6 Tips on How To Find Personal Time as a Busy Mom
Do you know that feeling, too? You are rushing from A to B, with a little detour to buy some butter and milk, pick up your child at daycare, get the washing done in the middle and ask yourself just before going to sleep why you haven’t accomplished half of your to do list? But you are too tensed up to think clearly about it? Then you need to relax, because if you are a busy mom, you must learn to value yourself as a person and schedule personal time.
Busy Mom Relaxing, Image: Ambro / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
But what is personal time actually? Personal time means you have a right of being a person. Each of us has the capacity to nurture others but that type of care takes energy.
A car is filled with gas to make it run. Eventually the gas runs out and your car won’t move unless the car is replenished with fuel. The same goes for you. Emotional issues can develop when you don’t take the time to take care of your emotional well-being, not to mention the physical results of emotional neglect.
Your personal time refuels the tank so that you can give to your family as well as yourself in equal measure. Please do not be ashamed to sit for fifteen minutes doing nothing. In the springtime, relaxing in a hammock under a tree is the perfect getaway from the pressures of the day. Reading a book for 30 minutes can also seem like heaven to many moms. Or my favorite way of relaxing is with a good book in a hot bath tub.
Here are 6 tips to help you fit in much needed personal time:
- Get up early.
When you have kids, the day begins at a hurried pace. Once you hit the ground running, there is no stopping you. Waking 30 minutes to an hour ahead of time means quiet solitude to drink your coffee, read a book, meditate or listen to music. - Turn ordinary experiences into major events.
When you take a bath, add candles, bubble bath, quiet music and/or an inflatable bath pillow. Your regular bath has now become a spa level experience. If you watch a movie, turn out the lights, pop a bag of microwave popcorn and curl up on the couch. - Ask your significant other for help.
Kids love their mothers but time spent with dad is important too. Let them bond with dad while you go shopping for a new outfit or root around in the garden. Since the time is yours, do whatever you like. - Use the Boy Scout motto.
Always be prepared and you can spend more time in a relaxed mode. Fix lunches the night before. Iron clothes for the next day and place backpacks by the front door so kids can grab them on their way out. The fewer things you have to do throughout the day, the calmer you will be with your family and not experience burnout. - Take exercise breaks.
When you get a few minutes the last thing you want to do is exercise but getting a little physical activity in your day has far-reaching implications. Exercise helps you to think clearly and stretches the muscles. Also, stress will drain away as powerful endorphins are released into your system. Do jumping jacks during a television commercial or jog to the bus stop to pick up the kids. - Laugh at regular intervals.
Keep a funny calendar cube on your desk or subscribe to a daily joke site. Laughing releases stress and can lift your spirits significantly. It also keeps the abs tight.
Please take care of you and be a happy mom! Your family would miss you if you were not around to love and care for them. You owe it to yourself and you deserve a break from the daily hustle and bustle.
Greetings from
8 Responses to “6 Tips on How To Find Personal Time as a Busy Mom”
Latha on 21. March 2012
Great to know, that I am NOT the only overworked mom here
I like the bath time idea… Waking up early is still a struggle for me.
Julia on 21. March 2012
Oh, I am sooo bad with getting up in the morning – and my little one is not! But he already learned not to expect too much talking in the morning and that cuddling is a very good option.
pepper on 21. March 2012
Great, great advice, I love each of these tips. I try to get my exercise in early to make sure it actually happens. I also try and get my boys to exercise with me to help ingrain the habit in them but also burn some energy on days we are stuck in the house.
Julia on 21. March 2012
Hi Pepper, how do you get them to exercise? Right now my little one is still happy with running around, but I think this will not be enough in the long run…
Tiffany (NatureMom) on 21. March 2012
I am really good at getting my personal time but I didn’t use to be. Now I get anywhere from 2-4 hours several times a week, all for me.
Tiffany (NatureMom) recently posted..Getting Back to the Basics in Life
Dominique@Dominique's Desk on 22. March 2012
It’s great that you are getting me time. I’m too scheduling in ME time for myself but it normally happens when the kids are sleeping. It’s quite difficult to wake up earlier then them coz the baby still doesn’t sleep through the night.
Dominique@Dominique’s Desk recently posted..Writer’s Workshop – Rekindling the Love
Chasing Joy on 27. March 2012
Really great post. I’m not a mom but I really appreciate the advice of turning every day experiences into something special. That is something all of us moms or not can do to improve our quality of life and have a more joyful experience.
#commenthour
Julia on 28. March 2012
Hi Joy and thank for your comment. It is true, nearly all the tips for parents (except those about which diaper one should use) are in fact for everyone. I just found that being a mom every experience I make seems to be even more intensive – in a good way.