I once thought that self care was the little new buzz term or ‘on-trend’ topic that everyone was throwing around with no real added value. You see I’m a bit of a worker bee, so sometimes taking a break, to me, simply equals laziness. An obscure way to think about it, I know. But it was not until I kept getting to the point of utter burn out and was wondering why, that I realized how my life was calling out for just a little “self care”. My body, mind and spirit were telling me that I needed a break. A time to refuel, recharge and renew. And not just a one time deal. Something that would break the burn out cycle. So, I wanted to share a few things that I’ve learned that may help you as well in these 5 Self Care Tips for Busy Moms and Dads (or anyone for that matter).
5 Self Care Tips for Busy Moms and Dads
Realizing the importance of self care.
That is the first step. It’s realizing that self care is not selfish. This was also something that I kept getting hung up on. But really, not only is self care not selfish. I will go as far as to say that it IS vital, essential, and necessary to live our best life. Body, mind and spirit.
Creating a self care plan.
This starts with reconnecting/connecting to the things that bring joy and peace into your life. You can start by simply making a list and utilizing things on your list in formulating your self care plan. For me, I know that it is a must that bible study and reading be included in my plan. As well as, prayer and worship time daily. I’ve also learned that working out truly does help to relieve anxiousness. So, you will need to think about things/activities that help bring you back center; mentally, spiritually and physically.
Protecting your time.
So many things are jockeying for our time. But for this tip, take the needed time for yourself to make an assessment of all the things that you have going on. And then rid yourself of things that no longer fit the vision that you have for yourself, your family, career, etc. Time is such a precious commodity.
Investing in yourself.
You are important. Your future is important so invest in yourself. Is there a hobby that you love or something that you’ve been putting off doing for a while. A class, a certification or even a degree that you would like to seek for yourself. This can be rolled into your self care plan.
Choosing accountability.
If you are like me, you need a self care accountability partner. Basically someone to check in with to see if you are taking the needed steps and time to care for yourself. Mine is my husband. He’s been helping me tremendously in this area. By pushing me to take time when he gets home, to get a way for a bit just to digress. Since I’m around the kids all day with homeschool. He’s also put some spa time in the budget and actually schedules these for me. As he knows that I wouldn’t do it for myself. Hence, the importance of an accountability partner.
I hope that you found these 5 Self Care Tips for Busy Moms and Dads helpful and a great start to thinking about your self care. I’m excited to be chatting and sharing this topic with you. So much so, I think I’ll do a follow up post just to discuss a self care plan in more detail!