7 Ways a Busy Mother Can Take Care of Herself

If there’s one job in the world that doesn’t have any day-offs, lunch breaks, holidays, or even sick leave, it’s being a mother. When you’re a mom, you have to juggle multiple responsibilities – your kids, taking care of the household chores, your job, and maintaining your home, which leaves you little to no time for your own needs. Eventually, the thought of taking care of yourself may quickly fade to the side as you carry on with your daily routine.

While your current routine and lifestyle may seem like the best thing to do, taking your own needs for granted can potentially harm your overall health in the long run. You may soon find yourself feeling stressed, more anxious, tired, and eventually burn yourself out. The last thing you’d want to happen is to be sick and not be able to take care of your kids and home for a few days.

Thus, despite all the tasks and responsibilities pulling you in different directions, you must pay attention to caring for yourself. Self-care is the act of intentionally caring for your emotional, physical, spiritual, and mental needs. Self-care can offer you plenty of benefits, including increased energy, more productivity, better concentration, emotional balance, and overall better health. Furthermore, taking care of yourself will not only cater to your own needs, but it’ll allow you to become a better version of yourself for your family.

If you don’t know where to begin, here are seven self-care tips for busy moms:

Set Aside Time For Physical Activity

During your younger years, you may not have had any problem sticking to your workout schedule. Once you’re a busy mom, you may wonder how you can even insert a bit of physical activity into your hectic schedule. The thing is that you don’t have to set aside a gym session for you to achieve enough exercise for the day. Even simply playing outdoor games with your kids may be enough to avoid stress.

You can go cycling with your kids, take them on a walk in the park, go hiking, or go swimming with them in the pool. You can also play jumping jacks or jumping ropes with them. These simple exercises may be enough to keep you fit and energized. The important thing to remember is to be consistent.

Make Use Of Early Mornings

Some of you may be a stay-at-home mom, a career mom, or a work-at-home mom. Regardless of which one you are, you can’t deny that a lot of your day is mainly dedicated to your kids and your job. While you may have no time for yourself for the rest of the day, you can always make use of the early mornings when your kids are still asleep and your job is not yet due in. During the early mornings, you can use this to read your favorite book, meditate or go for a jog.

Prioritize Sleep

One of the first things that mothers sacrifice for their responsibilities is their sleep. Moms don’t even think of sleep unless their kids are safely tucked in bed, and all the household chores and remaining paperwork are all done. Unfortunately, frequently depriving yourself of sleep will not only drain you of energy in the morning, but it can actually weaken your immune system and cognitive function. This can also eventually lead to more severe health illnesses.

Thus, no matter how busy you are as a mother, don’t ever cut back on sleep. Even when you feel tempted to finish up more tasks while your kids are asleep, save those up for the next day. Never compromise your health for things that you know can be done tomorrow. Otherwise, your health will suffer in the near future.

Nourish Yourself With Healthy Food

Many know that a healthy diet is essential for your body. Thus, moms naturally put their children’s health first by cooking and preparing them nutritious food every day. However, just because you prioritize your kids doesn’t mean you should neglect yourself the proper nourishment you need.

To make it easier, make sure you prepare enough nutritious food for your kids, for yourself, and the rest of the family. Not only do you get to benefit as well, but you’re also setting an example for your kids towards healthy behavior.

Other than the food, make it a habit to drink plenty of water every day.  Avoid drinking too much caffeine in a day as that will only keep you anxious and interrupt your sleep in the evening.

Stay Socially Active

Another self-care tip for busy moms is to keep connections open. Don’t let your busy schedule hinder you from having a social life. If you’re active on weekdays, you can still stay in touch with your friends via social media or brief phone calls. Having at least a few minutes to talk with your friends over the phone will give your mind time to relax and catch up with each other.

Then, you can schedule at least one to two days every month for a Friday night out with your friends. You can have a coffee date, eat at your favorite restaurants, or go on a movie date with them. Staying in touch with your friends will keep you entertained and allow you to think of other things unrelated to kids.

Pamper Yourself

Remembering to pamper yourself is important. You can call a babysitter to watch out for your kids for a few hours and make the most of it. You could do any of the following:

• Plan a spa day

• Get a manicure and pedicure

• Book a facial treatment

• Book a massage

• Go shopping

• Get a new haircut or hair color

• Eat at a fancy restaurant with your spouse.

Do anything that will surely make you forget about your routine and schedule for a moment. You’ll soon discover that even a little pampering can make you feel instantly good about yourself.

Keep Up With Your Beauty Routine

Sometimes, pampering yourself doesn’t have to be done outside your homes. You can pamper yourself through little ways like keeping up with your beauty and skincare routine. The best time to do your beauty routine is during the night before you go to sleep. It doesn’t have to be an elaborate beauty routine. Just a simple hot shower, then putting on some of your favorite skincare products before you sleep. Not only will this potentially help you sleep soundly, but you may also feel good as soon as you wake up.

Key Takeaways

Despite the pressure of responsibilities behind being a mother, it’s one of the best things that you can ever be. Being able to raise your kids, take care of them, watch them grow, and give all your love and care to them, are simply priceless opportunities. Even so, don’t forget to take care of yourself too by getting started with these tips mentioned above. Don’t ever feel guilty for caring for yourself. Remember that taking care of yourself means becoming the best version you can be for your children and family by ensuring your own mental and physical health are optimized.

How do you practice self-care?