Information from the International Self-Care Foundation on the seven pillars of self-care and what it all means.
a repository of self-care resources for developers & others
Information from the International Self-Care Foundation on the seven pillars of self-care and what it all means.
Some history to give perspective on where the term "self-care" came from and how it's evolved over the years.
A collection of suggestions for taking better care of yourself in tough times.
A non-profit organization website with forums that is focusing on improving mental state of IT-workers.
A short, inspirational guide to getting started with your self-care practices.
A round-table discussion from A List Apart on the state of mental health perceptions in the web industry.
A good, general overview of self-care practices.
Aloe is a self-care focused community within Femsplain. Fast or slow, we're giving you the tools to grow. Features a newsletter, twitter bot and Medium publication of useful articles.(Aloe is also now an app)
While mostly targeted at students, this site features short video guides on handling stress, relationships, and improving overall wellness.
A video that shows you how to make yourself sad. a form of reverse psychology that powerfully shows some of those bad habits and ways of living that are so easy to slip into.
Inspired by 100DaysofCode, 100 Days of Healthing is a challenge to spend an hour a day, for 100 days, working on your health & self care. It’s permission to give yourself an hour a day. And we’re all here with you.
LemonAid offers an active, supportive community where you can unload your struggles and share successes anonymously. they believe in openly speaking about mental health, trauma, human rights and professional challenges. as of now, the community is open for those who are female-identifying, but they are working to expand that. check out the website, or just join the [Slack Group](https://nicole64.typeform.com/to/MKsY8J).
You’ve made it this far, and you will make it through. You are stronger than you think.
Some helpful guidelines if things are really bad and you find yourself in crisis. Please seek out the resources on that page if you feel like you can't go any further on your own.
An interactive flow chart for people who struggle with self care.
Grounding is a technique that helps us reorient to the here-and-now, to bring us into the present. They are a useful technique if you ever feel overwhelmed, intensely anxious, or dissociated from your environment.
"This in-depth guide explores the science and benefits of grounding and earthing, including nine effective grounding techniques and exercises."
Frank Chimero spent some time (with help) looking at what parts of his burnout were on him and what parts were outside of his control. The result was this useful list of factors to be aware of that can influence the onset of burnout.
As part of The Washington Post's series on self-care, they asked members of PayUp, their community dedicated to discussing gender disparity in the workplace, to share what they’ve build into their morning routines that helps center their minds and bodies for the day.
April Wensel shares insights on how the practice of Self-Compassion can ease our struggles when tackling challenges when programming.
Jocelyn K. Glei helps people find more creativity and meaning in their daily work. Her articles focus on pragmatic ideas for working better, not faster or longer.
Jen Looper's slides from her talk on preventing burnout hold some useful gems of insight.
It's a word that gets thrown around often, especially among busy, working professionals. The truth, however, is that a busy schedule alone isn't enough to trigger professional burnout.
5 Self-Care Ideas for the Workplace
Do these to work smarter and healthier, not longer and harder.
Ideas for what to do to make the most of your small breaks during your work day.
A deck of printable cards that asks what it would look like if we took a more positive approach to debugging.
Beck Tench offers wisdom that can help us make our to do lists feel a bit less like we're being yelled at and setting ourselves up for failure.
"Reclaim LifeWork protects time on your work calendar for personal events, enables you manage your schedule from one place, and defends your time for what matters."
"Take off the LAST weekend of every month as a sabbatical (Saturday and Sunday)."
A resource that reads (in a good way) like documentation for a code library or development methodology, breaking down actionable steps for recovering from burnout.
The good news is that recovering from burnout is possible, and there are steps you can take to aid your return to full capabilities.
Jessica Abel, comic book writer and artist, takes you through her method of getting herself back into your routine after an absence.
You’ve been doing too much for too long. And it’s broken you. You’re burned out. You’re done.
The author describes his own struggle and recovery from burnout. Most importantly, he outlines that burnout isn't always caused by overwork. He identifies 6 reasons: Lack of control, Values conflict, Insufficient reward, Work overload, Unfairness, Breakdown of community.
This episode of Syntax is entitled "Preventing and Dealing with Burnout in Web Development", and covers exactly that. They talk about what burnout is, discuss how prevention isn't easy (but certainly easier than digging out once you're burned out), and give ways to prevent it.
