Self-Care for Busy Moms: Make Your Wellness a Priority

Mama! Repeat after me: “Self-care is not selfish!” When you’re a busy mom, you need to make sure to prioritize you’re health and wellness because when you take care of YOU, you are the best version of you for everyone else. Sooo, let’s chat self-care for busy moms. We’re breaking it all down! Self-care ideas, self-care tips, fitting it into your busy schedule, all the things.

If this is helpful, let’s connect on social media @daniellemgodfrey. I share lots on this topic on my page as well.

Self-Care for Busy Moms in your Physical Health

Your overall health makes a huge difference in how you show up in the world. It affects your relationships, your energy levels, how you feel, your confidence, literally everything. I truly believe I am a better mom when I take care of my own health.

Now, trust me, I get it. You’re BUSY. You don’t have time to do a 60 minute workout at the gym. I couldn’t imagine trying to “squeeze” that into my schedule. That’s why I use home workouts that I can do straight from home, in my living room, with the kids running around and playing beside me. Nothing crazy but I follow programs so I know I’m working my entire body.

Each month, I host a wellness community where we come together as women and busy mamas to prioritize our health, cheer each other on and hold each other accountable to our goals. This community and making wellness my job has been the best way to stay consistent in self-care and my overall healthy lifestyle.

Read more about my wellness community

Read more about making your wellness your job and partnering with me

My best tips for prioritizing your physical health as a busy mama:

• Find something you’re excited about that you can stick with (nothing extreme)
• Find a friend you can do it with or a community to hold you accountable and make it more FUN (if it’s more fun you’ll likely stick to it)
• Get it done first thing! This is totally my preference but I love waking up early and getting my workout in before the kids wake up. There’s just something so nice about having this time to yourself in the morning before the craziness of the day starts!
• Make it your job (or side job). When you get paid to share your wellness journey and help others get started, you make it a priority and have a higher accountability. (Read more above!)

Self-Care Ideas for your Mental Health

Your mental well-being is a huge part of your overall wellness. Prioritizing your mental health can look like many different things and I encourage you to try things out to see what works for you and what makes you feel your best.

Some ways I focus on my mental health:

• Read personal development
• Listen to personal development podcasts
• Journal
• Read my vision and affirmations daily
• Meditate

Other ideas to focus on your mental health:

• Have a dance party
• Call a friend
• Use a meditation app
• Turn on essential oils or candles

Tips for the Working Mom who’s Short on Time

Working mom, I feel you because I am you. Life is crazy when you have a full-time job, are caring for your littles, doing all the household things, try to have a social life, pour into your marriage oh and make sure you take care of you! There always seems to be just so little time for the working mother.

Here are some tips for you mama to enjoy living a healthy lifestyle EVEN when you are so busy:

• Meal plan and prep so you have healthy food options throughout the week and don’t need to think about what you’re having for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
• Wake up before your kids/family wakes up so you have an hour or so to yourself to pour into you and do something right away that makes you feel good!
• Brain dump all your to-do list items that need to get done on a weekly (or even daily) basis, categorize things by personal, household chores, work, family appts, etc
• Schedule everything. If it’s not on the schedule, I promise you won’t “magically” make it happen.

Daily Routine Ideas that Incorporate Self-Care

Having a daily routine that incorporates self-care is so important. Self-care for busy moms isn’t separate from your life, it’s APART of your everyday life so make it apart of your daily routine and it will become second nature.

First thing you need to do when setting up your daily routine and where you’re going to fit your self-care in is think about 1. what your self-care is, 2. what’s realistic for the season you’re in, 3. what your current schedule is and 4. where you can fit in your self-care activities.

This is my daily routine and ways I fit in self-care to my every day schedule:

• 4:30/5 – Wake up
• Quiet time – this is where I read my vision, journal, read personal development, say positive affirmations
• One or two tasks for my wellness business
• 6ish – Workout – usually my workouts are between 20 and 30 minutes all from home
• 6:45 – Shower and get myself ready, then get the kids ready
• 7:30 – Breakfast for the kids, make myself a superfood shake and grab or make breakfast/lunch to bring to work
• 8 – Out the door for drop offs and to head to work, during my commute I listen to a podcast or a leadership/team call for my business. Fitting in personal development during a commute has been a great way to incorporate more wellness!
• 8:30 – 3 – Work my full time job
• 3ish – go to pick up the kids
• 3:30 – 6 – family time! Making dinner, hanging out with the kids, bath time, (usually I try to sneak in some laundry or a household chore), wind down time
• *A couple times a week I have a team call for my wellness business in the afternoon. This totally contributes to my wellness and self-care because this business is my passion and the ladies on my team have become some of my best friends! I truly believe everyone should have something that they are passionate about that they pour into outside of work and motherhood. Something just for you!
• 7:30/8 – Kids go to bed
• 8 – 9:30 – I do something for my business, wrap things up that I didn’t finish in the morning, also spend time with my hubby
• 9:30/10 – Bedtime routine – Brush teeth, wash my face, think about my gains from the day, set out my workout clothes for the next morning

So now that I’ve shared mine, how can you fit in things that would support your overall wellness? If you look at your schedule and approach it creatively, you can find ways to fit it in seamlessly!

Other Ideas

Okay so of course I have to share the “typical” things you think of when you think of self-care. These things all have a time and a place BUT I encourage you to find self-care that can be intertwined into your every day routine. Self-care for busy moms does NOT need to be extreme. It needs to be consistent small things you do that contributes to your overall wellness.

Some other ideas of ways you can incorporate self-care for busy moms:

• Adult coloring books – something relaxing when you just need to zone out
• A spa day – I mean obviously incredible
• Participate in a book club – something to work on your mental health, in community
• Wuality time with your partner or best friend
• Using a delivery service like Instacart to save time and do something more important to you
• Getting a certain number of hours of sleep depending on what you need
• Having a cup of tea or coffee in peace
• Take a bubble bath – isn’t this what we all think when we think of self-care? I do love a good bubble bath though!
• Reread your favorite book
• Do a face mask
• Listen to an audio book

What are other ways you show yourself self-care and pour into your wellness? I’d love to hear! If this is helpful, let’s connect on social media @daniellemgodfrey. I share lots on this topic on my page as well.