This is a plan for extending your self care to when things are more challenging. 

It can be helpful to have a scale a bit like a battery icon on your phone. 80 to a 100% means you're doing well. 50% is okay. 20% is low, and below 5% is critical.

Different levels will more than likely call for different strategies. At less than 20%, phones may enter low battery mode, preserving energy. Critical means the phone will soon shut down and need recharging before you can use it again. In the same way, it's best not to get to this point of critical tiredness. If you do, what works for you at those times?

What do you need? Rest, of course, in the form of downtime or sleep. But what else works for you? Scan back over the last few days weeks and longer, and take an inventory of what has helped you at these different points of vitality and energy, 80 to a 100 percent to keep your battery topped up? When your battery's at 50%, what helps you at those times?

And when you're moving into low energy mode, would you need it those times? And have there been any times where you've had a critically low battery? And what if you needed it at these times? It can be helpful to bring a friend to mind, someone you really trust, someone who has your back, someone who has your best interests at heart. If you bring them to mind, maybe ask them, how can you tell when my battery's low?

And what have you noticed helps at those times? What do I need? What can I do that helps me recharge? What do they say? Is there anybody else you can ask?

Again, just bring them to mind and ask them the question. See what they say. And again, as part of your exploration, maybe this isn't just something to do in imagination, but you can actually do in real life. Living well is a lifetime endeavor. The poet Rilke described this as a life lived in ever increasing circles that reach out across the world.

When you're taking an inventory of what nourishes and drains you, you're exploring how you can live with joy, meaning, and ease, and avoid getting run down, burnt out, or worse. This exploration can be endlessly fascinating in and of itself, but it's also necessary because what nourishes and depletes you changes as you change and as the world changes around you. Finally, as part of this exercise, try revisiting the daily appreciation exercise. When you think about all the things over the days, weeks, months, and years, You've noticed that you appreciate what are the patterns, what are the themes. Choosing to live with joy, ease, and meaning is to integrate all that you appreciate intentionally into your life.