"Let me tell you how and why I burned out and, more importantly, how I bounced back — so you can follow my road to recovery and get off to a better start if you find yourself worn down by work."
"Let me tell you how and why I burned out and, more importantly, how I bounced back — so you can follow my road to recovery and get 2015 off to a better start if you find yourself worn down by work."
"The voice of burnout is not YOUR voice. Burnout will say you aren’t cut out for it, that you don’t enjoy it, that you aren’t good at it. Don’t make career decisions while you are burned out."
An inexhaustive list of ways Sia Karamalegos reduced stress and increased happiness
A collection of information on taking care of your hands and other body parts.
An extensive getting started guide to exercises.
An app (iOS, Android) that provides short workouts with great instruction.
The sensory nature of the putty makes it a great tool for relieving stress; acting as an attention aid; and assisting in physical therapy for wrists and hands.
An eye-opening (pun-intended) look at how we can better take care of our eyes when we have to stare at the screen for so many hours a day.
A brief tutorial on how to sit properly in your chair.
The "owner's manual for the human body", a free e-book on how to maintain your body in decent condition. Fair warning, the importance of eating at regular interval has been debunked since the release, but the rest of the book still stands.
Automatic meal planner to help stick with a balanced diet, calculated based on your body and lifestyle parameters.
A scientifically-minded reproductive health app (iOS, Android) that goes beyond mere period tracking.
"A cooking blog for when you Just Can't" This blog covers very simple recipies and cooking staple items for when you don't have the energy to cook, but want to feed yourself well.
A down-to-earth video explaining basic meditation from WellCast.
This comprehensive guide covers exactly: where to meditate, how to meditate, what to do with your mind, how long to do it for, and even how long before you start seeing benefits.
This short, concise, classic book by Thich Nhat Hanh introduces the practical application of mindfulness both in meditation and in daily life.
Plum Village has a list of mindfulness practices to help you bring mindfulness into your daily life.
Daragh Byrne is a programmer and a meditation teacher. Come learn the basics of mindfulness, and how to apply it to your coding life to beat burnout, work with impostor syndrome and bring clarity and creativity back into your thinking.
A few useful thoughts on getting started with meditation and dispelling a few myths about the practice.
James teaches mindfulness as a pathway to self-acceptance and inner peace, a pathway that helps release the attachment, aversion and desire responsible for the day-to-day suffering of mind that prevents us from discovering true contentment in life.
A lovely, peaceful breathing app with three speed settings and gentle animations. no ads. iOS only for now.
A brief meditation for your work day.
A beautiful 60-second meditation tool to help clear your mind.
A good outline of a classic meditation visualization that can work well in a short amount of time if you are feeling out of sorts.
Free guided meditation for iOS, Android and the web.
A wonderful collection of free and paid apps and MP3s by a Scottish hypnotherapist.
An irreverant, but surprisingly helpful 2 1/2 minute meditation.
A simple breathing app that is also on Glitch, which means you can fork and customize it!
Free guided meditation for beginners. Their box breathing tool is also useful.
An app (iOS) that offers access to hundreds of short, guided meditations.
A free meditation and breathing app that has no subscription and a lovely interface. (iOS only)
Meditation made simple. learn online, when you want, wherever you are, in just 10 minutes a day.
A simple mindfulness meditation app that brings clarity and peace of mind into your life.
An app that will lead you through meditations. It comes with reminders to help you remember to meditate.
Jack Kornfield's website lists various well-writtetn meditations, some of them in audio/video, on walking, mindfulness, gratitude and various other topics.
The podcast that puts you to sleep.
A series of mixes intended for listening while working to aid concentration and increase productivity.
Sarah James, a lifestyle blogger and self-help aficionado, is joined by bestie Kristen Howerton, a writer and psychotherapist, as they tackle the tricky and often elusive aspects of caring for ourselves.
Dan Harris is a fidgety, skeptical ABC newsman who had a panic attack live on Good Morning America, which led him to something he always thought was ridiculous: meditation. In this podcast, Dan talks with smart people about whether there's anything beyond 10%. Basically, here's what this podcast is obsessed with: Can you be an ambitious person and still strive for enlightenment (whatever that means)?
In this season two premiere of Function, Anil explores how the web made an impact on his mental health and talks to experts like Dr. Elias Aboujaoude, Stanford University psychiatrist and author; and web creators Desi Rottman and Angelo Stavrow about the how the internet is changing the way we see ourselves and interact with others.
