A Simple Guide to Self-Care Practices for Working Mothers
The post gives you a plan to implement self-care practices for working mothers.
If there was ever a sub-group of people who needed to prioritize self-care, it’s working mothers. We tend to put ourselves on the backburners because there are so many other areas in which we need to spend our time. But, as the old adage goes, you can’t pour from an empty cup.
It goes without saying, but I’m not a doctor. I am a teacher with a thirty-five minute commute each way to work, and, for the past five years, I have been listening to audio books and podcasts on the topic of health and self-care with a mission to improve myself for the quality of life for me and my children. Not sure how many hours that quantifies to, but I thought I would share with you what I’ve learned.
In this post, I want to suggest that you focus on three areas to improve your self-care because these are the basic concepts. Feel free to go into depth on any one of them!
Three Areas to Improve Self-Care for Moms
- Health
- Time Management
- Feeding the Soul
Why Must Your Health Must Be Protected?
Doing what you can to maintain your health is vital in so many ways. Do you want to make sure that you can chase after your kids? Keeping up with your health can be the difference between failure and success in that way.
Let’s face it, most of what we do is for our children anyway, and yet we discard making the choices that will do the most for them and for us. When my children were younger, I spent a lot more time eating poorly and sitting around. This made me feel too tired to actually enjoy those precious moments I had with them.
I hated how I felt and that I wasn’t the mom I could be. So, I started doing research in the form of books and podcasts. The information was overwhelming at first, but I tried to find the common threads that all of them focused on.
What are the Most Common Topics in Self-Care?
- Sleep
- Exercise
- Healthy Diet
I know. It’s a no-brainer, right? Again, I’m not a doctor, but these made sense and have tons of research to back them up. Do you want your body to run at its best? You should be trying to improve in these areas each day.
I will tell you, that when I started prioritizing these three items, I did see improvements in my general mood within days. I was happier and calmer and could think more clearly than before.
Why Is Sleep So Important?
The way I like to think of sleep is that it’s the reboot time for our brains and bodies. It is the chance for cellular waste to get cleaned up and for the brain to do what it needs to keep us operating. I first learned of the importance of sleep from Shawn Stevenson a podcaster and author who spends a good amount of time sharing with his audience the importance of sleep.
Prioritizing a good sleep schedule has made a significantly positive impact in my operation on the day to day. On those terrible days where I don’t get my optimum sleep (8 hours). I feel it. I can’t think clearly, I’m more moody, and I’m simply not as nice!
What Role Does Exercise Play in Self-Care?
I really don’t like exercising. I mean, once I get started, I’m ok with continuing, but I hate getting ready to go to the gym, but I force myself to go because I want to reap the benefits. And I do! When I walk out of the gym or finish up with a home workout, I feel so much better!
What type of exercise is best for working women? The consensus is leaning towards weight lifting. Dr. Gabrielle Lyon has been my guru when it comes to learning about the long-term benefits that are compounded with each session.
And, if you ask me, it’s preferable to cardio. It has helped with my back problems and allowed me to get up off the floor easier than when I was twenty years younger. Plus, I love seeing muscle peek through at times. I’m not sure if I’m the only one who sees it, but I absolutely love how it makes me feel.
Exercise is so important for long-term health goals and for immediate feel good moments.
Healthy Diet
Again, it sounds a little obvious, but we are still swiping the chicken nuggets off of our children’s plates and grabbing to-go snacks instead of planning for healthier options. I’m slowly fading all of the junk food out of my house so that it isn’t there calling my name anymore.
Keeping my protein up has always been a challenge for me because I would much prefer my carbs, but when I set my protein to the suggested 1 gram per pound of target body weight (which has been touted by so many doctors and people in the field of health), along with keeping an eye on the other macros, carbohydrates and healthy fats, my constant exhaustion dissipated quickly. Dr. Gabrielle Lyons and others point to finding a balance within your macros to help find balance in your diet. Give it a try, you may find you like it. I use the app Carb Manager to help me keep track of what I eat. It’s free!
If you’re looking for high protein, healthy chicken, try my air fryer chicken cutlets found here.
