How to Prioritize YOU: 10 Simple Self-Care Activities for Busy Moms + FREE Self-Care Time Hacker

In my last few posts, I’ve been telling you all about why self-care is so important for moms.

But I’ve also acknowledged some of the challenges moms face when trying to take time out for themselves.

Specifically, I’ve done deep dives on the guilt moms feel when they try to make time for themselves. And I’ve addressed the tricky task of actually finding time in the day that you can spend on yourself.

The reality, though, is that even if you’ve done a lot of inner work to tame mom guilt and reflect on how you’re using your time day-to-day, it isn’t always possible to get away to the spa for a day or go on an afternoon hike by yourself (as nice as that kind of freedom would be!).

Of course, you absolutely should try to find ways to get out of your house for self-care every now and then.

But it’s also helpful to discover activities you can do right at home—while your kids are napping, doing homework, or talking to a friend. After all, if you can find ways to work small bits of self-care into your day, you’re more likely to actually do it. And you’re more likely to have a chance to rest and recharge so you can show up in the best way possible for your family.

That’s why in this final post on self-care for moms, I’m sharing 10 simple self-care activities that you can do without even leaving home.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Here’s the list:

1. Sleep

You might think that sleep doesn’t count as self-care because it’s not an activity and it’s not something that you’re even awake to experience. But remember, anything that’s restorative and helps you mentally or physically recharge is self-care. Plus, sleep is essential for preserving your mental health, reducing your risk of disease, and allowing you to safely take care of your kids when you’re awake. And because sleep is so elusive for moms—especially those with young kids—getting in some extra shut eye is a great way to take care of yourself.

When you’re a mom, there’s always something you could be doing. So the key to getting more sleep is to be okay with giving up a chore or letting it wait another day. For example, instead of staying up for hours after your kids go to bed and trying to tackle every chore you can think of, set a chore timer for 30 or 60 minutes and tell yourself that no matter what, you’ll unwind and go to bed after that. If you have younger kids, you can also put this strategy into action during daytime naps.

2. Eat a Meal and Actually Enjoy It

Before you had kids, you might have taken it for granted that you could eat breakfast, lunch, or dinner at any pace that you wanted to. Sure, maybe you were used to scarfing down breakfast before running out the door to work or feverishly eating lunch between meetings. But you were probably able to eat at least some of your meals during the week at a leisurely pace.

Now that you have kids, though, it’s become a luxury to eat a meal and actually enjoy it. Between holding your newborn, feeding your toddler, or chauffeuring your school-aged kids to activities, you’re lucky to have even 5-10 minutes to eat.

Just like with sleep, though, it’s important to make sure that you’re giving yourself a chance to fuel up properly. When you make time for a proper meal and you eat mindfully, you’re more likely to get the right balance of nutrients for good physical and mental health. But just as importantly, when you have time to eat, you’re more likely to actually enjoy it.

So if you’re looking for a simple way to sneak some self-care into your day, try to eat a meal when you’ll have at least 15-20 minutes to yourself. This way, you’ll be able to sit down, eat at a healthy pace, and actually savor the food you’re eating. You can even try eating mindfully and really paying attention to the sensory experience of your meal to get the most out of your mealtime self-care.

3. Make Yourself a Treat

Just because you’re a mom doesn’t mean that your love for a green juice, peppermint tea, or freshly baked cookie has disappeared. And even though sipping on some juice or eating a cookie might not seem like much, getting a chance to enjoy a special treat during an otherwise hectic or mundane day can do wonders to lift your mood.

That’s why making yourself an edible treat can be a fun and relatively easy way to work some self-care into your day. If you can steal a few moments away while your kids nap or tackle math homework, make your treat and then sit down to enjoy it. Alternatively, you can quickly prep your treat while your kids play nearby or eat dinner and then enjoy it while spending time with them.

It’s amazing how much easier it can feel to watch the same kids movie for the 20th time or play with Lego for the fifth afternoon in a row when you can drink your favorite tea or snack on your favorite treat at the same time.

4. Enjoy Quiet Time

Another way to log in some quality self-care time without leaving home is to create space in your day for a quiet activity. For example, maybe you spend some time journaling or soaking in the tub after your kids go to bed. Or perhaps you read a book or meditate while your partner supervises your kids. It doesn’t really matter what you do as long as you give yourself time to just be with yourself and do something rejuvenating.

When you get quiet time alone, you have a chance to reconnect with yourself, learn more about who you are, and process anything that’s been on your mind. This keeps you from losing yourself in the hustle and bustle of mom life. And it allows you to confront difficult thoughts and feelings as they arise instead of pushing them down until you can’t contain them any longer.

5. Give Yourself a DIY Spa Treatment

When you have a family who depends on you, it’s harder to make time for regular spa days. But this doesn’t mean that you have to miss out on pampering yourself. Because instead of always going to the spa, you can give yourself a DIY spa treatment right at home.

Depending on what you’re in the mood for and the supplies you have on hand, you can do an at-home facial, treat yourself to an exfoliating body scrub, or give yourself a manicure. Enjoy the actual treatment, the chance to spend some time alone, and the opportunity to relax and catch your breath. You can even take the tranquility up a notch by playing some spa tunes and lighting some candles.

