Hello, lovelies! Many people have been asking me to do a walkthrough for the 2019 Self-Love Workbook + Planner as it’s a bit different than it’s been in past years. I’m going to walk through all of the different sections and features so that you can get the most out of it.

Setting the mood.

First off, if you’re really putting a lot into it and baring your heart and soul inside of these pages – set the mood. Get super comfy, wear pajamas, light some candles, make a cup of herbal tea, and create a ritual focused on soothing and self-care around your workbook. Just taking the time to fill it out can be a beautiful act of self-care.

Hold this book in your hand and know that it’s this huge transformational tool, journal, self-care log, and daily companion. 

The Self-Love + Self-Care Pages

The first part of the workbook is designed to show you what self-love means, what self-care is – and how to add both into your life. We walk through the different aspects of self-care and what types of self-care are right for you. I recommend keeping a highlighter handy. Highlight any self-care suggestions that resonate with you and the next time you’re in a bad mood, feeling depleted, or depressed, go through and choose one to do.

The Struggles

Throughout the workbook, there are pages that ask you to look at your struggles and there are different options for you to check off. This serves two purposes. Firstly, you’re able to pinpoint exactly what your problem areas are – whether that’s getting enough sleep, taking breaks, pampering your body, physical activity etc. Secondly, when you’re doing the workbook next year – you get to see where you made progress!

Where do you have work to do? I ask this question a lot for the different categories of self-care. For example “Basic Self-Care”. Do you make excuses when it comes to practicing basic self-care? Is your depression a hurdle you have trouble getting over? Are you so busy taking care of everyone else that you’re forgetting to take care of yourself? 

I also ask you what you’re succeeding at. Even if your self-care is not on point all of the time, there’s a good chance that you’re practicing at least some self-care every day and that’s something to build on!

If You Don’t Understand Something

I talk a bit about terms that you may not know. DBT, CBT, coping mechanisms and a ton of other things. If you don’t know what it is, this is a great opportunity to begin learning. I try to expand on topics as much as possible but it’s also really great to engage your own curiosity. Do the research, look outside of the workbook. It’s a great starting point but there’s so much out there to learn that one book can’t hold it all.

Engage in the learning process!

Healing From 2018

This is my favorite and least favorite part of the workbook. It feels so good to get it all done but it’s also a little bit painful to work through. This section is about working through everything that’s happened in the past (or starting to) so that you can move forward into the year a little bit lighter. 

There are some heavy sections about trauma and pain and those are things that can be really hard to write about. If you aren’t ready, that’s okay! It does show you where you need to begin that inner work to begin the process of healing.

Self-Care in 2018

This section is all about how you treated yourself last year. It’s a great jumping off point to see where you struggled so you can start to figure out why you struggled.

Celebrating 2018

Even if it doesn’t always feel like it, there were probably some amazing things that happened last year. Take a walk down memory lane and practice the art of gratitude as you think about all of the awesome things that happened in your life last year.

Embracing 2019

It’s time to plan and outline the 12 brand new chapters that are happening in your life. Who are you going to be this year? What are your priorities? How are you planning on practicing self-care and what things are going to make you the happiest you that you can be?

Your 2019 Self-Care Plan: Write down your main self-care goal for each category and then the ways you can make it happen!

The Planner Pages

This is where the hard stuff comes in. I’m asking you to make a really big commitment and write in your planner every single day. I know! Where will you find the time? Will you remember? Whatever will you write about!? Stuff. You’ll write about stuff.

Monthly

Each month has its own main planning page.

Top Priorities: Write down up to three things that you really want to get done this month. Try to choose at least one thing that will greatly benefit your mental health or your self-care practice.

To-Do List: Smaller things you want to get done in that month. It doesn’t have to be self-care related but bonus points if it is. 

Habit: Choose one main habit to work on each month and then check-off/ color in a box for each day that you succeed!

Word-of-the-Month: Along with a word-of-the-year, I like to choose a word for each month to focus on. Let it guide you and make that word part of your self-care.

Self-Care Focus: What area of your self-care do you want to focus on this month? It can be really overwhelming to focus on everything, so this gives you the opportunity to focus on one or two things at a time. It’s so important to not cross into that realm of overwhelming yourself.

Self-Care Plans: What are your plans for this month based on your self-care focus? If you chose “Rest” how are you going to accomplish that? What’s your game plan?

Notes: You can put anything you want in this section. Give yourself a pep talk!

Mental Health Tracker:(Mental Health Version) Color code your chart to keep track of your moods. If you don’t want to color you can use designs (stripes, polka dots, etc) or just letters. H = happy, D = depressed.

Daily Pages

Each day has a vertical box. You can keep track of appointments, journal, or write specifically about self-care. I love using it for journaling and covering it in stickers.

Daily Habit Grid: This is a grid that’s 8 boxes across. Since there are four days per page, each grid covers two pages. It’s a great way to keep track of your smaller daily goals or your mood. You can color them, check them off, doodle in them, it’s up to you! Keep track of how many hours you’ve slept, how much water you’ve had, if you’ve meditated or not. It can change by the week, whatever your priorities are! 

Monthly Thoughts: At the end of each month there’s a place to put your thoughts about the month. Review how you felt, how your self-care was, and the things you accomplished.