As a mom, some days are tougher than others. With packed schedules, endless house chores, work, and meal planning, the days can blend together. Life often moves so quickly that you find yourself forgetting the last time you actually felt well rested and relaxed.
Being a parent is challenging these days in a different way than previous generations experienced it. If you live far away from your family it may intensify these feelings of overwhelm. Burnout is a term heard constantly in the mom world. It is something that can seriously affect your emotional health. So how can you avoid mom burnout? Read on for some tips.
How To Avoid Mom Burnout
If you are leading a busy life, you have to be intentional with self-care to avoid getting mommy burnout. Here are some tips to be mindful of as you live your day to day.
Get enough sleep
There are many things I sacrifice for the sake of motherhood, but sleep is not one of them. I firmly believe that sleep is one of the most important pieces to staying healthy. Your body and mind need sleep. Give yourself a bedtime and try to stick to it. That may mean putting an end to mindlessly scrolling social media in bed or turning off the tv.
If you are someone who has trouble falling asleep, try a hot bath right before bed. Reading a book, using essential oils, and turning on a sound machine are also good for helping you relax and turn your mind off before falling asleep.
Eat well and exercise
Avoid burnout really comes down to taking care of yourself from the inside out. All the puzzle pieces of living a healthy lifestyle are connected. For example, eating well and exercising will lead to improvements in your sleep patterns, energy levels, and emotional health.
Eating well and getting daily exercise isn’t always easy. I get it. We are busy! I am all for finding quick and realistic ways to be healthy. When it comes to food, making things like smoothies for breakfast and/or lunch is a really easy way to get important fruits and vegetables into your diet with little effort. Head to Pinterest to find a few quick meals that you can put on rotation throughout the week. I find that keeping things simple helps you stick to good habits.
Creating and continuing good habits really begins with having a routine that works for you. Fitting exercise into your day needs to be realistic for your lifestyle and routine. Determine what time of day is best for you to get exercise. Maybe it’s in the morning before your kids get up, or maybe it’s at night after everyone has gone to bed. Make a plan and then just begin. Sometimes starting is the hardest part.
After a few days of consistent exercise, it will get so much easier. Whether it’s walking, streaming a workout video, or going to the gym, any form of movement is going to be make you feel better physically and mentally.
Ask for help
Do you want to know something that sounds really silly when I say it out loud?
Sometimes I forget that my husband can’t read my mind.
Duh, right? But seriously, I forget this sometimes. I find myself mentally racking up the world’s longest to-do list and sometimes even feel resentful because I feel like it’s all on me to take care of it all. If you find yourself experiencing this type of overwhelm, it’s time to ask for help. It’s very likely that the people in your life want to help you, but only if they know you need it.
Determine what you could ask someone to take off your plate. Maybe it’s grocery shopping, or making a doctor appointment, or doing a load of laundry. We can’t receive help unless we ask for it.
Treat yourself
Just because you’re a mom, that doesn’t mean you can’t have things that make you happy. Just like it’s important for you to get good sleep and eat healthy foods, treating yourself from time to time will also help avoid mom burnout. So in case you needed it, here is your permission to sign up for a dance class, go get your nails done, visit a friend for a weekend, or buy a new cozy pair of pajamas from Target!
Think about what makes you happy, whether it’s a material object, an outing, or a hobby. Making time for these things is good for the soul.
Get organized
One way to avoid mom burnout is to decrease your mental load. Sometimes we feel burnout because we feel scattered and unorganized. It’s amazing what decluttering and organization can do for your emotional well-being.
Think about what systems you could put in place to make for a smoother day to day routine. Check out this post to learn about a few free apps that make mom life way more manageable. The next time you have a free weekend, stay at home and put a new organizational system in place that your whole family can get behind. I promise it will make a world of difference.
If you are having a hard day of motherhood today, just know that I think you’re amazing. I hope these tips will help to avoid mom burnout for you. Do you have any favorite mom tips for us? Comment below!