When you’re a busy Mom, the idea of putting yourself first is one that often fades into the background. How are you supposed to focus on yourself, when you’ve got kids to look after? However, although you probably feel extremely guilty if you ever do these things, it’s an important part of self-care, whether you’re a mother or not.
After all, if you put yourself under a great deal of pressure, and never take some time away just for you, then you’re going to be burning the candle at both ends, and you’ll probably feel worse for wear after a while. Here’s how you can put yourself first (sometimes), and practice the art of self-love, even when you’re looking after a family!
Ask for support
When you’re a Mom, you’re going to need to ask for some help every once in a while, so that you can take some time out for yourself. Whilst some mothers see this as a bit of a weakness, or feel awkward about asking, it’s really important to reach out and ask for the support that you need to get through.
Most of the time, this will even come in the form of asking your partner to do something, so that you can relax when you need some time out. However, it may also be asking your parents to look after the kids for a few hours, so that you can go out and have a bit of a break. Trust us, your parents will probably love this anyway.
Don’t stifle your self-care because of ideas about being annoying to your family and friends. They’re probably more than willing to lend a hand!
Make the most of brief time periods
Often, you don’t have the time to take hours out of your day for self-care. However, this doesn’t necessarily need to be an issue, and if you want to keep yourself on top form, then you should make sure that you utilize all of the time that you do have.
You can do this by taking a book out with you, so that you can escape into a novel on the subway, or keeping a magazine nearby, too. In short, it’s just a good idea to have options other than your phone, so that you do actually use your time wisely.
Another way to appreciate brief moments of self-care is to put on a quick face mask before your shower, or to stay in the shower for an extra 5 or 10 minutes sometimes. This way, you can enjoy pampering yourself a little more, instead of doing the straight-in, straight-back-out shower.
Do something that you’ve always wanted to do
Unfortunately, people often think that motherhood is the beginning of a new chapter in your life, and as such, you have to leave the old ones behind. Whilst your life is completely different to how it once was, you still have the same interests, hopes and dreams that you had before you had kids.
Instead of acting like you can’t do anything with them anymore, it’s vital to try and balance these things out. If you’ve always wanted to do something, perhaps taking something like online M.B.A. programs to boost your knowledge, then why not do it now?
Not only is this a great way to focus on what you want to do with your future, but it also helps you to take some vital time out each week for self-care. Knowing that you’re going to get some peace and quiet in the library each week is definitely something to look forward to!
Add it into your schedule
If you’re somebody who neglects self-care most of the time – perhaps because you’re too busy to be able to focus on it – then you could benefit from adding it into your schedule. We know what you’re thinking, this does sound like a strange thing to do, but it will help you to get in a bit of me-time.
For example, a lot of us say that we’re going to work on a certain project each night; perhaps we have a task that we know we need to do. However, we rarely make cut-off times, and say that we’re going to relax between 8pm and the rough time that we go to sleep.
Doing this could mean that you get any work done a lot quicker than you usually would, and that you have the time scheduled for relaxation, so you don’t feel any guilt about it. Sounds good, huh?
Utilize your lunch break
A great way to take some time out is to make the most of your lunch break, by going for a walk, or perhaps calling a friend. A lot of people, especially office workers, don’t actually take lunch breaks, but this should be a vital part of your self-care routine, and you really need to make sure that you have some time out during the day.
Walking a little, even in the winter, could make you feel a lot better. However, people are also using their lunch breaks for much more creative things now, such as crocheting, writing, or doing another form of arts and crafts.
If there was ever a time to reclaim your lunch break for the sake of self-care, it’s definitely now. No more lunches in front of your computer!
So…
If you want to take some time out to put yourself first – especially as a Mom – then you need to be pretty creative! Sometimes, you have to make the most out of the short amounts of time that you have, and you also need to get out there and do something exciting on your lunch break. That’s just the life of a busy Mom, huh?
However, you can also ask for a bit of support from people, so that you can do something that you’ve always wanted to do. If you’re still struggling, then add some me-time to your schedule, and see whether this works out for you! Good luck finding some time for self-care, and getting rid of that ‘oh God, I feel so guilty’ feeling!