Life can be chaotic – especially if you’re juggling competing responsibilities as a mum and business owner. However, I firmly believe that as mums we CAN pursue motherhood with a career, as you don’t necessarily give up one for the other. It’s important that mums feel they can retain their sense of identity and continue aspiring to pursue their dreams. 

As both a mum and CEO myself, I learned the importance of setting aside time for self-care is ESSENTIAL when balancing mum's life and business or career.  Self-care is more than just a massage, bubble baths and facemasks. Today on the blog, I want to share with you some tips on how you can take care of yourself —despite being a busy working mum—that worked for me and hopefully with you too!

Create your special place for yourself

There needs to be at least one place within your home where you can carve our some space for yourself to unwind. This may seem cliche but having a place to step away from the pressures of business, and day-to-day life as a parent is incredibly important. If space is limited, consider dedicating a small area in one of your rooms to place a nice lamp, essential oil burner and a chair where you can settle into a nice book or listen to a podcast with some soft mood lighting. Many people fail to realise the importance of ENVIRONMENT and how your environment can assist you or hinder you in feeling a sense of peace.

Find a hobby outside of the business

Though you are both a mum and a business owner, it’s important to find a hobby outside of your career and potentially even outside of your responsibilities as a parent. We often are told to “get out of our comfort zone” and I firmly believe this to be true too. But, this doesn’t just mean in the context of business – it can be in the context of life as well. When was the last time you scheduled some time to play that sport you always loved growing up OR learn a new skill that you’ve been meaning to do forever? This is your sign to book that cooking class, sign up for Summer netball or take an art class if that’s what sets your heart on fire. Inevitably, you will likely find that you experience more benefits than just self-care – in fact, I imagine you will reap the benefits of clearer thinking and more creativity as well.

Schedule “self-care” time

Work and family can sometimes overwhelm us so if you don’t schedule the time, it’s unlikely that you will take a few moments for yourself each day to recenter and recharge. It’s important to set the time aside – whether that is having a few moments yourself when your kids are asleep, having a coffee break, enjoying lunch, tea or coffee time with friends or having a weekend getaway. Sometimes you just need an hour or two to yourself to recharge and reset before getting on with what needs to be done.

Take good care of your body

I cannot stress this enough. Not only do we need a sharp mind, but we also need to have a healthy body to be able to fulfil our roles. 

• Drink enough water. If you struggle to drink water during the day, invest in a Frank Green or Steph Pase Planners drink bottle. They hold a lot more water and it’s a great hack if you find it challenging to drink 6-8 glasses per day.
• Get enough sleep. If you can, aim for at least 7-9 hours of sleep. Sleep is one of the best ways to heal and recharge your body and is often a key standard factor with some of the most talented people in the world
• Good nutrition. Eat healthy and wholesome food, and fill your pantry with your organic favourite fruits, veggies, and healthy snacks so they’re there whenever you need to refuel.
• Regular Exercise. Exercising does not have to be a chore – make it enjoyable. Do your favourite workouts that you enjoy and make you feel good, even walking is already an exercise. 
• Stock up on self-care essentials like epsom salts for the bath, essential oils for home, body oils for skin hydrating, face masks for once a week and candles to make a sanctuary at home.

Sharpen your mind and improve your memory and cognitive skills.

We need to have sharp minds to be at our best so finding ways to alleviate brain fog is incredibly important. Our body and mind are interconnected, so just as exercise improves our physical health, brain workouts sharpen and strengthen our minds. What benefits the body usually benefits the brain as well. Do something creative and mind-refreshing activities or anything that will boost your brain like – writing in a journal, drawing or sketching, reading a book, meditation and even some podcasts.

Stay organised

Controlling the chaos is difficult, but it will be less stressful when you are organised. Use a planner, create a calendar system and write your to-do lists – this will help you manage your time and tasks in an organised way and avoid stress from unexpected things. Finally, you don’t have to do it all by yourself, divide and conquer, get some help and delegate your tasks.

Speaking of organising, I wrote a more detailed version of this topic in another blog post - How To Organise Your Life Better: Simple Habits For Working. 

Cultivate the attitude of gratitude

Appreciate and be grateful for what you have now while you work towards what you want next. Cultivating the attitude of gratitude eliminates negative emotions (like feelings of lack, limitation and fear) and magnifies positive emotions. Many studies also show that having an attitude of gratitude improves our physical health, mindset and well-being, and it also strengthens relationships—in short, it helps you live a more joyful and abundant life! 

Though you may feel superhuman sometimes, remember to make self-care a priority and integrate it into your daily routine. Be gentle with yourself. Start small, and make them easy, doable and realistic. When you are well rested and your needs are met—you can best serve your family and your clients.

Do you have a favourite self-care routine and other tips you want to share? Please share them with me via Instagram DM and I will add them to the blog. I’d love to hear them and I’m sure others will want to know as well!

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