WELL-BEING TOOLKIT: SELF-CARE Self-care is the intentional practice of caring for our physical, mental, and emotional health, promoting overall wellbeing. It involves engaging in activities that foster relaxation and bring joy to an individual.
Benefits of Self-Care
Self-Care Activities Are you looking to infuse mental health and well-being into the day-to-day culture of your department? Use the suggested activities and instructions below to encourage conversations and practice skills for self-care. These activities can be led by your department’s Wellness Ambassador or anyone who is interested in facilitating an activity for your department. If you have questions, liveWELL is here to help.
Mindful Moments (5 minutes) Mindful moments are quick activities that are 5 minutes or less and are perfect for when you only have a few minutes as a team to connect on a well-being topic. You can incorporate these into the start of a team meeting or huddle. • • • •
Practice gratitude by writing down three things you are grateful for. o Gratitude Well-Being Toolkit Well-being in meetings: At the beginning of a regular staff meeting, take a moment to stretch or participate in a breathing exercise. Encourage the team to bring a fruit or vegetable to share at an upcoming meeting or in the break room. Invite participants to review a UI well-being resource or share their favorite self-care resources.
The University of Iowa prohibits discrimination in employment, educational programs, and activities on the basis of race, creed, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, pregnancy (including childbirth and related conditions), disability, genetic information, status as a U.S. veteran, service in the U.S. military, sexual orientation, gender identity, or associational preferences. The university also affirms its commitment to providing equal opportunities and equal access to university facilities. For additional information on nondiscrimination policies, contact Office of Institutional Equity, the University of Iowa, 202 Jessup Hall, Iowa City, IA 52242-1316, 319-335-0705, oie-ui@uiowa.edu.
Contact liveWELL at 319-353-2973 or livewell@uiowa.edu or visit our website at hr.uiowa.edu/employee-well-being/livewell.
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Skill Boosters (15 minutes) Skill Boosters are a step above mindful moments and usually last about 10-15 minutes. These activities provide opportunities for participants to practice enhancing skills for the well-being topic. • •
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Participate in Office Break Yoga before or during meetings. o Encourage individuals to participate in a shorter version, Yoga at Your Desk, during breaks. Affirmation Board Activity: Start with a large blank poster board. Hand out sticky notes of different colors to each team member and invite them to write down an affirmation and put the sticky notes on the poster board. Hang the poster board in a common area in the workspace. o What are affirmations and how do I write an affirmation statement? o 90 Daily Affirmations for Work Discuss ways to disconnect from work: o Out-of-office automatic reply o Delayed delivery o Ask individuals to share additional ways to disconnect from work when they are not working.
Conversation Starters (20-30 minutes) Conversation starters are for when you have more time carved out to engage with the topic such as 20-30 minutes. Include this topic as a main agenda item in one of your upcoming team meetings, huddles, or staff retreats. These activities are designed to help foster discussion and connection on the well-being topic. • •
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Video: Take 10 minutes to watch the video, Self-Care: What It Really Is. Journal: Following the video, have individuals write down their thoughts and reactions to the video. Prompt with the following questions: o In what areas do you excel in self-care? o In which areas could you improve? How will you improve these areas? Group discussion: Facilitate a group discussion on improving self-care activities at work. Prompt with the following questions: o What are ways you can increase self-care during the workday? o How would you feel if you started doing these activities? o How can we support each other with this practice?
Department Challenges (2-4 weeks) Do you want to do more with the well-being topic? Consider implementing a department wide challenge that lasts anywhere from 2-4 weeks on the well-being topic. liveWELL has several challenge programs that you can implement with your department anytime throughout the year that are complete with communications and materials. •
Implement a self-care challenge (Reboot Program)
RESOURCES View several ways to practice self-care at University of Iowa’s Self Care Strategies webpage.
The University of Iowa prohibits discrimination in employment, educational programs, and activities on the basis of race, creed, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, pregnancy (including childbirth and related conditions), disability, genetic information, status as a U.S. veteran, service in the U.S. military, sexual orientation, gender identity, or associational preferences. The university also affirms its commitment to providing equal opportunities and equal access to university facilities. For additional information on nondiscrimination policies, contact Office of Institutional Equity, the University of Iowa, 202 Jessup Hall, Iowa City, IA 52242-1316, 319-335-0705, oie-ui@uiowa.edu.
Contact liveWELL at 319-353-2973 or livewell@uiowa.edu or visit our website at hr.uiowa.edu/employee-well-being/livewell.
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