My daily checklist

I don't know about you, but when I'm not feeling well I just want to curl up on the couch and watch TV or sleep until the symptoms are gone. This is a decent way to handle an acute illness like a cold or the flu because the body does need to rest in order to for the immune system to do it's job. However, when you are dealing with a chronic health condition like I am - spending every day on the couch is not going to help me feel better. In fact, it often makes me feel worse because of all the things that fall by the wayside.

Learning how to cope and take care of yourself, your home, your family and maybe even your work responsibilities when you have a chronic condition is really tough. It's easy to get caught up in a mode of "I'll put it off until tomorrow or until I feel better" and months may go by before it happens. So I have devised a couple of tricks to help me be productive in harmony with my condition, rather than working against myself! One of my favorite ways is my daily checklist.

I have a little whiteboard up on the wall in my bedroom where I see it several times a day. At the top I wrote "Love Yourself Today", and along the left in bright colors I made a checklist of daily goals. Some days it's really a stretch to check off everything on the list, but I like the challenge and reminder to take care of myself and my obligations. My goals encompass self-care, daily household tasks, and projects.

My daily checklist looks something like this:

• Make the bed and open the blinds
• See or talk to someone who cares about me
  
• Cuddle with the cats
• Go for a 15 minute walk
  
• Do one - two chores around the house
  
• Yoga and PT exercises
• Take meds on time
• Eat healthy meals and snacks
• Spend time on X project
• Read and respond to email and voice mail
  
• Take stretch breaks
• Get some sunshine and leave the house
• Meditate
• Go to bed by 11pm
  

This list might seem silly if you're not dealing with a chronic health condition and have energy to get through a full day. Although, I recall that when I had a busy schedule it was especially hard to fit in "me" time before the day was over. So I think a daily self-care checklist can be a fun way to prioritize and take care of yourself no matter how you are feeling!