How can you ensure that your community service work does not negatively impact your self-care?

3 Balance your roles

The third step to ensuring your self-care is to balance your roles and boundaries. You can use a role map, such as the one suggested by the National Association of Social Workers, to identify and visualize the different roles you play in your personal and professional life, such as parent, spouse, friend, colleague, advocate, or supervisor. This can help you recognize and address any role conflicts, role overload, or role ambiguity that may cause you stress or burnout.

4 Seek support

The fourth step to ensuring your self-care is to seek support and resources. You can use a support network, such as a peer group, a mentor, a supervisor, or a therapist, to share your experiences, feelings, challenges, and successes. You can also use a resource inventory, such as the one provided by the Social Work Toolbox, to identify and access the available resources that can help you cope, learn, grow, and thrive in your community service work.

5 Practice mindfulness

The fifth step to ensuring your self-care is to practice mindfulness and relaxation . You can use a mindfulness technique, such as meditation, breathing, yoga, or journaling, to focus on the present moment, acknowledge your thoughts and emotions, and cultivate awareness and compassion. You can also use a relaxation method, such as music, art, reading, or hobbies, to reduce stress, anxiety, and fatigue, and increase joy, creativity, and energy.

6 Review your progress

The sixth step to ensuring your self-care is to review your progress and celebrate your achievements. You can use a self-care journal, a feedback form, or a reflection exercise to monitor and evaluate how well you are implementing your self-care plan, what challenges you are facing, what strategies are working, and what changes you need to make. You can also use a reward system, a gratitude list, or a recognition ceremony to acknowledge and appreciate your efforts and accomplishments.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?