This article was originally posted on LinkedIn on 23rd Nov 2021.

When was the last time you read a book in the bath, undisturbed, fully relaxed and with no distractions? Self-care prioritisation is vital for a healthy home working approach, however it is often considered as selfish and self-indulgent. Reframe your approach to self-care, read on and download your personalised self-care template, to start to enhance your self-care today!

One of my biggest personal learnings during the pandemic is how important self-care is day-to-day and potentially minute-to-minute during a work-from-home day. Self-care is one of the key ways to show ourselves self consideration and love. It IS selfish and rightly so, particularly because when we are working-from-home, we often have competing priorities, distractions and the lines between life and work are blurred. Practically, prioritising self-care is the main way to gain some time and headspace back for yourself.

1. Paying yourself first - every Friday morning, I have a reminder in my calendar and I plan the following week's self-care commitments, before work. Some people call this "paying yourself first" and for me it is a non-negotiable in my approach.

2. Enhanced self-care takes focused effort - as with a lot of activities in life, the devil (as always) is in the DETAIL of those particular self-care activities (see below). Especially in times of change and stress, we need to appreciate and accept that our self-care will need review and enhancement, on an on-going basis. The prompt I regularly use is:

How is my self-care quality? Do I need to add or change anything for improvement?

I have the above prompts written in my personal journal and reflect on these questions regularly.

1. Self-care is personal! Do you know the true detail of your personal profile? - working with groups and clients on self-care personalisation has revealed that often we don't appreciate what activities can nurture our self-care. Is it exercise, creative pursuits, learning something new, a DIY project, reading fiction? Only the individual can answers these questions and consider the detail needed to compile their personalise self-care template below.

Download your personalised self-care template now >>

Here is a snapshot of some practical examples from my own self-care profile list:

• Self-care blocks: pilates classes (online if needed), regular jogging in local parks, planning healthy meals/trying new recipes and a craft crochet project. All of which are significant self-care activities, i.e. normally take approx. 40 minute block of time

• Short but significant: reading a chapter of a book or a magazine article (not on a screen), listening to a piece of classical music fully (currently working through Vivaldi pieces), writing one page in my journal, running a short errand locally (approx. 10 minutes). These are short self-care activities during home working, BUT all away from my workspace and ideally without any devices

• New activities: what could I add to my day that is new and could support me? For example, during the first lockdown myself and my daughter regularly completed jigsaw puzzles together. I believe in this one so much, I wrote and recorded an audio guide, download it here: AudioBook; Better Breaks for Remote Workers >>

So go-ahead "pay yourself first"; grab a pen and paper now and write your list of main, shorter and new self-care activities. With the intention of expanding your own interpretation, understanding and scope of your self-care profile. Then move to action. I guarantee you will thank yourself for being selfish in these coming weeks.

If you or your team would like to learn more about the ‘RoRemote’ approach - please contact me today.

This article was originally posted on LinkedIn on 23rd Nov 2021.