A working mom has to maintain the balance between home and office, which gives her more responsibility in addition to parenting tasks and household chores. If you’re a working mom, practicing self-care is crucial in keeping up with the demands and avoiding burnout.
Self-care involves doing anything to take care of yourself to stay physically, mentally, and emotionally healthy. It has also been clinically proven to reduce anxiety and depression, minimize frustration, and increase happiness. Help yourself manage your duties as a working mom better with these seven ways of practicing self-care. Read on.
1. Go out with friends
Being a working mom doesn’t mean the end of your social life. One way to practice self-care is to spend time out with your besties. Don’t lock yourself in at home with your kids and get overly exhausted. While it’s true that spending time with your children and husband is great, there are times when you just need to be with friends.
Schedule a date with your friends and try some new restaurants or coffee shops. It can be a relief to catch up with them, like having casual conversations and sharing each other’s experiences — just like the old times.
2. Treat yourself
Juggling between work life and mom life can be overwhelming at times. But don’t be too hard on yourself. Instead, treat yourself by doing something that relaxes your mind and body. For example, you may go out, have your nails polished, or have your spa day.
When leaving the house is not an option, tuck your kids early, soak your body in a hot bath and relax, releasing all your stress and worries. Self-care doesn’t have to be expensive, after all.
3. Nourish your mind
Being too overwhelmed in balancing working and being a mother often results in forgetfulness. Well, self-care can be in the form of nourishing your mind with new knowledge. Give yourself time to read a book— about life in general and something spiritual to guide you on life choices.
You may also play crossword puzzles to sharpen your mind and refresh your brain’s functioning. And if you feel loaded with too much information from work, engage yourself in meditation that helps you relax and manage your stress.
4. Try something new
Being a working mom doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t be doing anything other than going to work and attending to your children. That’s not true. In fact, you deserve to be doing so much more.
Practice self-care by trying out something new, fun, and thrilling activities. For instance, you can experience indoor rock climbing, get your adrenaline up, and burn some calories while you’re at it. Completing the tracks boosts your confidence and can help you feel more rejuvenated.
5. Unwind sometimes
Working moms can still have fun despite how busy they are. Another way to practice self-care is to unwind occasionally. It doesn’t have to be doing it outside your home or spending too much on luxury vacations. You can always de-stress at home and prepare something that will relax you.
For example, you can watch a movie while eating your favorite snack and forget all the troubles that stress you out. Or, you can snuggle to bed early, plug in your earphones, and listen to your favorite music until you fall asleep.
Read more: 11 Best Places to Travel for Solopreneurs (Because You Need to Relax!)
6. Enrich your skills
Working moms might have a tight schedule, but allotting time to enrich their skills can be part of self-care. Allowing your skills to grow and develop is essential in improving your self-esteem and increasing your self-worth.
If you love cooking, watch youtube videos and try a new recipe. On the other hand, if you’re into painting, buy some materials and try them during your spare time. Paint whatever is in your heart, or perhaps paint something according to what you feel in the moment. It’ll surely relax you.
7. Invest in your health
Above all, self-care is about investing in your health. Working moms can be prone to over-fatigue and lack of sleep resulting in sickness. While you take care of your family, don’t overlook yourself and neglect your health needs.
Consult your doctor for any body pain and unusual symptoms you might experience. Spare time in the morning to do a quick exercise to boost your mood and energy. Drink plenty of water every day and take your supplements. When you’re healthy, you get to be a productive working mom!
Listen to the podcast: Interview with Rita Farruggia, who has created a successful business around helping women source amazing products for self-care
Conclusion
Being a working mom is admirable and something to be proud of. And though you have responsibilities to uphold, you deserve some rest too. Self-care is not about being self-indulgent; it’s about being healthy enough to perform your duties effectively while appreciating your self-worth and importance.
After all, you don’t have to spend too much money or neglect your responsibilities. Anything you do to make yourself feel better is a form of self-care. There are countless other ways to practice self-care, but you can start with the seven tips on this list.