In her book “Sometimes Therapy is Awkward,” author and psychotherapist Nicole Arzt sheds light on one of the biggest challenges surrounding self-care – getting yourself to actually do it! We may know that taking time out of our stressful day to exercise or practice deep breathing techniques will only benefit us in the long run, but on especially busy days it is tempting to procrastinate or blow off self-care entirely. Arzt introduces a more structured method of implementing and tracking your self-care routine. For some of us, writing things down helps us hold ourselves accountable to our goals. Keeping a self-care log can help you track and assess the benefits of taking some time for yourself. It also helps you to see what isn’t working as well for you, so you don’t continue wasting time on a routine that isn’t effective. In developing her self-care assessment, Arzt made a commitment to herself to try one new self-care routine each week. Try developing a self-care SMART goal – one that is specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-based – and using the log to track your progress in weekly increments. I have provided an example below using yoga, but you can choose anything you feel will bring you emotional and/or physical benefits. *Click on the image below to print out a blank Self-Care Goal Assessment.