Emily Wnek
Wellness Self-Care Exemplar 10/30/19

Wellness and self-care have always been important to my daily routine. However, starting my college journey has changed how I prioritize what I need to complete during the day. At times I have found that taking time for myself to ensure I am receiving the self-care I deserve has fallen low on my list of priorities. It was important for me to choose goals I believe were attainable for myself while also choosing goals that I tend to disregard because of other events occurring in my life.

The first goal I chose was to prioritize my work and set attainable goals for myself academically and to accept that some situations are beyond my control. Starting my first day as a junior nursing student was a very important day for me. I had told myself I wanted to focus on my schoolwork and put in the maximum amount of effort I was capable of. I knew this would be difficult because the classwork is more advanced than what I have experienced so far but setting the goal for myself to prioritize all my assignments is an important factor for completing all of my assignments by the due date with confidence that I did the best I could on each assignment. However, I wanted to make my academic goals attainable. I didn’t want my goals to reflect perfection. I understand I am not going to get a 100% on all of my exams or assignments so setting my academic goal to get a 100% on every assignment is unrealistic and won’t aid in motivating me to keep up with my workload. To help reach the first goal I started using a planner to write down future assignments and exam due dates to be readily prepared. I always made sure to have ample time to complete all assignments so I was able to submit the assignment on time, eliminating last-minute stress and subpar effort. I also chose to use study techniques that are most beneficial to my learning strategy. I chose to rewrite notes, make study guides, color coordinate, and use flashcards. Those study techniques were extremely beneficial with minimizing studying stress because I had everything written down in a specific place. I believe I started off being on top of all my assignments and studying, however, at points in the semester I got distracted by hanging out with my friends during the time I had scheduled to get my work done and found myself cramming at the last minute to get everything done to the best of my ability.

My second goal was to become more aware of how my external environment affects my health and wellbeing by recognizing how my feelings and emotions affect my overall health. I also wanted to encourage a healthy work and home life to promote success in all aspects of life. This specific goal was slightly more important to me than my first goal. I believe a healthy work and home life fosters an environment that promotes success. Surrounding myself with family and friends that support my choices and encourage positive daily habits is a large component of a healthy environment. I was able to accomplish this goal by spending time with my family and friends that were understanding of the stress I was feeling and were able to provide advice when I asked for help or to listen to what was on my mind. However, coming to terms with my mental and physical health is challenging at times. I tend to brush off my emotions and make the effort to always be “okay”. It took me some time to realize that everyone struggles at times and to get through the struggle, one must accept that they are going through a difficult time. After understanding that I needed help. I was able to get back to my routine and move forward. It is important to do this to avoid burnout.

At the beginning of the semester, I was at the preparation or determination stage according to Prochaska’s Transtheoretical Model. During this stage, I was preparing to implement the changes I was determined to accomplish by the end of the semester. I started taking small steps towards achieving my goals. Throughout the semester so far I have progressed from the preparation stage to the action stage. I have made ample progress with my goals and intend to keep moving forward with my new behaviors and will modify if necessary. For me to continue to meet my goals I must stay on top of all my assignments by using my planner and study strategies I find most useful to my learning capabilities. I also must surround myself with friends and family that support my healthy environment needs.