The school halls are quiet, final grades have been submitted, and you’ve finished those last few days of staff development. Summer break is finally here, and that means it’s time to really focus on self-care.

Wait! Don’t click away.

We know that you are constantly told to focus on self-care. At this point, even hearing the word "self-care" can start to feel overwhelming. When we think about practicing self-care, it can feel like yet another task to mark off the to-do list.

It is true that practicing self-care requires intention, action and effort. At its core, self-care is about taking care of our own needs. Self-care is also about recovery, stress management and nurturing our brain and body.

When we practice self-care, it is important that we take actions that support and nurture different areas of our lives, including our physical health, mental health, social connections and even those small practical things that help us manage our daily needs. For instance, calling a loved one can nurture our social self, while scheduling a meeting with a financial advisor can support our practical self. These self-care actions also help us manage our stress levels and care for our brain and body. Calling that loved one helps us feel connected and can flood our brain with feel-good hormones, reducing stress. Scheduling the meeting with the financial advisor can remove a task off the to-do list and help you feel more secure and less stressed about your financial future.

So yes, self-care can be a mix of fun treats that perk us up, or can mean checking off literal tasks on the to-do list. However, practicing self-care doesn’t have to feel like a daunting, never-ending task.

To make practicing self-care this summer a little more fun, we’ve created a bingo card (who doesn’t love a bingo card?) with 24 self-care actions that can nurture different areas of your life, including: emotional, professional, practical, physical, mental, social and spiritual areas.

This summer, try to get a bingo by focusing on these aspects of self-care. But if you can’t hit them all? Just doing one or two things on the card means you’ve taken actions that support your mental health and overall wellness.

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