Self Care Action Plan

A Self Care Plan for Preventing Burnout at Work
Abstract/Summary
An action plan is a way to establish a step-by-step guide for oneself to follow in order to achieve a goal. The main goal for this action plan is self-care. There are six areas of self-care that this action plan focuses on: physical, emotional, cognitive, social, financial and spiritual. The action plan identifies three sub goals within each area and describes the steps that I will take to reach those goals. This specific action plan was chosen to prevent me from becoming burned out at work. Self-care is important as psychologists and even the bible have shown. This paper provides support for the plan using scholarly sources, books, and other reference material, and the action plan shows why the goals and steps described are helpful in my self-care plan.
Outline of the Action Plan
This Action Plan will go through six realms of self-care:
1. Physical Self-Care
2. Emotional Self-Care
3. Cognitive Self-Care
4. Social Self-Care
5. Financial Self-Care
6. Spiritual Self-Care
Each specific realm comes with its own requirements. For instance, physical self-care involves dietary and exercise concerns; emotional self-care involves relieving stress looking after one’s emotional needs; and so on. The Action Plan step-by-step details are described later on in this paper. However, for now it is helpful to know that the Self-Care Action Plan selected here is based on the areas of life that can most commonly be neglected by a worker in the counseling field. Taking the time to address each of these areas individually as part of a larger self-care plan is important for the overall holistic health of the counselor.
To support the action plan, however, knowledge is important. Boosting one’s health literacy is an essential step in addressing one’s own health needs (Whelan, 1984). Thus, this action plan will also include a focus on continuing education through reading about physical, emotional, cognitive, social, financial and spiritual health to make sure that up to date information is being applied in the action plan at every step of the way. As new information is learned it will be accommodated and incorporated into the action plan.
Why This Specific Action Plan was Chosen
This specific Action Plan was chosen because it offers a holistic pathway to whole-person health. Instead of just focusing on one aspect of self-care, such as mental health or emotional health, it looks at all the areas in which a person might require self-care—from finances to spirituality to physical needs. It is a comprehensive approach to a self-care action plan and therefore one worth pursuing. What good would it do, after all, to focus on physical and emotional self-care while forgetting to address financial self-care? If one is financially insecure that financial stress can cross over to affect other areas of a person’s life. Thus, every area of a person’s life has to be addressed from a self-care perspective because if one is not taking care of oneself then one is not going to be able to take care of others.
This approach to self-care is based on the Dorothea Orem model of self-care. Her theory of self-care was published in 1971 and it is founded on the idea that people should be self-reliant first of all if they have any inclination to help themselves or to help others (Nursing Theories, 2012). Orem believed that modern society tended to make people dependent upon others to take care of them. This dependency led to powerlessness and an inability to care for one’s own health properly (Orem, 1991). By not taking the proper steps to care for one’s own health, one essentially relegated oneself to a breakneck mode of existence that would eventually lead one to a hospital where one would seek treatment for an emotional, physical or cognitive breakdown. To counteract that approach
Why This Action Plan is Important
This action plan is important to help protect against burnout on the job. Burnout can occur for a variety of reasons: too many hours spent working without rest, relaxation or recreation; too much stress and not enough release; too great of a workload, lack of professional support, long hours and emotional exhaustion are other factors (Dall’Ora et al., 2016; Sadati et al., 2017). People should be concerned about burnout and their own personal health because of the negative impact that can arise to undermine one’s health and career if one is not attentive to one’s need to regenerate and revitalize from time to time (Wang, Liu & Wang,2015). Burnout can be manifested in numerous ways as well: bitterness while on the job or towards one’s job, lack of focus, delays in performance, sudden inability to communicate effectively, chronic feelings of illness, weight loss or weight gain, depression, sleeplessness, and irritability can all be signs that one is approach burnout levels in one’s work. The Maslach Burnout Inventory – Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS) lists 22 items in its survey to explore one’s responses to three basic areas: Emotional exhaustion, Depersonalization, and Low sense of personal accomplishment (National Academy of Medicine, 2019). Evaluation of one’s exhaustion, feeling of depersonalization and low sense of personal accomplishment can all be indicators that one is burned out and needs to address one’s own health before anything else. This action plan allows one to do that.
