Sometimes we think self-care is being selfish. But, let’s face it– as moms? We need to make time for self-care. Here are 30 days of self-care ideas for busy moms to use. Follow the suggestions or switch them out for your own ideas.
How to Create a Self-Care Plan that Works for You as a Busy Mom
Self-care isn’t a one-size-fits-all type of deal. Just as each person is unique, self-care plans should be individualized as well. When pursuing a plan for self-care, it’s necessary to analyze your current lifestyle, answer a few questions and make a few decisions.
Know your why
The first step to developing your self-care plan, is to know why you need to have this plan in the first place.
What are you trying to fix or restore?
If you aren’t clear on your why for your self-care plan, it won’t matter very much in the long term. Be perfectly honest with yourself and figure out the main reason behind your self-care routine.
Choose strategies that fit
As a busy mom, you’re probably not going to find the time to get a one-hour massage every week. Or a self-care routine that works for one person may not work for you. I personally cannot stand having my feet and hands touched, so a manicure/pedicure is out of the question.
Beyond that, however, your self-care strategies should serve one of the following categories:
- Psychological
- Emotional
- Spiritual
- Physical
- Social
And, between you and me? I’m not very enthused about that social bit unless it’s on my own terms.
Schedule it!
If you are going to take care of yourself, you need to make time for yourself. This is not being selfish because let’s face it — if you don’t take care of you, who will? Ultimately, we need to rely on ourselves. And if that means making time for your self-care, do it.
I put my daily exercise on my planner and my Google calendar so it syncs with my phone. I have this time for me, I am not going to miss it.
Follow-Up and Reassess
Finally, you’ll want to take a look at your self-care plan every week or so and see where you need to make changes. If self-care is becoming stressful, it’s really not beneficial anymore.
Daily Self Care Ideas for moms
If you are not already practicing self-care, one way to start is by incorporating a daily habit.
Chances are part of your daily routine already consists of a few self-care habits and you don’t even realize it. Do you take a daily multivitamin? Read a daily devotional or practice another meditation technique to get your mind, body and spirit aligned for the day?
Anything beneficial you do for you could be considered a self-care tactic. The problem is we don’t take enough time to participate in self-care routines, or even notice the ones we already employ.
Somehow our priority lists include everyone but ourselves. But if you really think about it, by neglecting self-care you also neglect the others that depend on you if you can’t put your best foot forward.
First of all, we need to ditch the idea that self-care is indulgent and selfish. When you purchase something new that means a lot to you, you probably pay special attention to taking proper care of it so it will last and remain in the best shape possible.
When referring to a self-care “routine” it doesn’t necessarily mean the same thing, day in and day out. That might work for some, but others feel the monotony and get bored. If you need to switch things up, go for it. This is all about you taking care of you.
Don’t let self-care be intimidating or allow time constraints to fool you into thinking self-care habits are impossible. Again, you should be a top priority or nothing else is going to get your best efforts.
For example, you can try one of these ten-minute self-care ideas:
- Meditate in the morning
- Watch the sunrise/sunset
- Sit still
- Declutter an area of your house
- Practice mindfulness
- Stretch
- Take a walk
- Catch up on your favorite podcast or blog
And if you’re in need of a few more ideas? I’m sharing 30 Days of Self Care ideas in a printable calendar!
Kori
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