Self-Care Bingo
About six months ago, one of my peers was facilitating a workshop on self-care and asked the attendees what is their favorite form of self-care was. As one that wears many hats, I had found that this was an area in which I had done the least amount of work. Getting good grades, meeting sales goals and paying bills on time often came at the expense of me burning the candles at both ends. When my boss went away on leave last year I took on much more than I was comfortable with and I feared being hospitalized due to exhaustion. I self-medicated with coffee in the mornings (sometimes afternoons) and sleepy time tea at night. Needless to say I was excited when the semester ended and took a caffeine break so coffee could be a recreational activity once again. Although I had accrued vacation time, I wanted to show the world I could do it all. I did take one mental health day, but at the time I had asked under the condition that it would be on a day that was easiest for the company. My regional manager at the time encouraged me to take a day if I need to and to be unapologetic about it. Given what I have seen and what I know now, I truly believe that self-care is one of those non-negotiables. It doesn’t have to be expensive, but it is a requirement so you can show up as your best self. To help facilitate a ritual of self-care I have created a Self-Care bingo sheet so you can check in when yourself whenever you need to. I originally heard about this concept on LinkedIn and was so excited about it that I wanted to share it with others.