{Related Post: Fast and Simple Chicken Bruschetta}
Time is Precious-Treat it as such
That is not to say that every moment has to be accounted for, but, as moms, we are always running around for the family and the home. If overwhelm is at play, it’s time to figure out what you can do that will help alleviate that constant feeling of stress. Time management is not a one-and-done type of thing -especially with kids in the mix. Each month, heck, each Monday is so very different. But, if we think a little ahead and chart out the non-negotiables, we may be able to alleviate some of the stress we feel.
How to help manage your time:
- Setting boundaries
- Scheduling Time
- Asking for Help
Setting Boundaries
I’ve never been good at saying no to people, but as my kids started getting older, I saw that skill as important for them to observe as well. It’s not healthy for us to constantly say yes to everyone if it adds stress or makes us push our plans off. If you set a time to go to the gym, don’t tell someone you can help them during that time! By committing to yourself, you are able to provide the ones you love with a version of yourself that you’re happy with.
Scheduling Time
Many people tout the importance of scheduling your time; however, it can be very overwhelming for moms to sit down and chart out what they’re doing and when. Like, you already don’t have time, now you’re scheduling time to schedule time!
You can’t make it a negative in your mind. By sitting down before the week begins and drafting doctor’s appointments, meetings, sports, etc, You gain CONTROL of your week. You know where you have to be and when. With this information in hand, you are able to see where you can help others. Don’t forget to schedule in time for your self-care priorities or else you will never make the commitment to making the changes you want to make.
Asking for Help
If you’re a type A personality like me, then this can be difficult, but oh boy does it make a difference. Whenever you have a big meeting or event at work, see who can help you in some way. It doesn’t have to be big; it just has to help get the overwhelm off of your mind.
Remember, people love to help (don’t you?), so give them the opportunity to show up for you.
Once you start to honor your time, you find that you can carve out a little for yourself, and that’s a HUGE form of self-care. Moms have a tendency to keep going until the last bit of energy is used up and then they crash. If you make the promise to yourself that you will be more intentional with your time, you are not only helping yourself, but you’re showing up for the ones you love in such a better way.
How do You Feed Your Soul?
I really couldn’t put a word on this, but self-care isn’t only the physical part of you, but the spiritual and emotional component as well. While the suggestions listed above do help with the overwhelm and stress we feel daily, there are significant gains that can be had by exploring the world outside of you and your family.
Amazing ways to feed your soul:
- Spend time outdoors
- Engaging in hobbies
- Learning and growing
Spend Time Outdoors
We love our homes, but going out into nature has so many health benefits. The chemicals in our brain are in a close relationship with nature, so it’s no wonder we can go for a walk outdoors and feel the stress of the day melt away.
Knowing this should be the kick in the pants to schedule time to go outside for a walk.
Learning and Growing
This one is my favorite. Taking the time to learn is vital in keeping us in good cognitive health. By activating the brain to take on new challenges, we are offering ourselves the opportunity to grow in different knowledge bases which will, in turn, make us more confident. Learning doesn’t have to be a college course. It can be in the form of listening to people well-established in different fields and digesting all you can on a topic.
The goal of learning and growing isn’t always to implement it in a career. It can be learning a new skill like knitting to learning how the brain makes decisions. Now that we’re older, we are able to spend time learning about things that we are passionate about. With the internet, it is so much easier to explore different topics with podcasts, YouTube, and audio-books as some of the top channels to gain knowledge.
How Do You Create Time for Self-Care?
I hope this wasn’t overwhelming. My goal was to touch upon the basics, but you can do a deep dive on any of the topics covered here (that can be your new learning goal). It’s also not about being perfect but getting better.
Start slowly and build. What can you focus on this week? Is it prioritizing sleep? Making sure that you increase your protein? Maybe it’s learning. It doesn’t matter. If you start off small, you will want to continue. If you try to tackle it all, you might be overwhelmed and quit.
Self-care is about showing yourself love and caring for yourself. Do what you can and build.
If you have any great ideas to add, comment below. I would love to hear them.
The goal of this post is to provide information on self-care practices for working mothers.
