Usually, balancing work and motherhood is enough. It’s more than work and motherhood right now, though. Now you’re also managing your child’s online school or maybe even homeschooling if your school isn’t providing enough activities and assignments for your child. And summer is moments away. With canceled or postponed summer camps, how will your situation change? It’s a lot. Self-care is more important than ever. I’m sharing 10 tips to help working moms create time for self-care when you’re short on time.
The realities of burnout
O.C. Tanner, a global employee recognition and engagement company, did a study and found that 79 percent of employees feel mild, moderate, or severe burnout. Yes, you read that right. More than three-quarters of all employees feel burnout. And I’m hearing on so many social media platforms how moms are feeling completely overwhelmed right now. Imagine how much faster we might get to burnout with everything we’re managing while self-quarantining.
The school year is finishing up, so at least there won’t be distance learning in the mix. But camps are still in limbo, at least for the month of June. So now what? It seems like it might get harder for working moms before things finally ease up. Let’s set ourselves up for success this summer and then in the transition to fall. Let’s ensure that self-care is built into our days/week to help us be at our best.
360-degree view of self-care
Self-care isn’t only about spa days or bubble baths. There is a 360-degree view of self-care for us to consider. There are four foundational areas that we must cover before we get through the next level:
- sleep enough for your needs
- drink enough water
- fuel our bodies from the inside
- exercise at least 30 minutes a day several days per week
It’s hard to move to the next level of what you really enjoy as part of self-care (more on that in a recent post) if you’re not working on that foundation layer first.
Get enough sleep
I completely understand how time-strapped you are right now. I’m right there with you. I describe my time with kids at home as choppier. I simply couldn’t get all my work done during the day when I did things like during the school year. I started waking up before everyone else so I can work for an hour or two before the rest of the house gets up. And I likely do a bit of work before bed to catch up from the stuff I miss with all the interruptions from managing kids’ online school stuff.
Consider a night-time ritual to help you shift your mindset to rest, especially if you’re hopping on the computer again in the evening to get a bit more work done. You can include writing in your journal and/or reading, which I both do. Some people follow guided meditation before bed or shut off all electronics by a specific time. Find whatever works for you so you get enough sleep. Powering through work is not a long-term strategy.
Drink enough water
Are you getting enough water? I remember the suggestion growing up of adults drinking 8 glasses of water a day. It turns out it might not be that simple but use that 8 glasses rule of thumb if it’s easier for you. Really, your water consumption can be based on many factors: your gender, age, weight, physical location, and level of activity.
Not a fan of water?
- Consider adding a slice of lemon, orange, cucumber. You can add a few strawberries or pineapple too.
- Fill up a pitcher in the morning and drink a bit at a time. Set your own pace for how/when you drink it.
- Set alarms on your calendar for water breaks. Make sure you don’t simply turn them off without drinking water, though.
Eating healthy during coronavirus
We need food that fuels us and keeps us healthy. Here are a few things that can help (that you can use in non-pandemic moments too):
- Use batching to meal prep all meals. You can either prep once a day for all the meals or prep on the weekends for the week. That way you only need to cook/reheat at meal-time.
- Purchase healthy snack options. Have healthy snacks available for everyone (e.g., wash fresh fruit and/or veggies and cut them up as soon as you get it all home).
- Have healthy dessert options. Our favorite healthy dessert is sliced frozen bananas, which is like a small bite of ice cream (aka YUMMY goodness in the summer months).
Fit in the movement when you can
Don’t have 30 minutes to take a walk? Walk for 20. Don’t have 20? Walk for 10. You get the idea. Every little bit helps and does add up over time. Smaller moments of movement matter.
I might do a short walk and then come back and work out to a video on YouTube. The ones that I’m loving right now are from Pamela Reif, which are generally 10-20 minutes each, and often focus on one part of the body. I’ve consistently loved the workouts from PopSugar, which often feature well-known trainers for a session or two. Really, though, you can find at least a few videos for almost any kind of workout you can imagine on YouTube.
Consider smaller moments of self-care
I am a busy, working mom like you, with similar struggles for getting it all done, especially during the pandemic, summer months, or any other time crunch. Instead of spending hours on self-care in one go, consider smaller moments throughout the day and/or week.
You might have heard me say that I bookend my day with self-care. I start my day with a self-care check-in, where I see what adjustments I might need to make to set myself up for success as I start the day. And I end my day with writing in my gratitude journal and reading before bed.
Prep whatever you can the night before
Get your workout clothing out of the drawer and put socks by your shoes so it’s in an easy spot to see. Look at videos you might use. Buy a book or download a Kindle (or check out from your local library) so you can read when you have a moment. You get the idea. Remove the initial barriers and help yourself get to the next step.
Use your calendar
If it’s not on my calendar, it likely won’t happen. That’s for pretty much anything in my life or that of my kids. So, I use my calendar to schedule workouts and other moments of self-care. It’s a simple concept, but it helps me to stay on track right now.
Set expectations with your family
Let your family know that you’re changing things up. See if they want to join you (it’s often easier if they do). If you’re doing this solo, tell them what will change in how you spend your day. Your shifting things around could impact them. You want them to support you, so sometimes explaining the why can help.
Find an accountability partner
Sometimes you and your significant other can be accountable to each other as you focus on being healthier. This isn’t always the case, so consider asking a friend to help keep you on track. And you can touch base each week or on whatever timeframe works for you both. It’s great to find another mom who understands what you’re dealing with.
Bring the spa home
My list of 10 tips to help working moms create time for self-care wouldn’t be complete without mentioning a spa moment. The thing is that you might not be comfortable with going to the spa. It could be that spas near you might not be opened or taking fewer customers so it’s hard to get in. A quick workaround is to take the spa experience home. Upgrade your daily shower by buying body scrub and/or wash from your favorite spa. Get a facial scrub and hydrating mask and do a mini facial right after your shower. You can find loads of products to make a daily experience more luxurious until you can head to that spa. One of my favorite spas in Austin is Milk & Honey Spa, which has a variety of products for your face and body.
How are you integrating self-care into your day? What self-care routines do you have in place? Struggling with finding time for self-care? How can I help?
If you’re looking for a way to be more productive with your time, The Mompowerment Guide to Work-life Balance (affiliate link) can help. Grab your copy on Amazon (affiliate link) today to shift how you look at your time and take action. With the summer only moments away, this could be a perfect moment to think about your time differently and start creating new habits.
