Catherine Way Shares How To Create A Mom-Friendly Self-Care Routine

Self-care conjures the ideas of bubble baths, facemasks, and spa days, but for the modern mom, it couldn’t be further from the truth. Many modern moms struggle to balance family life, self-care, and the overall health of their families.

Self-care is often the last thing on any busy mom’s mind. While the laundry list of to-do items for their house often is prioritized over their health. Self-care is often too little too late, while most focus on it after they have gotten sick or burnt out.

That is why it is important to create a routine that is easy to follow, recharges, and prioritizes healthy living for any busy mom, like me!

Identify Your Needs

While self-care is extremely important for your physical and mental health, knowing what you need is more important than sampling all that’s out there. The last thing a busy mom need is someone telling them t take on everything at once.

One of the most important steps in creating a self-care routine is identifying what you are lacking or what you need. Is it an outlet for stress, relaxation time, or maybe both? It is much easier to create a routine when you have a clear end goal in mind.

Self-care isn’t one size fits all, so it can take time to try new self-care methods to find what leaves you feeling recharged. I’ve listed some of my personal favourites below.

Self-Care Ideas For Relaxation

• Meditation
• Reading
• Skincare Routine (Face masks, etc)
• Meal Prepping
• Journaling
• Baths

Self-Care Ideas For Stress Relief

• Going For Walks
• Exercise Classes
• Yoga
• Creative Hobbies: Painting, Drawing, or Music

I tend to focus more on stress relief, but use any of the above when needed. Because I only focus on one self-care activity, I can feel accomplished and be sure I dedicate the time I need to recharge. As a mom, finding time for yourself can seem impossible. It is much easier to find some time for yourself when you know exactly what you need the most.

Blocking Out Time For Self-Care

Any mom knows that calendars fill quickly, and there is no shortage of things to do. This is why blocking out time for self-care is a necessity for building out your self-care routine! For many moms (myself included) it’s more about finding the time!

This is why one of the most important steps to creating a self-care routine is time blocking. Time blocking is simply setting any small time aside on w weekly basis for specific tasks. For self-care, this can be set 15 minutes aside on Thursday evening to read a book or do a face mask.

By simply setting a hard time and date in a calendar every week you can easily make sure to fit your self-care into a schedule. You may find that it is easier to find gaps during different times of the day, such as morning, or afternoon depending on your schedule.

When it comes to time-blocking for your week, you can also use it to spend time with your family, and plan outings or walks. You can easily find ways to manage your schedule and prioritize your self-care through time blocking.

Turning a Routine Into A Habit

Often many turn to self-care because they are fallen off the deep end. They are burnt out, stressed out, and just feeling overwhelmed. With a healthy self-care routine, it’s important to make it a habit so those feelings of being overwhelmed are a thing of the past.

Our self-care time must be a regular staple of our routine, not the last resort. So how can you turn self-care into a habit?

Habits are second nature, whereas a routine is something you have to actively work on and think about. By using time blocking, and routines that we enjoy you can find it easier to commit to over time.

My best advice for anyone looking to make self-care a habit is to start slowly. Don’t over-commit and stress yourself about self-care. It is much easier to set small pockets of 5 to 10 minutes once or twice a week, and slowly grow your routine from there.

Summary

As busy moms, it’s important to take time to take care of yourself and keep your mental and physical health in peak condition. That is why it is so important to build a self-care routine that works well for you.

How To Create A Mom-Friendly Self-Care Routine

• Identify Your Needs
• Blocking Out Time For Self-Care
• Turning a Routine Into A Habit

What’s your top self-care tip?

About The Author

Catherine Way is the Marketing Manager at Prime Plus Mortgages. She has created content for the following industries: Marketing, Real Estate, Mortgage, Finance, Business, Real Estate Investing, and many more.