Decide To Make Time For You

Deciding to change your routine is hard. Really hard. You know what I’m talking about, mamas. You wake up, get breakfast for the kids, empty the dishwasher, wipe up some spilled milk, take a sip of your cold coffee and turn around to see it is already 9:30. You go through the same motions every. single. day. You put your heart and soul into taking care of everyone else, but along the way you have to stop and remember to give yourself some love too.

I’d been putting myself on the back burner and about a month ago, I had a moment where I finally broke down. Between homeschooling a kindergartner entertaining a toddler, cleaning up after said children, cooking healthy meals and trying to spend some time with my husband, I was running on empty. The time I use to spend reading a book, taking care of my skin, exercising or going to get a haircut was nonexistent and I was feeling it. So I took out my planner decided to be more intentional with my time. I wrote down when I would do the little things that would fill me back up and man, do I feel better!

Here’s what I did:

• Committed to a live-stream group exercise class with my bestie during nap time.

• Set aside two nights for writing.

• Dubbed Saturday night “Skincare Saturday” so I could invest some quality time in deep cleaning and taking care of my skin.

• Chose one night to completely unplug with my husband and binge some Netflix shit.

Those simple adjustments made a world of difference in my attitude and patience when it came to the regular stuff that might have otherwise had me swearing under my breath with frustration.

I’m not saying life is all unicorns and rainbows just because I’m taking care of me again, but my outlook is much more positive and I’m feeling more in control of my days.

Are you taking time for self-care? If not, hey, maybe pick one thing that fills you up and do it for 30 minutes once a week. You gotta start somewhere! You can do anything you decide to do, sister. You just have to — decide.