Is Your Self-Care Routine Serving You?

It is not only important to understand the benefits of a good self-care routine and make 
sure it fits into your life, but also to reflect on your current routine and whether or not it is 
the best one for you. It’s likely that it started off great, but things changed in your life, 
and now it is time to reassess.

Here are some questions to ask yourself to determine if it is serving you, and whether or 
not it is time for some adjustments.


Why Did You Choose Your Self-Care Activities?

As part of your self-reflection practice, start with asking yourself why you chose your 
self-care routine, specifically the activities you are participating in. Be open and honest 
with yourself about the reasons, as there might be several different ones.

What you are looking for is whether you chose them because you read they were good 
for self-care or your friend is doing them, or because you actually thoroughly enjoy them 
yourself.

Write down each self-care activity that is a part of your routine (even if not every day), 
and the reasons why you chose each one. It’s okay if you aren’t entirely sure or you just 
thought it would be good for you, but isn’t. This is just about reflecting.


How Do You Feel After You Practice Self-Care?

When you have completed your self-care for the day, do you feel better or worse? Do 
you feel happy and relaxed, or just relieved it is over? This is a way to be mindful about 
your self-care routine, so that you understand more about what is serving you, and what 
isn’t. It can also feel like something that used to help you feel relaxed, now just feels like 
another part of your to-do list of tasks, and you aren’t benefiting from anymore.


Do You Feel Like You Are on Auto Pilot?

Many times, we do the same routine so much out of habit, that we don’t even think if we 
are still enjoying it or not. The same can happen with your self-care routine.

Maybe you have been reading a chapter from a book every night during your nighttime 
routine, and you didn’t notice that at some point, you weren’t using it for self-care, but 
just because you were so used to doing it. This is why reflecting on a regular basis is so 
important. Maybe you want to replace reading with writing, doing a creative project, or a 
little bedtime yoga.


When Was the Last Time You Adjusted Your Routine?

Remember that self-care is just like everything else in your life – something that 
changes over time. The types of self-care activities that work for you today, might not be 
as effective in a few months. It is a great idea to be mindful about your self-care and 
revisit your routine every few months to see if you want to make any adjustments.



