About checking in
I want this to be a reusable resource that you, as a director, may use daily or weekly and teach your cabin leaders. Sometimes amid great stress or stimulus, we cannot slow down enough to ask ourselves specific questions. Recognizing your own emotional, physical, and mental needs is vital to longevity within any career or vocation.
We practice checking in with ourselves for two reasons. One is to congruently be able to approach our day and needs without shame or contempt. Two is to foster conversation and vulnerability. Sharing thoughts, emotions, or needs is not a sign of weakness, it promotes a healthy team dynamic and greatly benefits productivity, efficiency, morale, and staff retention. Eventually, as this type of check-in is modeled, we can recognize and manage our thoughts and emotions better, which builds and fortifies a culture that values people over productivity and longevity over burnout.
This can be answered individually or used to promote further conversation between you and someone else.
Remember that the value of a self-check-in comes from your vulnerability and awareness. You are answering these questions not to find the correct answer but to establish a baseline of well-being.
Let’s get started
Take a deep breath, and notice one thing you smell, one thing you see, and one thing you hear, feel, and taste. Allow yourself to be in the moment and answer as honestly as possible.
- On a scale of 1 to 10. One is the worst you have ever been, and 10 is the absolute best version of yourself. Where would you place yourself right now?
- What is your primary emotion at this moment?
- What is a secondary emotion you are feeling right now?
- How can you be kind to yourself today?
- What, if anything, do you need at this moment?
Simply reflect. Take a moment. Reintegrate into your thoughts and stimuli of your surroundings.
If you need something specific, can it be acquired? Is it a hug, water, nap, or a bathroom break?
You did it!
Recognize these feelings, emotions, and thoughts. Write them down if you want to remember them. Creating a baseline and log for these check-ins can be the mirror we need to recognize healthy or unhealthy patterns. Using this as a foundation for your work will allow you to be the most authentic version of yourself. Authentic does not mean being without fault, it simply means that you have given yourself and others around you permission to recognize and speak up in moments of need.
Checking in is an ongoing process. Do it frequently and without hesitation or inhibitions. Allow it to be what needs to be and go where you need it to go. Enjoy.