Support for the Action Plan
Support for the Action Plan can be found in Maslow’s (1943) theory of the hierarchy of needs. Maslow theorized that people cannot reach their potential, the level of self-actualization that allows them to be their best selves, if they do not meet lower level needs first. Lower level needs include a need for basic necessities such as food and shelter (physical needs), and after that come social and psychological needs (love, friendship and self-esteem), and then comes the need to develop and grow as a person by learning skills and being recognized for one’s accomplishments. As these various needs are met they allow a person to flourish and become a fully-functioning human being capable of reaching an ideal level of selfhood. However, if the lower level needs are not satisfied first, one’s potential will never be reached. From Maslow’s (1943) theory one can see that every person needs to take time to engage in self-care so that one can develop fully and attain the level of self-actualization that is at the top of Maslow’s pyramid of needs.
Robinson and Frank (1994) point out that people who have low self-esteem tend to be risk takers: they do not consider how their actions might negatively impact themselves or others. They throw caution to the wind and let fly. They injudiciously set a course of action and accept what comes willy-nilly. But people who value their own selves, have high self-esteem, and take care of themselves tend to make better choices, have a higher level of performance, and enjoy healthier lifestyles (Baumeister, Campbell, Krueger and Vohs (2003).
There is also a biblical reason to engage in self-care. Some may think that self-care is narcissistic and self-centered, but they would be mistaken. Cosentino (2020) points out that self-esteem is built by expressing love towards others and by having love expressed to oneself. Indeed, this is essentially a Christian idea. Christ said, “Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:30-31). What He meant was that people need to look out for others but what He also implied was that people inherently love themselves. If one does not love others the way one loves oneself, then one is not acting neighborly. But if one does not even bother to love oneself then one is neglecting the body, mind, heart and soul that God has given one. Thus, it is important even from a biblical or Christian point of view to care for oneself using an action plan. Support for this action plan can therefore be seen to come directly from Heaven as well as scholars in the field.
The Action Plan, Detailed, and Step-by-Step
The first step in any action plan is to recognize what one’s condition is and what one’s goals are. One needs to know where one wishes to get. To aid in that process, it is necessary to increase one’s health literacy. This action plan thus begins and ends with education. Education is the foundation stone for this plan and to increase health literacy, reading is essential. The six areas in which self-care is sought in this plan are:
1. Physical Self-Care
2. Emotional Self-Care
3. Cognitive Self-Care
4. Social Self-Care
5. Financial Self-Care
6. Spiritual Self-Care
Each area is an area where health literacy needs to be increased, so to begin this action plan, a text that provides insight into health in the physical, emotional, cognitive, social, financial and spiritual areas will be read. This will help give direction in terms of future action steps. Deepening my understanding of how to improve my health in these areas is essential.
Physical Self-Care
Diet, exercise and getting enough rest are the keys to physical health. My own personal self-care obstacles in the physical realm are that I do not take enough time to prepare a good, healthy organic diet for myself and eat too much fast food on the go (sometimes grabbing drive-thru 3-4 times a week). While there are ways to “cheat” by grabbing at least a healthy drive-thru option like Panera Bread, the aim here is to reduce my reliance on fast food and focus more on eating well and eating right.
Another issue is exercise. I am not one who likes to exercise regularly because to me it seems boring, exhausting and in the end trivial. Yet if the exercise is interesting and low-impact, I have a mind to do it and feel better after doing it. After giving it some thought, I have settled on the low-impact exercise of hiking in the trails around my neighborhood. I enjoy walking in the outdoors and love connecting with nature. So for me, hiking would be enjoyable, low-impact and a healthy way to exercise.
