Tips for Self-Care Success By: AIMHO College Committee, Justin Peterson, USU Josh Hutchinson, UU Andrew Laursen, Central Arizona University Nina Noronha, University of New Mexico Kyle Oldham, Colorado State University Self-care is an essential component to a welloiled professionally run organization. It is an imperative measure to keep stress at bay in order to function productively and efficiently. Unfortunately, this process can be overlooked easily in the pursuit of accomplishing all the many tasks and situations that may arise. Self-care is necessary for healthy workplace relationships and job satisfaction. In housing specifically, self-care is something that professionals ranging from entry-level to upper administration need to implement in order for overall mental, physical and emotional health. Self-care can be difficult for entry-level professionals as burnout is common and it is difficult to self-advocate as a new employee. In addition, social identities, personal experiences and issues of equity and inclusion can also impact and influence how self-care is viewed or defined by staff. It is important to remember and navigate the perspectives and perceptions we have based upon our lived experiences regarding understanding concepts of self-care. It is important to be mindful of burnout and figure out ways to implement self-care. Members of our AIMHO College Committee have identified several of their effective self-
care practices that can help prevent you from crashing: Identify 2 things to do for yourself every week, find the time to make sure you complete these items for your own personal benefit. Schedule a 1:1 meeting with yourself at least 1/week, this can provide you the time to get those two things done or provides you the time to take a walk, read a book, focus your thoughts or be intentional with your personal time. This can also lead to creating habits in your workplace. If possible, hold 1:1 meetings at different locations and settings besides only your office. Meet a staff member at a cafe or offer to do your meeting during a walk around campus. See if your supervisor would be open to doing this with you as well. The change in location can break up monotony as well as provide an environment where natural conversations can manifest themselves. It can be an effective tool with preventing burn out.
