4 Ways to Introduce Self-Care Into Your Normal Routine
Running a household is exhausting. You’re not only responsible for managing your own routine, but those of your partner and children. Plus, you have to worry about caring for the house and your family’s finances. It’s a lot to handle, and when you work a full-time job in addition to your normal household duties, it’s easy to get stressed. Fortunately, there are a few simple things you can do to incorporate more self-care into your regular routine.
Start Meditating
Meditating is a great way to relax and relieve stress. It gives you a chance to clear your mind and refresh a bit before tackling a long to-do list. And the best part is, you don’t need a lot of time to meditate.
When you’re ready to start implementing meditation into your normal routine, you can take an introduction to meditation class to help you understand the basics or you can watch videos or use an app to guide you through meditating until you get the hang of it.
Once you get a handle on meditating, it’s easy to incorporate into your already busy lifestyle. Try meditating for 10 minutes in the morning before the rest of your family gets up or right before you go to bed to help you relax.
Exercise Regularly
You might not have enough time to incorporate a two-hour workout into your routine every day, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have time to exercise. Consider taking brisk 15-minute walks several times per day instead of exercising in one long stretch.
When you exercise, it releases natural endorphins, which improve your mood and give you a burst of energy. Also, exercising is a great way to clear your mind so you can focus on the rest of the things you need to accomplish during the day. Also, if you’re still trying to shed a bit of baby weight, exercising is one of the most important weight loss tips a busy mom can follow.
Eat Healthy
Healthy eating has a lot to do with how you feel throughout the day. For example, if you load up on carbs during lunch, there’s a good chance you’ll feel really sluggish before 2 p.m. and have a hard time navigating the rest of your day. So one of the best ways to take care of yourself is by doing your best to eat healthy.
Of course, eating healthy isn’t always simple when you’re trying to feed a family, especially if you have picky eaters. You can make the process a lot easier by prepping your meals in advance. Consider spending one day per week preparing your family’s meals for the rest of the week, including lunches and dinners to make your day-to-day responsibilities easier to manage. At the very least, prep some snacks for the week so you have healthy options available when you need to grab something quick and go.
Keep Things Simple
When you’re a busy mom, the way you manage your time is important. You probably don’t have much extra time to spend taking care of yourself so it’s important to keep things simple. Instead of trying to squeeze in time for long self-care sessions, consider doing mini-sessions throughout the day. For example, when you practice self-care, you could do mini one-minute meditation sessions throughout your day instead of long 10 to 15 minutes sessions. This way, you’re still checking in with yourself and your thoughts, but you aren’t spending a significant stretch of time doing it.
Remember, it’s important for you to take care of yourself so you can better take care of those you love. If you aren’t practicing self-care on a regular basis, you might find yourself stressed and overwhelmed, which makes it even harder to get everything you need to do during the day done.