6. Do a Hobby You Love

Do you have a hobby you enjoy that you can do right at home? Carve out some time during your day to do it! Whether you enjoy writing, painting landscapes, cooking, or making furniture, there are a whole host of fun hobbies that you can do when your kids are napping, watching a movie, or working on a school project.

When doing a hobby as self-care, just be sure that what you’re doing is something you actually enjoy and not just a chore. Some moms might find it really relaxing and fun to try a new recipe or search online for décor ideas for their living room. But if these activities sound like chores to you, don’t spend your self-care time doing them.

Also, don’t feel pressured to do something that would seem “productive” to your partner or kids. If knitting blankets is something you find soothing and restorative, spend your time doing that—even if you’ve already made blankets for everyone you know and have no one else to give them to.

7. Turn On Some Music

If you’re looking for a self-care activity that’s super easy to do (even when your kids need your attention), play some of your favorite tunes. Any music that you enjoy works. So feel free to put on something relaxing that you can meditate to, a song with an uplifting message that can pump you up for the rest of your day, or a high-energy track you can dance to.

The great thing about playing music is that you can do it just about anywhere. For example, you can play music in the car while waiting to pick up your kids from school, through headphones while watching your kids’ basketball practice, and even in the kitchen while whipping up dinner.

You can also select the type of music that best fits your needs on a particular day. For instance, you can play something slow and soothing when you need to catch your breath during a hectic day and put on something upbeat when you need an energy boost.

8. Do an Online Workout Video

Was exercise something you used to love doing for self-care? If it was, remember that you don’t need to be able to make it to the gym (or even out of the house) to get a workout in. Instead, you can stay active right at home.

With just a yoga mat, a device, and Internet access, you can stream just about any kind of workout video on YouTube and follow along for free. If you’d like, you can also buy basic home gym equipment, such as dumbbells and a resistance band, for more specialized workouts. And you can even use a dedicated workout app if there’s a fitness platform you really love.

It’s true that working out at home feels a bit different from exercising in person at a gym or attending a group fitness class. But the upside is that when the online world is your oyster, you can choose from a much wider range of workouts than what you’d be able to do at any single gym. And you don’t have to worry about commuting to the gym or finding a class that fits your schedule.

9. Schedule a Call with a Friend

Kids take up a lot of time and energy. So once you become a mom, it can be tough to find time for other relationships in your life. That said, it’s incredibly important to maintain the friendships that matter to you—even if you have a hectic schedule. After all, your kids are cute. But the conversations you have with a 3-year-old or even a 12-year-old can be only so fulfilling. Nurturing adult friendships helps you stay connected to the world outside your home and maintain a support network.

If you can’t get out to actually see friends in person, try scheduling a call with them. This way, you can get a chance to connect even if all you have is 30 minutes or you don’t know for sure when your kid will go down for a nap. Because you won’t be leaving home, you can save the time that you’d spend getting ready. And you can even choose to catch up at an odd hour of the day (like 6 a.m.) that wouldn’t necessarily work if you were meeting up in person.

10. Plan an At-Home Date Night

When you have kids, it can be hard to find quality time to spend just with your partner. But even if you can’t make it to a restaurant or to the movies together as much as you used to, you can still invest in your relationship by planning date nights at home together.

For example, maybe you can order in dinner from a fancy restaurant and eat it together while your kids tackle schoolwork. Or perhaps you can make treats and watch a movie together after your kids go to bed.

When you put in the effort to set aside quality time to spend with your partner, it gives you a chance to connect with them, nurture your relationship, and enjoy the bond you share. It also allows you to soak up the love from one of the most important relationships in your life while savoring some much-needed downtime.

Self-Care Is Possible Right at Home

Like many tasks, self-care can be more challenging to do when you’re a mom. But it’s 100% possible to fit into your days—even if you don’t have a chance to leave home.
As I’ve alluded to above, the key is finding simple and relatively brief activities that you can easily weave into your existing daily schedule and even do right at home. This way, you don’t have to worry about deconstructing your schedule, hiring a sitter, or navigating a traffic jam when you’re already exhausted.

The activities I’ve shared in this post are great to use as a starting point or source of inspiration when you’re trying to figure out what relaxes and rejuvenates you. But even once you identify activities that seem feasible to integrate into your busy days, it can still sometimes be a challenge to block off time for yourself and protect it from other obligations.

That’s why I’ve developed a FREE worksheet for you called the Self-Care Time Hacker.
It’ll help you identify the self-care activities that are right for you and actually carve out protected time to enjoy them during your week.

And if you haven’t done so already, follow me on my Facebook page Vera Velini – The Assertive Happiness Coach. That way, you’ll be among the first to hear about new blog posts, resources, and master classes.

See you again soon!
Vera

P.S. Worried that if you set aside time for yourself it means that you’re taking time away from your kids? Watch my video on why making time for yourself is one of the best things you can do for your family.

SHARE THIS: