Permission to weave self-care into our workdays

In this week's podcast episode we begin a new series aimed at challenging outdated self-care beliefs and replacing them with essential upgrades that, in the long run, will support rather than sabotage our self-care efforts. We kick off this series with what we consider to be a truly foundational upgrade, namely that self-care is part of our work, not separate from it.

It’s only after we truly embrace this belief that we’ll have permission to weave meaningful self-care strategies into our workday in ways that not only support our own well-being but also allow us to show up as the best version of ourselves for our clients.

Over my 30-year career there have definitely been times when I’ve been better at incorporating self-care into my workday than other times. And the types of workday self-care strategies that have been truly effective at any given time (or even any given day for that matter) have also varied.

I mention this to highlight that we’re not striving for perfection, and that our work responsibilities, demands, and even hazards are not static, so incorporating self-care strategies that fit with our current workplace realities is incredibly important. And as we’ve mentioned on so many other occasions, it’s equally important to recognize our own individual differences as self-care is definitely not “one size fits all.”

With those incredibly important points in mind, a key self-care work strategy for me is scheduling no more than 4 therapy clients per day. Although that type of work can be incredibly rewarding, for me personally it can also be incredibly draining. So, on days when I have multiple therapy clients it’s important for me to schedule breaks between clients and ensure I have other work activities sprinkled into my day that I find more energizing or restorative (or at the very least not draining).

On the other hand, however, I can easily complete a full day psychoeducational assessment, do some test scoring while I eat lunch, and leave the office feeling energized. Yet I know many psychologists who cringe at the thought of doing a full day assessment and feel energized by their therapy work with clients.

Their self-care strategies would undoubtedly look very different than mine. And that’s okay.

And - even though I don't feel drained doing assessments, an important self-care strategy for me when I’m doing all day assessments is to ensure I book space in my work calendar for test scoring and report writing within a few days after I meet with the client. While that might not seem like an obvious self-care strategy it’s incredibly important for me. I’m so much more efficient at report writing when I tackle it soon after the actual assessment, which then means I also have more time in my workday for other tasks, and it’s much less likely that report writing (or other work tasks) will start to spill over to my evenings and weekends.

It truly is amazing how workplace self-care strategies can also create a positive domino effect that can even extend into our life outside of work.

So, as you return to the more predictable routines and schedules that come with the start of Fall, we encourage you to reflect on the workplace self-care strategies that align with your current work realities and your unique needs.

And remember, integrating self-care into your workday doesn’t have to mean big gestures and, in fact, it’s often the seemingly smaller steps (e.g., a grounding breath between clients, an end-of-the-day check-in ritual) that we may, in fact, be better able to sustain and that in the long run, may actually have the biggest impact.

Where will your reflactions take you?