress,” is also on the page. There are sections for self care check-ins such as How I Currently Feel, Physically I Need, Emotionally I Need, Mentally I Need, and Spiritually I Need.
Salty_airbujo created a page of self care ideas including: have a bath, play some happy music, have some chocolate, bake something, read a book, do some exercise, call Mum & Dad, do some bullet journaling, have a pamper session, watch a film, turn off phone, organize some photos, and go out for a coffee.
At the bottom is a very good quote, “the more you love yourself, the less nonsense you’ll tolerate.”
Bibliotexta made a colorful rainbow of self care ideas in her bujo. Washi tape and colored pens decorate this self care challenge spread.
Self care ideas you can try each day of the month include: essential oils in the diffuser, healthy snack, meditate, yoga in the morning, new sheets on bed, listen to music, cup of tea, read a book, typography quote, take Kitty for a walk, nap, face mask, buy a crystal, breathing yoga, body scrub, dance like no one is watching, new plant, watch a movie, and hair mask.
Be.you.and.bujo created a self care page for positive affirmations. She calls it a compliment wall - I love that!
There are various sized boxes on the spread with plenty of room to write down compliments you give yourself or that others have given you.
Astudyblah created a self care page in her bullet journal that is a bit different than others I’ve seen.
This page has two columns for self care. The first column is Basic for survival and the second column is Luxury for relaxing.
Basic self care ideas include: glass of water, piece of fruit, pre-cut veggies, clean clothes, one load of laundry, change bedsheets, water plants, one load in dishwasher, hot shower, wash face, deodorant, wash hair, online counseling, plan week, to-do list, mouthwash, empty bins, and three things you see, hear, and touch from the Visualize Window of Confidence book.
Luxury self care ideas include: yoga, mindful writing, bubblebath, candle, nap, journal, art, special food/eating out, cook a new recipe, sit in a park, coffee date, socialize, re-organize, shopping, watch a new movie, bujo, face mask, exfoliate, moisturize, and shave.
Here’s more self care on-the-go. This page was created by artwwwera. This floral print page is more minimalistic in black and white.
Ideas include: cup of tea/coffee, face mask, diary, drawing tutorial, talk to someone close/boyfriend, healthy snack, read a book/article, magazine, manicure, small present, and laugh.
Bujowithbriana made an inspiring self care page complete with doodles for each idea. The ideas in this bullet journal include chai latte, journaling, essential oils, clean my bed, masking, candles, and dance.
Journal.away made a self care tracker for the month in a beautiful minimalist layout.
Across the top are the days of the month then down the side of the page are self care ideas such as: 7 hours sleep, teeth & tongue, skincare, 10 minutes meditation, green tea, vitamins, mint & lemon, 10 minutes motivation, hair oil, 1 cup of coffee, and bullet journal.
Drrozl.supply also created a tracker but it has a completely different look and feel than the one shown above.
There are numbered boxes for each day of the month and along the bottom of the page is a color key to include these five areas: physical, spiritual, intellectual, social, and emotional. The next page has self care ideas for each category.
