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Self-care has been getting major hype these days. Unless you’ve been living under a rock you have probably heard someone talk about the importance of taking care of yourself.
I am a huge advocate for the importance of self care. However, as a mom of two little ones, it can be difficult to get a moment to go to the bathroom without an audience, let alone do a little pampering or spend some time on yourself.
Self-care doesn’t have to require a major time commitment though. Here are 16 simple ways you can implement self-care into your daily life without taking up a lot of time!
1.Make Your Bed
It may seem a little unfair that number one sounds like more of a “chore” than a self-care tip. Stick with me!
Starting your day off by accomplishing a small task will help you get off to a productive start. Physics tells us that objects at rest tend to stay at rest. I feel the same way about people and tasks. People who start the day avoiding small tasks tend to keep avoiding them throughout the day. Ok, I can only speak for myself here, but I’m sure I’m not the only one.
At the end of the day, this “chore” will pay dividends. Climbing into a made bed vs an unmade bed at the end of a long day- do I even need to explain?
2.A Skin Care Routine
You don’t have to get fancy here. Find yourself a good cleanser, a hydrating serum, and a moisturizer (an eye cream doesn’t hurt either). Give yourself 5 minutes at the beginning and end of every day to do your skin care regimen. I don’t say this out of vanity. Of course everyone wants great looking skin but it’s more than that. Give yourself this time and really enjoy it, don’t scrub your face and rush through it to “get it done”. Then it’s no longer self care- it’s just another beauty chore you feel committed to. I like to put on a little music or a podcast and just drift away for those five minutes.
Contrary to popular belief, you can get great skin care without breaking the bank. Lately I have been obsessed with The Ordinary’s Squalane Cleanser as well as their “Buffet” serum. They make my face feel amazing and you can’t beat the price. Check them out!
3.Meditate
I remember the first time someone suggested that I meditate to calm my anxiety. I thought it was the most ridiculous thing I had ever heard. I didn’t understand how sitting still in silence was going to slow my mind. If anything meditation seemed like the perfect set up for a whole pile of overthinking.
After much resistance, I decided to give it a try. I’ll admit the first few times weren’t great. I felt silly, like I was doing it wrong. My body felt tense, itchy, and suddenly I was aware of every hair follicle and pore on my body. Nevertheless, I kept at it. Five minutes a day at first, then seven, then ten, you get the point. I kept showing up and wouldn’t you know it after a week I began to look forward to my daily meetings with myself in my closet.
Taking 10-15 minutes of my day to meditate and be completely unavailable to anyone but myself has made a noticeable change in my overall calmness and mood. Meditating daily has become a non-negotiable for me.
4.Unfollow-A Social Media Purge
Tell me if this has ever happened to you before. You’re scrolling through social media and you start feeling down on yourself. Suddenly you think you should be doing more, be ahead of where you are in life, should put on makeup more often, run more, not eat that, eat more of that, her kids look so put together, I’m a lazy mom, bad wife, it’s all crashing down and I’m the only one who’s a HOT MESS.
Just me?
We all know that social media is usually the highlight reel but telling ourselves that doesn’t always work. Social media, when used right, can add to your life. It can create new relationships, open up doors, connect you to your tribe, make you laugh, provide useful information, and be a place where your mind goes to unwind.
It can also be a place of self-sabotage, envy, jealousy, comparison, and a source of anxiety and depression. If you feel that unfollowing someone will cause more conflict than good-hit the mute button girl, they won’t know. Choose who you allow into your day when you open up your phone.
5.A social Media Follow Spree
Now that you’ve purged your following list of all accounts that may you feel bad. It’s time to follow some solid accounts that are going to light up your day. Remember, I said when used correctly social media should add to your life. There are so many wonderful, informative, uplifting, positive, funny, accounts on Instagram. Fill your feed with people and accounts that add value to your day.
6.Get Outside and Listen to a Podcast or Music
I am a firm believer in the healing power of nature. Try to spend some time outside every day, even if it’s just 5 or 10 minutes to breathe in the fresh air and reset. This was so important for me when I was in the early days of the postpartum period with both of my kids. Even if you can’t get time away from your kids during the day, put them in a stroller or baby carrier and get out for a walk. Pop a headphone in one ear and listen to a podcast or music. This is the best way to get a break from your kid when you can’t actually get away from them.
7.DANCE
Alright, this one may sound silly, but we’re dancing people in my house. I think at least once a day everyone should put everything down, throw on a few back to back bangin’ tunes, and just dance like nobody’s watching! Mom, dad, kids, dogs, grab the cat if she’s not a scratcher and get loose. I’ve never seen someone dance while frowning. It’s an instant soul booster, a great way to shake out the kinks, and it’s a quick way to reset the mood.
P.S. The more ridiculous you look, the more fun you’re probably having.
8.Gratitude Journal
Positive psychology tells us that gratitude is the key to happiness. Makes sense to me. If we aren’t grateful for what we have and the life we live, how will we ever be happy with more? Set aside time at the end of every day to write something you are grateful for.
