You hear it all the time – love yourself, give yourself some self-care. But in between the kids, the husband, the house, the job and who know what else, it’s amazing you find time to pee never-mind finding time “for yourself”.
I mean, isn’t peeing alone classed as time for yourself??
When it comes to deciding whether to doing a load of washing or doing the dishes over spending precious time on yourself – well, we know what wins every time. I mean the kids need clothes to wear, right!?
But I’m here to tell you that you NEED to make self-care a priority. It is vital for your well-being and mental health.
It will help you balance your emotions and let be honest, who needs that more than mum’s with toddlers?
John Duffy Ph.D, a clinical psychologist and author of the book The Available Parent: Radical Optimism for Raising Teens and Tweens, defined self-care as “attending to your own needs such that you are content, focused, motivated, and ‘on your game.’”
Putting yourself first can make you feel selfish because it’s a practically our job as mom’s to put everyone else first.
You need to stop feeling guilty about making time for yourself because if you don’t you are stressed, exhausted and have less energy to give to others. Caring for yourself means you are able to care more for your family and friends.
Let’s be realistic. You’re a mom and our spare time is very limited. I get it! I mean, the time I spend working on this blog is built all around nap times and bed time.
So, considering we don’t have hours in the day to devote to self-care I’ve curated a list of self-care activities that you can do in 15 minutes or less. 15 minutes might not seem like much but you’ll be amazed at how good you feel by devoting this time to you and you alone.
1. HAVE A CUPPA
How often do you actually sit down and enjoy a HOT cup of tea? It might seem really simple and a boring way to practice self-care but it’s amazing how grounding a cup of tea can be.
Find a flavour of tea you really enjoy. Take this 15 minutes to be really present and mindful. Take time to brew it properly, feel the warmth run through your hands as you hold the cup, sip it slowly and really savour the flavour.
My favourite tea flavours are:
White Tea
Lemon & Ginger Tea
Honey Lavender Stress Relief Tea
Just put all your focus on the tea until you have finished it. How great does it feel to not think about anything but your cup of tea for 15 minutes!?
2. MEDITATION & MINDFULNESS
Have a 15 minute meditation session. The benefits of meditation are scientifically proven to reduce stress levels and improve your overall health.
Just a few minutes can calm your mind and help you relax. Meditation allows you to be mindful and focus on the present and stops you thinking about the past or future.
People mistakenly think that meditation is clearing your mind and thinking of absolutely nothing, but this is actually hard to do.
Find a quiet place and somewhere comfortable to sit, close your eyes and just focus on your breathing. Listen to your breath going in and out. Focus on your chest rising and falling with each breath.
When a thought enters your mind, let is pass through then return to focussing on your breathing again.
Meditation is something that you should try to make part of your daily routine because you’ll be amazed at how great it makes you feel.
3. WORK UP A SWEAT
Yes, you can really work up a sweat in 15 minutes. And boy will you feel good after. Find a way to move your body that makes you feel good. It can be as simple as going for a walk, or stretching or doing yoga or a 15 minute HIIT session.
Research shows that short bursts of exercise as just as beneficial as 45-60 minute long workouts.
Not only is exercise vital to your health it also increase endorphins which improves your reaction to stress and makes you feel happier.
4. PAINT YOUR NAILS
It may not be for everyone, but spending some time on making yourself look good can also make you feel good. If you’re like me, my toenails are ALWAYS painted red. I just like them that way. It makes me smile when I look down and see pretty red toenails.
If this tickles your fancy too then spend some time to give yourself a mini pedicure to get your tootsie’s looking all cute again.
5. COLOUR
Colouring has been shown to have stress reducing benefits. It is said to calm the part of the brain, which deals with the fear/stress response while stimulating the part of the brain responsible for creativity and logic.
Colouring allows us to switch off our brains from other thoughts and focus on the present moment. It allows us to relax the brain by focusing on a simple activity. This is awesome to do if you are someone who struggles to meditate.
If this is something you want to try, check out my Mandala Coloring Book downloadable PDF for free (normally $14.97 on Amazon).
6. GIVE YOURSELF A MASSAGE
No, seriously, this is an actual thing. There’s an Ayurvedic ritual called Abhyanga which is “oil massage” and it’s one of the purest forms of self-love.
Take your favourite oil. Mine is sesame oil but others prefer something like coconut oil. You can also add some nice essential oils if you want to. My favourite essential oils are:
Rosewood
Clary Sage
Lavender
Lemongrass
I like to do this in my bathroom under the heater lights so that I stay nice and warm. And, you basically massage yourself with oil. Take one limb at a time and rub the oil in with nice, long strokes towards your heart.
It is SO relaxing and there are also the obvious health benefits to massage as well as having amazing looking, moisturized skin.
7. GET SOME SUN
Just go outside in the sun and get some fresh air for 15 minutes. Take your cuppa (or wine) out with you if you’ve made one.
We all need our daily dose of vitamin D. The benefits of sunshine are undeniable. I’m not talking about going out and burning in the hot sun and risking skin cancer if you live somewhere with intense heat but you know the kind of sun I’m talking about.
The kind that just warms you up and gives your cheeks a rosy glow. Vitamin D is a crucial ingredient for overall health.
I hope you can start to implement some (or all) of these self-care rituals into your daily or weekly routine. It’s so important for not just us mum’s, but everyone, to realize that you need to show yourself love so that you perform at your best and give your family and friends the best of you.
