Practicing Personal Self Care with a Busy Life - day 13 UBC

When I was able to work, there were days I burned the candle at both ends (figuratively speaking) in order to get everything accomplished in a day's time done.

Not only did I have a full-time job working 8 - 10-hour days, but I was a mom of three children, a wife, and I also had other obligations outside of the home. (i.e., boards, Praise Team, Bible Study, and PTA just to name a few). Below are pictures of my three children and me. The bottom photo also has my mom in it and my #2 child. These were taken between 1984 and 1994.

Many nights, I'd be washing clothes at midnight, vacuuming the house after the kids were put down for bed, and ensuring the kitchen was cleaned up before settling down for the night myself. The next morning, the cycle started all over again.... get up two hours before everyone else in the house did, take a shower, get my makeup on, and fix my hair. I'd then prepare breakfasts, lunches (if needed), and then wake up the three kids ranging in age from 10 - 2 years old. 

I'd get them ready for school, pack their lunches, make sure they had something to eat for breakfast, and out the door, we went...there was no time for self-care. I was caring for three little people and their needs. My needs always took a back seat to everyone else. Can you relate? I could have used some self-care tips back in the day, trust me! I should have learned that two-letter word NO many years ago! 

By the time I arrived at work, I was exhausted from the hectic schedule I maintained with little sleep most days. Now mind you, my kids are grown and have families of their own. I'm no longer working - - but there are days I feel like I still burn the candle at both ends with little to no sleep. I can thank my health for this today. There is a difference today though, I've learned how to ask for help if I need it with the housework and preparing the meals. There are even days I just don't do anything. I can't...and I don't! 

Trying to balance personal self-care with the busy life I led seemed almost impossible to my family, but I did it. Day in and day out...no, this wasn't and isn't healthy. Burn out was setting in. Frustration was setting in. Days were beginning to run into the next and I began getting sick...

I needed to balance my busy life, but how? Back in the day, for several years, I was a single mom (the middle photo above, I was a single mom with a newborn baby and two older children) - I didn't have the luxury of having a partner to assist with the housework, the cooking, the financial assistance, etc. I just had to figure it out. Like I mentioned above, self-care wasn't even in the equation other than the morning routine of showering (and in most days, that was rushed) out of necessity. 

I had routines. These were necessary to keep my life in check and keep me sane...but at times, even the routines were difficult to manage. But I did it...when I think back to how life was back in the day; I'm amazed I accomplished all the things I did. But guess what...I did it! Sure, I could have done things differently now that I think about them, but then - I just had to manage and manage I did. 

Do you have a busy life? If so, how do you balancing it all? 

Continue reading along to learn how to tweak a few things in your life to balance personal self-care with your busy life. 

How to Balance Practicing Personal Self Care with a Busy Life

One of the most difficult challenges a lot of people face with self-care is finding the time to fit it in. When you live a busy lifestyle, it can seem almost impossible to find extra time to look after you.

So, how can you balance practicing self-care with a busy lifestyle? Here, you’ll discover some great tips you can follow.

Schedule it in

A good tip you can follow to ensure you can fit self-care into your busy routine is to schedule it in. Think about it, you schedule in everything else, so why not self-care? When you set a time to focus on yourself, you are much more likely to stick to it. No matter how busy you think you are, there will always be time for self-care somewhere in your schedule.

Establish a morning routine

If you are struggling to find the best time of day to practice self-care, you might find it easier in the morning. If you’re a busy parent, you might disagree here but think about it. In the morning, you could get up just 30 minutes earlier, or 15 minutes if you want. This can be the perfect opportunity to practice self-care.

Alternatively, if you are a parent you could focus on self-care in the evenings when the kids have gone to bed. It doesn’t take long to practice self-care so you should always be able to squeeze it in somewhere.

Look at automating daily tasks

There are all kinds of tools and gadgets that can automate various aspects of our lives. If you are constantly busy, you’ll find automating certain tasks can be a game-changer.

For example, you could switch from going to the grocery store, to ordering groceries online. If you have items you frequently purchase, these can be added to your favorites list, making it easier to add them to your order next time. Doing your grocery shopping online can free up a lot of free time during the week that can be used on self-care.

Start small

You don’t have to start by completely overhauling your lifestyle. Instead, you can start small with self-care. Begin by taking just 10 minutes out of each day to focus on a self-care activity. Focus on developing one positive self-care habit at a time. Once you have mastered that, you can move on to the next task.

By starting small, it makes it easier to fit self-care into your busy life. Many people mistakenly think they need to begin with at least 30 minutes a day. The truth is, however, much time you can free up for self-care is enough. Once you get started, you’ll find it easier to start focusing more on self-care due to the benefits you experience.

Overall, balancing practicing self-care with a busy lifestyle isn’t easy. However, the tips above can really help. You’ll find a lot of tips online too from busy people just like you. Remember, self-care is essential to your health and wellbeing. So, no matter how busy you are, you should always try and make time for self-care daily.

Now that I have given you the equation of how to balance personal self-care with a busy life, what is the first thing you are going to change? Do you feel you would be able to manage life better if you were able to implement a few changes that enhanced balancing your self-care and busy life? 

Drop me a comment and let me know how you could achieve balancing personal self-care in your busy life. 

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