Finally, rest is important for physical health. If I get 4 to 5 hours of sleep at night I tend to feel less rested than when I get 6 to 7 hours of sleep. The reason I sleep so little is that I find myself browsing YouTube late into the night as a way to distract myself from work. I justify this by saying that I cannot sleep so might as well watch a bit more. However, if I get exercise in that day then I am more inclined to want to go to bed earlier and get my rest. So by getting in a daily hike for half hour to an hour I can also be assured that I will get my rest and feel better about starting my day fresh the next day.
Goal 1: Diet Well
Steps to take. Shop for organic foods from the local farmers market and prep meals at home in the morning or the night before. Overnight oats is a great and delicious easy to make breakfast that I can prepare the night before or the morning of quickly and be out the door. All it requires is oats, almond milk, almond butter, local honey, cacao nibs, sliced apples or other fruit, and hemp seeds. Mix it up and it is a great way to have brunch and it will keep me energized all the way to dinner. For dinner, I will prepare simple Mediterranean-style meals, which I find to be delicious and healthy, based on the research by Willett et al. (1995).
Goal 2: Partake in Low-Impact Exercise
Steps to take. Low-impact exercise is good because it does not aggravate joints and can be a habit enjoyed well into old age. For me, the key is to get outdoors. Working out in a gym is a loathsome idea to me; I want to breathe fresh air and enjoy nature. Hiking for 30 minutes to an hour each evening after work or in the morning depending on the season, is my goal. This will keep me energized and ensure that I am getting the physical activity I need to stay refreshed.
Goal 3: Rest
Steps to take. Recharging the batteries each night is important and so too does sleep matter. Instead of wasting precious sleep hours by mindlessly watching YouTube late into the night, my goal is to get to bed earlier by doing some health reading after dinner and then going to bed. Turning the electronics off and keeping them off is key to getting a good night’s rest, and the exercise should help to make this a realistic goal.
Emotional Self-Care
Emotional self-care is about taking care of one’s feelings in a positive way. Keys to this are: to maintain positive personal and professional support systems and by reflecting on events that touch one’s emotions through journaling or talking about one’s feelings to a confidante regularly and frequently.
Goal 1: Journal each evening before bed.
Steps to take. Journaling is not a difficult activity but it does require discipline and commitment. Keeping the journal on top of my pillow along with a pen will be a good way to remind me to write in it each day and to spend a few minutes reflecting at the end of the day. It will also keep me off the laptop and away from the temptation of wasting time on videos.
Goal 2: Chat with a confidante at least once per week for at least an hour.
Steps to take. My confidante is already a big part of my life and we catch up for at least an hour each week. Rarely do we let a week go by without talking. To keep this going, I will let my confidante know how much I value her time and will ask her if I can count on her support in making this time a constant presence in my life.
Goal 3: Keep in touch with those in my personal and professional support systems with weekly hellos even if there is nothing more to say.
Steps to take. Sending messages of hello and just asking people how things are going is a great way to maintain a social network and support system. This can be done with an email, a phone call, or a face to face interaction. For those I do not have time to see face to face, an email or call will do. But for those I can see face to face without inconvenience, I will greet them so.
Cognitive Self-Care
Cognitive self-care refers to exercises that help to strengthen the mind. This can be done by reading, writing, or taking new educational courses to increase one’s knowledge and skill. It can be done by engaging in wordplay exercises or anything that challenges the mind, such as Sudoku. It can be done by memorizing speeches, or by tackling philosophical questions and investigating them on one’s own. For me, researching topics that I care about helps me to stay cognitively positive.
Goal 1: Research American History.
Steps to take. I love history but do not give myself much time to learn about it. Understanding where we have been culturally and historically can help me in my counseling as well, so why should I not read up more on the subject. For this goal, I plan to start with video documentaries online or through the library and build out from there. Some documentarians I like are Ryan Dawson and James Corbett. They have several documentaries to see for free, and they discuss their sources so that I can go to them for more information and research.
Goal 2: Read two health literacy books a month.