I understand it can be tough to find the ”good” in some days. We’ve all had those days that have felt like one blow after another. On those days keep it simple- be grateful to be alive.
Other days are so amazing we could fill an entire book with what we’re grateful for. It is equally important to show up on both days. Be realistic with yourself in this goal. What can you commit to at the end of every day? Personally, I like the number 3, so I commit to finding 3 things every day that I am grateful for. Even on the toughest days, even for the busiest people, 3 things you’re grateful for should be do-able!
You can get fancy and get a pretty journal that you look forward to opening every night, or you can keep it simple and jot them down in your notes app. The important part is that you put your gratitude out there and that you really feel it in your heart.
9.Write 1 Thing You Like About yourself
This is an extension of the gratitude journal. Only this time you’re going to write down something you like about yourself, or something you are proud of at the end of every day. It may seem small but I will be the first to admit that I usually spend my moments before sleep going over a to-do list, stressing about what didn’t get done during the day, and mindlessly scrolling through my phone. Setting myself up for a night of restless sleep and leaving my brain to process more negative stress-inducing thoughts before expecting it to rest.
Listing 3 things you are grateful for followed by 1 thing you like about yourself or are proud of can have such positive impacts on your mood. Allowing your mind to be at peace with the day, and at peace with yourself.
10.Phone Free-Lose your phone for at least an hour a day
We’re addicted to our phones. I’m perfectly honest with myself about this. I use it to FaceTime, scroll social media, pay bills, find recipes, take videos of my kids, write blog posts, research anything on the planet, you get it. The phone is always there, making me constantly available to its pings and delivering nonstop temptation to open the screen and take a quick peek.
This is why I’ve started “losing my phone” on purpose for at least an hour a day. If I’m downstairs playing with my kids, my phone will be upstairs, ringer off-this is key that you mute the phone. Don’t even try to test your willpower with this. You may be strong enough to ignore 1 text, maybe even 2. But the moment someone hits you up with those 5 back to back texts in a row, “ding…ding.. ding ding ding!” you are going up those stairs, 2 at a time to see who or what is about to completely implode without you.
Fifteen years ago people were never this available. If you wanted to reach someone and they were not in their home, you left them a message and they got back to you when they were free to do so.
Ditch the phone, it feels good I promise.
11.Drink Water-Buy Yourself a Pretty Tumbler
Ok, this is nothing new. Water is good for you. Your body and mind need it, so drink up. If you’re like me and you find it tough to get your recommended ounces per day, buy yourself a pretty water bottle or tumbler and make it a goal to fill it a certain amount of times per day. It helps, I swear!
Check out my favorite insulated Tumblers. They come in a ton of cute colors and patterns!
12.Moisturize
I told you these would be simple tips! When I’m rushing around doing all the things, I’ll admit, simply moisturizing my body is something that often gets tossed aside. Give yourself a few minutes at the beginning and/or end of each day to do a good full body moisturizing. Not only is it helpful for your skin, you’ll also get a nice soothing massage- even if it is from yourself. (I’ll take what I can get these days!)
13.Read
I love to read. It relaxes me, it allows my mind to drift off to other places while I’m wide awake, it stimulates imagination, and it’s just plain entertaining. However, after having 2 kids in under 2 years, my time for reading has been cut down to next to zilch.
If you’re like me and reading is your kind of self-care but you don’t have the time, we just have to get creative about it! Choose books with shorter chapters so you can do quick bursts of reading throughout the day, 5 minutes here, 10 minutes there.
If committing to a book isn’t going to work for you right now, read blogs instead! There are lots of great ones out there.. wink wink.
Other great options for busy mamas-poetry or short story books.
14.Take A Relaxing Bath
The keyword here is relaxing. Light some candles, dim the lights, toss a bath bomb in there if you’re feeling frisky, and most importantly make yourself completely unavailable to anyone else. I only run a bath once my children are sleeping. Having your toddler decide he’s gonna climb in the tub with you will turn that soothing bath into splash mountain hell real quick.
15.Forgive Yourself Quickly
Hanging on to past mistakes and punishing yourself for them will deplete you of all of your good energy. I don’t think that should come as a surprise to anyone. I have wasted a lot of time and energy beating myself up for things I can’t change. It’s exhausting!
The past is in the past, leave it there. If there’s a lesson to be learned, learn it and let go. This is something I am still working on every day. I am by no means an expert but like everything in life, it’s a never ending practice.
16.Establish Boundaries “The power of saying no”
Boundaries! This word has been on my mind a lot since becoming a mom. When my life became overwhelmingly busy with a baby I quickly realized that I could not show up for everyone all the time. I learned that it’s ok to say no to a dinner invitation, a birthday, a family gathering if it’s not going to work. I’ve also been learning that it is not my responsibility to keep everyone happy, especially if its at the expense of my peace of mind.
I can’t tell you what your boundaries should be, but I will tell you that it’s important that you establish and stick to them!
Do you have any self-care tips for busy moms? Tell me in the comments below!
And be sure to share this post with the busy mamas in your life!