Sometimes you need someone to tell you it's ok. Sometimes you need someone to tell you your breath smells great.
Adoptable kittens, livestreaming 24/7. enough said, right?
Random slides of manatees with phrases as if they were your best parent-type friend.
Live feeds of peaceful jellyfish, waving kelp forests and other sea life.
Sled dog puppies at the Historic Park Kennels of the Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska, United States.
Soothing videos (some without music) of vegan food recipes being prepared in beautiful kitchen.
A Spotify playlist with songs about self love. These can be used as daily affirmations, in times of confidence, or in times of self-doubt to get you excited about loving + taking care of yourself!
A collection of tools and tips to help you turn your tech back into the tools you need rather than the devices that grab our attention.
OS X app makes the color of your computer's display adapt to the time of day, warm at night and like sunlight during the day.
A free Mac application to help you avoid distracting websites.
A Google Chrome extension that limits the amount of time that you can spend on time-wasting websites.
A program for Linux and Windows that reminds users to take micro-pauses and rest breaks.
An Android app like F.lux; makes the color of your computer's display adapt to the time of day, red-shifted at night and normal during the day.
Rest is a break reminder app for Mac and Windows that keeps you productive and healthy throughout the day.
Red Moon is an open-source blue filter app available on Android.
Online, always private, blank page for anything you want to say. The site is built around The Artist's Way's practice of free-association writing first thing in the morning. exports are available.
WriteNext helps writers to write more often, achieve writing goals and focus better while writing. It will boost your writing skills and turn writing into a daily habit.
A nice guide to the health benefits of journaling including some tips on getting started.
Joshua Ginter shares his experience of how journaling as an accountant helped him get through the hectic tax season more healthily.
A few simple ideas to get started with journaling if you're overwhelmed or don't know what to write.
30 Prompts for self-reflection and self-discovery when you don't know what to write about.
Part of a series, this article covers the benefits of understanding who you are.
"The Happiness Project" author Gretchen Rubin provides a solid starting point for getting to know yourself so you can start making better choices in your self-care.
Jade Yap gives some general guidance on how to start understanding yourself better, a key to preventing burnout.
A nice set of questions to guide your self-discovery. they also make great journal prompts.
A group of questions to ask yourself while journaling or have some time to ponder.
A group of templates, ideas, and apps to help you get a gratitude journal going.
Del provides printable, Creative Commons licensed coloring pages for grown ups on her Free Colouring Pages and also sells a coloring book and a digital book on how to draw mandalas yourself.
Often called "Patience," more than 150 Solitaire games have been devised.
The Craft Yarn Council guide to getting started with knitting and crochet.
The Sea Lemon youtube channel offers tutorials on making lots of different crafts, often related to paper crafts and organizational tools. the video linked here is focused on calming crafts, but her videos are soothing to watch on their own as well.
This site contains hundreds of board and card games you can download and print, many of them for free.
Short description: Smartphone app (iOS and Android) that gameifies self-care with gentle games you always win, tarot cards, and a cat to pet.
Simply Breathe is a visual mindfulness tool that promotes deep breathing.
Free guidebooks to help you sleep, meditate and create healthy habits.
An online magazine of self-care-centered articles
Mood and healthy behavior tracking, meditations and other activities to help you cope with stress or anxiety.
Happify provides a variety of easy to do and effective exercises to teach you new emotional skills and coping methods. Available for iOS, Android, and desktop!
Forest app helps to focus and manage distractions coming from the phone, while also contributing to real-life tree planting.
A web application that gently reminds to you take breaks during the day. You can choose a theme, set customizable breaks and even track your activity.
A customisable mindfulness recording studio that goes with you wherever you go
Think through situations with step-by-step guidance from Woebot using methods from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.
"Research-backed prompts to increase self-awareness and resilience"
A background noise generator with built-in text editor.
A site with a very wide variety of noise generators, ranging from nature sounds and industrial noises to soundscapes and simulated voices.
A 30-minute thunderstorm loop, online and an app.
A combination white-noise and pomodoro-timer app for iOS. soothing sounds & periodic "take a break" reminders.
"Get things done by taking short breaks"
Create immersive soundscapes with this web-based tool.