Steps to take. Reading takes time and with a busy schedule it is hard to fit in. That is why I will get health literacy books that I can listen to in my car on the way to work. Books on CD or books from Audible.com will be the way to go for this goal.
Goal 3: Compose a poem in my head, no minimum or maximum length, while hiking each week.
Steps to take. Alexander Solzhenitsyn composed the poem White Nights entirely in his head while in prison in the Soviet Gulag. If he can do that, then I should be able to compose a short poem in my head each week. This is an exercise that keeps the creative juices flowing and helps me to feel good about being mindful and inspired in an intelligent way.
Social Self-Care
Social self-care involves making sure there is enough time spent with friends and family. Friends and family help to revitalize the soul and the heart the same way rest, diet and exercise revitalize the body. We are social creatures and being around others is important. For me, I want to make sure I spend enough time with my family, so I will reserve weekends for them and give weekdays to friends if needed.
Goal 1: Weekends for family.
Steps to take. I will reserve weekends for time with family. That way we stay connected. I need not plan events but we can do whatever comes up so long as it is done together. I will make my family aware of this intention immediately so that they know of my commitment to them.
Goal 2: Invite a different friend or family member on a hike each week.
Steps to take. Another way to spend time with friends and family is to invite them to do what I enjoy doing: hiking. If they accept, great. If not, it is not a requirement and it gives me more time for personal reflection.
Goal 3: Friend time one night out per week.
Steps to take. Doing something with friends that they enjoy doing is also a way to engage in social self-care. I will do this by designating one night out per week for friends.
Financial Self-Care
Financial self-care is about planning for the future and feeling secure financially. If one is not saving well, one cannot feel comfortable if the economy crashes, one loses one’s job, or something disastrous happens. Financial self-care is about doing the little things that ensure financial stability and security.
Goal 1: Save $400 per month.
Steps to take. As soon as I am paid, set up my automatic deposit so that $400 goes into my savings account. Do not touch this account ever, save for an emergency situation.
Goal 2: Pay off credit cards each month.
Steps to take. To pay off credit cards each month means never spending beyond my means. This is a good way to control spending habits and cultivate financial responsibility. Set up auto-payments on cards to pay the balance.
Goal 3: Pay more on student loans and car bills than is required each month just to stay ahead.
Steps to take. Paying a set amount each month over and above the required through auto-pay will ensure that I am always ahead in my payments.
Spiritual Self-Care
Spiritual self-care is about taking time to connect with God, through prayer, through meditation, or through spiritual reading. For me, going to church on Sunday is an important part of my life, but I also want to increase my prayer life. Prayer is a good way to develop one’s interior light and maintain a strong, positive influence.
Goal 1: Pray the rosary every day.
Steps to take. Praying the rosary can be done easily enough while hiking after work. It only takes 15 minutes to say, and it leaves time for composing a poem afterwards. If I have a guest with me, I can pray the rosary at home before bed with family.
Goal 2: Do spiritual reading for five minutes at noon.
Steps to take. Spiritual reading is not a habit of mine nor something I enjoy but with the right material I can do it. I like spiritual reading that is uplifting but that also allows me to ponder on the mysteries of God. For that reason, for me, the best spiritual reading consists of the New Testament. I will read some of the New Testament every day for five minutes a day at noon.
Goal 3: Go to confession once a month.
Steps to take. Receiving the sacraments is helpful for spiritual growth, but I do not take advantage of them the way I should. I want to make more frequent confessions so that I can receive communion worthily and develop my interior life more fully. This means making an examination of conscience each day and an act of contrition.
Conclusion
This Action Plan was designed to benefit me specifically so that I can engage in self-care and prevent myself from becoming burned out by stress, fatigue, or other cares and concerns. Each aspect of this Action Plan was developed with an eye towards the various needs every person has, including my own. Thus, it focuses on my physical, emotional, cognitive, social, financial and spiritual needs. By taking steps to address these needs I can ensure that I will be strengthened, positive, and supported in challenging times. The road to excellent self-care lies ahead and these steps, outlined above, will help me to traverse it.
References
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