Look through the questions below, grouped by area of your life. You just answered them a couple minutes ago, so they’re still fresh. Find the one area where the smallest change feels the most doable now:

YOUR DAILY ROUTINES

• My daily routine includes something that is just for me, not for work, not for family, not for anyone else.

• My life is structured around my priorities too, not just everyone else's.

YOUR ENERGY AND HEALTH

• I sleep well enough to feel rested most mornings.

• My exercise or movement routine is the first thing to go when life gets busy.

• I schedule my own doctor's appointments and health check-ups without putting them off for months.

• My eating is more reactive than intentional. I grab whatever's fastest or skip meals when I'm stressed.

YOUR RELATIONSHIPS AND SOCIAL LIFE

• I regularly spend time with friends in ways that feel like genuine connection, not just surface-level catching up.

• I hide how I'm really feeling from nearly everyone, including the people closest to me.

YOUR SENSE OF SELF

• As I go through my day, everyone else's needs get handled before I can even think about my own.

• If someone asked me what I do for fun that’s just for me and no one else, I could tell them immediately.

• I often feel like I'm just waiting to get to a point in my life where I can finally focus on myself again.

• I feel like myself.

YOUR STRESS AND COPING

• My go-to way to unwind looks different than it used to, and if I'm being honest, probably not for the better.

• When everything feels heavy and I'm struggling, I have a healthy outlet I typically turn to.

Found one? Good. Now pick one really small thing you can do about it this week. Here are some examples of what I mean by "really small":

• Go to bed fifteen minutes earlier each night.

• Call your doctor and make that appointment you've been putting off.

• Call that friend back and actually talk to her/him instead of letting it sit another week.

• Set a timer for fifteen minutes, go hide from everyone, and read your book or take a walk.

Why am I asking you to do this? Because you deserve it, dammit. One small reclamation.

And if you want to keep going with this, I write about exactly this stuff. Meanwhile, Back to Me is where I share essays about disappearing, finding myself again, and all the stuff that happens along the way. No program, no pressure. Just a place to feel a little less alone in it.