Today I Must Plan Ahead

/

I am not the most organized person in the world. One glance at my apartment (please don’t look) will prove that. But when it comes to my planners, there’s a certain joy that I feel when I sit down and plan out my month, week, or even my day. The past year, I didn't have much to write in my schedule since I'm working from home most of the time, but I do plan out future things I plan on doing, live sports events I'm watching, even shows or books I'm planning to consume. At the beginning of each day, I also write out all the things I need to finish and there’s satisfaction in crossing out things from that list. Planning things out means that you’re trying to create order in a world of chaos. But it doesn’t mean that you will not be flexible when things don’t go to plan (although sometimes, I am annoyed when things have to be canceled). It’s also important to learn to adjust to changes and disruptions and not stubbornly stick to things just because it’s written in your planner. 

Writing things out when you plan actually helps your brain improve the encoding process and these things gets stored in our long-term memory. Don't take my word for it, neuroscience says so. That is why it’s also important to write down your goals, priorities, and things you want to accomplish instead of just saying “It’s just there stored in my head”. In the long run, they might disappear, especially as you get older. It also helps to create plans for each goal so that they won't remain just in your bucket list. Planning things out for both the simple things and the big life plans will help you reach those goals eventually.

 

IF YOU WANT TO DO SOMETHING:

Write down your schedule, goals, and targets for the month, both professionally and personally. Place it somewhere where you usually see it so you won’t forget it. It may be your cork board, your desk, or a planner that you open daily. It doesn't have to be something aesthetic or instagrammable or well-written. It can just be a running list, bullet points, or a calendar format. The important thing is to take a look at it and check or cross things out once you've done them.

 

JOURNALING PROMPT:

Are you afraid to set goals for yourself? What’s stopping you from doing so? What changes do you need to do in order to be more goal-oriented?

 

Today I Decide To Admit I'm Not Ok

/

I grew up in an era where you always had to pretend to be okay even if you weren't. You had to answer "I'm great" when people ask how you are even though you felt like crumbling inside. You had to smile when hanging out with friends or else they would look at you strangely or ignore you. You had to say "Praise God" or "Thank you Lord" in church even though your faith was teetering on the edge. We all had to put on masks and pretend that everything was okay because we were not ready for an honest conversation. Or we didn't want to be judged that there was something wrong with you or that our faith wasn't enough.

The world eventually realized though that we weren't really all okay and no matter how much we pretended, things would eventually come out. We also realized that there’s a certain beauty to being vulnerable enough to admit that “I’m not okay”. Everyone is just scared and messed up deep inside. Everyone was going through complicated things and no one really has it all together. Everyone cannot really be okay every day. There are times when you're feeling low, you can't bring yourself to smile or even talk, or you just want to say, "No, I'm not" when someone asks if you're okay.

It’s in admitting that things are not okay and that you don’t know when you'll be okay that we become truly human. It's in recognizing that there's something wrong that we can slowly face these "monsters" and deal with them. It’s in acknowledging our vulnerabilities to trusted people that we are able to let them into our life and that in turn, they can also learn to let us in too. We are all just trying to be okay but it's also okay to say that we're not okay.

 

IF YOU WANT TO DO SOMETHING:

Choose a person that you can be vulnerable with and say out loud “I’m not okay”. 

 

JOURNALING PROMPT

What are the things in your life right now that you can honestly say are not okay?

 

Today I Am Hopeful

/

In a world full of cynics , post-modernists, and pessimists, to feel hopeful day by day is a rare and beautiful thing. If you wake up and feel that the world is still a beautiful place despite the difficulties that you have been facing lately, embrace that feeling. If you still feel that way before you sleep, whether you had a good or bad day, that is a precious gift. It's very easy to give in to hopelessness because of circumstances, feelings, or just how the world generally is. This hopeful feeling can disappear in a flash if suddenly faced with things and people that may dim this spark inside of us.

So it's important to develop a hopeful attitude rather than just trying to "think positive" all the time. Having a hopeful attitude means trying to see the good in people around you, even if some of them may be a bit challenging. It means reframing how you see difficulties and setbacks you may face by focusing on things that can be in your control. It means celebrating small wins when they come and developing active gratitude. It means focusing on the present while learning from the mistakes of the past and looking forward to the better possibilities of the future.

Most importantly, having a hopeful attitude means realizing that true hope cannot depend on things, people, or circumstances. They are constantly shifting and eventually unreliable. Real and lasting hope must be anchored in Christ, who remains entirely constant through every season of life. When your heart is rooted in Him who is unchanging, that Hope becomes the ultimate anchor of your soul. That Hope can give you the steady confidence to always be hopeful no matter what challenges come your way.

 

IF YOU WANT TO DO SOMETHING:

Create a hope tracker for the next 21 days. Mark the days when you wake up feeling hopeful and if you still feel the same at the end of the day. This tracker can show you if you're developing a hopeful attitude and maybe change how you approach life if you're struggling.

 

JOURNALING PROMPT

What are things that you're currently feeling hopeful about? How do you think you can develop a more hopeful attitude?

 

“Hope is the anthem of my soul.” - Switchfoot

 

Today I Feel Anxious

/

Anxiety is a new “friend” that I met during the pandemic (which seems like both so recent and so ancient) Normally, I could set aside these fleeting, anxious thoughts and positive think my way out of them. But suddenly, I started to recognize that nauseous, overwhelming, panicky feeling that I only previously read about. I couldn’t sleep just thinking about all the things that could go wrong. I sometimes couldn’t breathe whenever I doom scroll through social media (and I couldn't stop scrolling). I would sometimes stare into space, paralyzed by thoughts and feelings of anxiety. It was an ugly, unfamiliar feeling and I didn't know how to really deal with it at that time. I'm pretty sure a lot of us went through different levels of anxiety during that time.

