With balancing a full-time work-at-home job while taking care of our son full-time at home and trying to find quality time with my husband, I was starting to feel a bit like I was losing myself in the mix. Who was I becoming? Why was I putting myself last on the list? When was I going to take care of myself?
When was the last time I actually focused on myself?
As a mom, we’re pulled in a million different directions throughout the day. Motherhood is the most challenging yet rewarding chapter of life. So, I’m asking you to focus on yourself a bit. It’s a new year which means it’s a fresh start. There’s no better time than now to start thinking about you.
Remember, it’s not selfish to take care of yourself.
15 Things Every Mom Should Do This Year
1.) Find “Me Time”
We wake up early, go to bed late, and always feel connected. We are all busy. Many of us are beyond tired. So many of us just want a tiny break, even if for just a few minutes. This “on-the-go, keeping-up-with-the-Joneses, always have to be bigger and better” lifestyle frame of mind can leave you feeling tired, frustrated, or inadequate.
Rarely do we have time to sit back, reflect, and enjoy the moment. What good are you to your family and friends if you’re running on fumes all the time? “Me time” can range from seconds to minutes to hours. Here are simple ways to find “me time.”
2.) Create Work-Life Balance
I spend a lot of time on my computer working, blogging, researching, and reading. When I wake up in the morning, I check my email on my phone and scroll through my social media accounts to get caught up.
Throughout the day, I’m hopping on and off the computer as I respond to emails, write blog posts, and promote on social media. When my head hits the pillow, I do one last check of emails, respond to anything that’s urgent, and scroll through my social media accounts one last time before I shut it down and fall asleep.
Throw in a two-year-old, a husband, and two dogs and I’m constantly trying to find a work-life balance. That’s my resolution this year.
3.) Start Each Day Happy
The sun isn’t up yet, the baby monitor is yelling at you to get up, your eyes feel like a million pounds, and you have the day ahead of you weighing down your shoulders. All you want to do is keep the blinds closed, crawl further under the covers, and get more ZZZs. But, you have the day ahead of you to conquer. So, how can you start the day on a happy note? Here are 10 simple ways to start each day happy.
4.) Find a New Hobby
You’re so busy taking care of everyone and everything else. But, where do you come into the picture? For me, I’m all about having a hobby. Hobbies are so incredibly important. My hobbies include writing on this site, cooking, listening to music, decorating my home, taking photographs … the list goes on and on. Without a creative outlet, I would lose myself in the mix of everyday life. So, how does one go about finding a hobby? Here are tips on how to find a new hobby, along with 25 hobby ideas.
5.) Maintain a Happier Life
Look at a glass as half full. Money can’t buy happiness. Happiness is a choice. How many “happiness” sayings do you come across on a weekly basis? Happiness, when achieved, can fill up your love cup, make you feel so confident, and can give you that extra pep in your step. With everyday stresses—whether it be your job, family life, friends—happiness can seem hard to obtain let alone maintain. Here are five simple ways to live a happier life.
6.) Buy New Clothes
I’m not suggesting that you spend hundreds of dollars on clothes. If your budget allows it, then by all means, have at it. However, if you feel odd spending money on yourself when you could buy your kids more clothes or if your budget doesn’t have much wiggle room, then just pick up a new shirt or pants at your local discount store. As a Mom, clothes can show signs of wear and tear pretty quickly.
I remember when I went shopping with my mother-in-law this past fall. I kept putting clothes in the cart that were perfect for my son. I came across a shirt I liked and she insisted I put it in the cart and buy it for me. She was so excited that I actually wanted to get something for myself. Even something as small as a new shirt will help you feel confident. That ignited a flame … I recently bought a few new pairs of boots and some shirts and couldn’t wait to get dressed every day.
7.) Get a Haircut
A few days before I had my son, I went to the hairdresser and got my hair, knowing that I wasn’t sure when I would see myself back in the hairdresser’s chair. Boy am I happy that I did that. 18 months later and about a billion split ends later, I visited the hairdresser and had to get my hair chopped again because it was in rough shape.
Eight months later, I was back in the hairdresser’s chair. I’m trying to grow out my hair so my most recent haircut (which was done a few weeks ago) put my hairstyle in a great position to have it grow out to a longer length. This haircut made me feel so great and gave me a fresh feeling.
8.) Focus on Your Health
How can you take care of others if you aren’t healthy? You don’t need to go to extremes to live a healthier life. I’m all about simple fixes to help me live a healthier life. Here are 10 simple ways to live a healthier life.
9.) Focus on Relationships
When was the last time you went on a date with your spouse or significant other? When was the last time you talked to your best friend? When was the last time you talked to a family member?
10.) Get More Sleep
Easier said that done, right? I’ve always been one to stay up late and get up early. I can function on very little sleep. I claim that I don’t need eight hours of sleep in order to function. Throw a toddler into the mix and I find myself changing my tune.
No longer can I pull a few hours of sleep and be able to spread my time among my husband, child, home, job, family, and friends. Oh, and find some “me time” too.
Everyone is busy. Everyone has a laundry list of stuff to get done every day. Everyone has a million and a half things to juggle day in and day out. But, one thing is very important. Everyone needs sleep.
11.) Document Motherhood
Moms, I have a challenge for you. Step in front of the camera. Document your life with your babies. Document yourself. Document the best times, the hard times, the tired times, the fun times. Before we know it, times passes by in the blink of an eye. Today, I made a gallery wall full of some of my favorite photos. I showed my husband the result and he said, “This is awesome but one thing is missing. A picture of you.”
As a photographer, the only photos I have of myself are usually selfies that I take with our son. I always feel awkward asking my husband to take a photo of me. And, half the time, it’s usually a rushed photo opp. This year, I want to change this. Who’s with me?
12.) Check Off a Nagging Item
For a few years now, I’ve been wanting to print my photos and get the photos into photo albums. What have I done over the past few weeks? My husband bought me an amazing photo printer for my birthday, I downloaded the printer’s app, and I purchased photo paper and an album. I’ve been printing photos nonstop and inserting them into the slots of the photo album.
This has been a nagging task on my list for years and now I’m on my way to crossing it off the list. What item has been on your to do list for a while? Put plans into place to tackle that item this year.
13.) Travel
Whether it’s a staycation or a trip far away, squeeze in a quick trip to help you gain perspective, escape your everyday routine, and get a breath of fresh air. Travel is so important for so many reasons.
14.) Shake Up Your Beauty Routine
Let’s face it, with all of the running around we’re doing coupled with everything else that we have on our plates, sometimes it’s a miracle if we can just change out of our yoga pants and put on cute jeans and a top. You resort to the same hair and makeup routine day in and day out.
It can be so easy to slip into a routine that focuses very little on yourself. The thought of spending a little extra time on yourself seems impossible. But, what if I told you that there are simple ways to shake up your beauty routine? Here are simple ways to shake up your routine.
15.) Ask For Help
Yes, you’re a mom and you can do it all. But, when I thought I was doing it all, I was also losing myself in the mix. So, technically, I guess I wasn’t doing it all because I wasn’t caring for myself as well. If you need help, ask for it. As they say, it takes a village.
This list can seem a bit impossible. But, if you tackle one thing at a time over the course of the year, you’ll start to feel a bit more content, in control, joyful, organized … the list can go on and on. So, go ahead, just pick one, tackle it, and let me know how it goes.
What will you do this year?
[…] also decided that I really need to focus on #11 in this post. As I said in the post, as a photographer, the only photos I have of myself are usually selfies […]