Ambient sounds to wash away distraction. Available on Android and iOS as well as the web.
8 hour long video that highlights the sound of rain.
a.m. ambient is an internet radio stream featuring bright and positive ambient music.
The internet has a cat. Complete with random little meows and various options to control the intensity of all those purrs.
Live transmissions of the world's airports with ambient music.
A free habit building and productivity app that treats your real life like a game.
Gamify your life to improve your mood and conquer your challenges.
Triggers the body’s ‘rest and digest’ response by slowly and continuously moving your fingertip on the screen.
This is deskspace, a self-care app. It's designed to be simple with only a few functions. Each object on the desk has a different use - play around with them and see how they can work for you.
A Twine game for queer trans mentally ill people who want to live out the fantasy of a world that is both kind and fucking awesome.
A collection of games, little tools, zines, music, and bots created as part of the game jam.
A second round of games, little tools and other self-care entries to the game jam.
Viridi is a meditative potted plant app for both desktop (PC/OSX) and mobile (Android/iOS). the soundtrack is also available.
Games can offer a lifeline, letting players inhabit a space where exploration is not only possible but encouraged. A place where we can examine the relationships between ourselves, our perceptions of others, and the world around us.
A list of Twitter bots devoted to self-care - covering every bot's style, tweet frequency and favorite topics.
A bot that checks in on you.
Reminders to take your medications from a robot that swallowed a thesaurus.
A bot that is your friend who loves you and even responds to your retweets.
A bot that helps you get things done in a balanced way.
A bot to remind you to be kind to yourself during the day and take breaks every 3 hours.
Twitter bot, tweets self-care reminders. One of the first ever self-care bots.
Twitter bot for people going through a hard time.
Small encouragements four times per day. You can also add sayings to the google form .
Occupational therapist Hannah Daisy's illustrations show that self-care doesn't always have to mean treating yourself – sometimes it just means accomplishing regular tasks
Ashley Janssen asks "Doesn’t it make sense that we will function at a higher level if we make our own well-being part of the equation?"
Gaelynn Lea Tressler writes on the place of enrichment, one of the less-discussed pieces of the self-care puzzle.
Caroline Moore's talk from OSFeels 2016.
A great talk by Kathleen Danielson at PyCon 2015 about how burnout happens, what it looks like, and how to recover from it.
Pam Selle's February 2012 Ignite Philly 9 talk on going the fuck home after work, working while you're at work, and being happy.
A lightning talk by Carol Stransky about the lack of self-care in the tech industry and how you can build your own self-care toolkit.
A walk in the park may soothe the mind and change the workings of our brains in ways that improve our mental health.
Jordan Rosenfeld tells the story of how he recovered his creative thinking by cutting back on his screen time.
A TED talk from Guy Winch about why emotional health and hygiene are just as important as physical health and hygiene.
A NYT article that covers the phenomenon of decision fatigue.
Advice on how to conquer “decision fatigue”.
Quick video guides to managing your ADHD (since a lot of tech workers have it and could harness it for good rather than feeding their self-doubt!).
Things are rough and self-care is more important than ever. Here's some thoughts on remaining engaged and active without burning out.
An insightful article and inexhaustive list of ways Sia Karamalegos reduced stress and increased happiness.
Slides from a presentation by @aditibhandari with tips on self-care including some hand and wrist exercises
A great resource on what to do if you're burnt out and what managers can do to prevent burnout in their employees. Quite a few of our resources came from here as well.
J. Paul Reed outlines his method for taking short, but vital, retreats in his regular life.
When game designer Jane McGonigal found herself bedridden and suicidal following a severe concussion, she dove into scientific research and created the healing game, SuperBetter. In her talk, McGonigal explains how a game can boost resilience.
Noelle Daley gives an excellent talk at Donut.js exploring self-improvement, and the radical idea that perhaps you're already doing just fine.
Darius Foroux provides some information on getting past the challenge of starting a journal when you don't know how to do it.
You have to actually go offline to read this thoughtful piece on the potential of building offline web-based things.
Brie Code writes about the process of designing tend-and-befriend games focused on self-care and personal growth.
A scorecard for creating human-centered, anxiety-free solutions
A set of principals to guide the creation of calmer, less attention-grabbing technology.
Resources & Ideas About CODing Ethics For Developers & Technologists
A guide to anticipating the future impact of today's technology.