It's gotten better since then but there are still moments when this unwanted friend would show up unexpectedly. It can happen when I'm in the middle of a crowd and I can't seem to breathe; while I'm out alone in an unfamiliar space; when I'm with friends and something was said that I can't get out of my head; when I'm alone at night, remembering things I need to do or failed to do; when I'm excited but then remembered something that might go wrong. Sometimes I can just brush it off especially when I'm with other people but pressing thoughts can be debilitating.

What has really helped is that I eventually learned to live with it instead of getting anxious about getting anxious. As they say, you can make it your friend. A friend that you don't want to see often, of course. Grounding techniques have helped me get out of moments when it becomes overwhelming. Finding out my triggers also helps me prepare for when an episode may possibly happen. I also tried different coping mechanisms to see which work - journaling, taking a walk, turning off my WiFi, drinking a cup of my favorite beverage, talking to someone, listening to music, reading a familiar book, even watching a brainless vertical drama. You need to find out what can help you get through it and it might take a lot of trial and error but when you find things that work, keep them in mind.

But most importantly, it is in these moments that I slowly learned to breathe things out to God. It’s not the time for “formal” prayer but just this natural act of exhaling all of my anxiety to the One who says that we can cast all our burdens onto Him. There are moments when all you can cry out is “Lord” and I know that is enough. Praying and exhaling doesn’t always get rid of my anxiety but it does help me breathe a little easier. 

Living with anxiety can be difficult, especially if it's the crippling kind. But there is always hope, maybe not to totally overcome it, but to learn how to live with it.

IF YOU WANT TO DO SOMETHING:

Try the 5-4-3-2-1 grounding technique when you’re feeling anxious

Name or acknowledge:

5 things you can see

4 things you can touch

3 things you can hear

2 things you can smell, 

1 thing you can taste. 

 

JOURNALING PROMPT:

What are things that have been causing you to feel anxious lately? What are things that are helping you deal with it?

 

"Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you." 1 Peter 5:7 (NLT)

Today, I Will Write Out My Feelings

/

Ever since social media has taken over our lives, the default action whenever we experience a strong emotion is to post about it on our platforms. I am oftentimes guilty of this. But as we’ve all experienced at one point or another, it’s not always the smartest move. We do need an outlet to let out all these emotions but Facebook or Twitter or anything that’s a public or semi-public space is not always the best or safest choice. There are times when we overshare or we regret something we post (sure you can delete it, but the Internet never forgets) or some will weaponize this against us.

Journaling has been a life-saving tool for me ever since I learned to write out my thoughts in a noteboook. Having a private platform for all my deepest, darkest, and most joyous thoughts has helped me process a lot of emotions and happenings in my life over the years. If you’re nodding your head while reading with this, then you know and understand what I mean. But if you haven’t taken that first journaling step yet, then today is the day. Whatever it is that you’re feeling now, there’s a notebook (or an app on your phone) that’s waiting to hear what it is you have to say. 

"I will tell this to my journal" is sometimes the automatic thought I have now whenever something happens or when I feel some overwhelming emotion. And because I have also become really forgetful, my journals have become a repository of everything that has happened to me.

I will be making separate detailed posts on journaling soon but here are some that I wrote previously:

6 Ways to Journal If You Can’t Consistently Write

30 Journaling Prompts You Can Use

Journaling For Mental Health


IF YOU WANT TO DO SOMETHING:

If you haven’t started journaling yet, pick out any blank notebook in your house or open your phone’s Notes app. Then start out with a letter to yourself and pour out all your thoughts and feelings for today.


JOURNALING PROMPT:

Write a letter to yourself, to the you 1 year from now. Read it after a year to see how far you’ve come and how different you are in a year. Add a reminder on your planner, calendar, or reminder app to read it in a year.

 

Why Journal?

  • Process emotions

  • Spark creativity

  • Improve writing

  • Be grateful

  • Memory keeper

  • Have fun

What Is 100 Days of Self-Care?

/

100 Days of Self-Care was originally created as a unique devotional, not meant to be read chronologically but to choose what resonates with you. It was designed to help people navigate their emotions and take actionable steps to help them deal with it.

Things and plans changed so now it's going to be a series of blog posts, still with the same purpose - to share with you the different things that I've been feeling and thinking about, to help you put down some of your own thoughts on paper (or on pixels), and to have some concrete steps you may need to take.

The entries will be divided into five sections

✨ Today, I Will

✨ Today, I Feel

✨ Today, I Am

✨ Today, I Think

✨ Today, I Must

Each entry offers:

✨ A short reflection to encourage and uplift you

✨ A practical action step to help you move forward

✨ A journaling prompt for self-discovery

✨ A visual element, from calligraphy to infographics to my own journal spreads

Whether you need motivation, comfort, or clarity, I hope that this series can become your personal guide to finding strength, peace, and purpose—one day at a time.

I will start posting on September 23, which is exactly 100 days until 2026 ends (wait, what?). Join me on https://www.idaflutterby.com/100daysselfcare and on my Facebook, Instagram, and Threads (@idaflutterby)

I hope you can join me and maybe share my posts with friends who may need to read something as well.

I'm excited to start this journey (finally!) and I also know that as I go through these next 100 days, I will start rediscovering myself again. I hope you will too.




#100DaysofSelfCare #IdaWrites