Easy Self-Care Ideas for the Busy Mom

You need self-care, especially as a busy mom!

Staying home with my girls is the greatest gift I could ask for. We get to have countless hours of play, cuddles, and hilarious moments! I will always be grateful for having them home.

However, this isn’t to say I don’t get mom burnout. Constantly caring for others, and not to mention balancing working full-time at home, can drain me by the end of the day.

When you work 24/7, it is a whole new challenge of finding downtime. When do I get time to myself? It can be difficult to be selfish and want self-care time as a busy mom. But I am here to tell you: you need to take time to give back to yourself.

I heard a saying of “you can’t pour from an empty cup” and it is so accurate as a busy mom. You can’t give your kids and your work your all if you don’t have anything to give.

This didn’t dawn on me until I had a work week full of tasks with a deadline, and two toddlers who were having a really bad day. Everything was going wrong. When my husband got home, I went straight into autopilot and taking care of dinner, spending time together, the works.

It wasn’t until the end of the day where I finally caught my breath and thought wow I need something to do to escape. Now, this isn’t a post to complain about motherhood, but a post to empower you as moms to realize it’s normal to need a break.

When you bounce from one job to another it can be easy to lose the job of taking care of yourself.

Do you ever feel you are on auto-pilot? Has it been a while since you have been kid-free? Are you feeling mom burnout? Keep reading if you are nodding your head yes to these!

I feel like I am finally starting to figure out this are in my life, so I have compiled easy self care ideas for busy moms.

I think what has been key for me is communicating my needs to my spouse. Letting him know I need a break and I’m going to go do such and such ensures for stress-free time! It has been a game changer to know that I don’t have to be burnt out alone and that we can be a team when it comes to self-care.

( I’ve also made a similar post for ideas for stay at home moms)

Relaxation time is a great reboot.

I love to decompress best by relaxing. Naps, laying down to read a book, a nice bath, or sitting outside in the sunshine are great ways to give back to me.

I typically don’t nap until the weekends (because nap times for them are the optimal times to get work done) and it is a great way to gain energy back!

Bubble baths are so relaxing, especially with a bath bomb and some of my favorite music. It’s a great way to get my mind off things and shut out the day before.

Find a hobby or creative outlet.

During my journey through motherhood, I have bounced between a few hobbies as I figure out what I enjoy. This in itself has been a fun journey.

I love taking some time to enhance what I’m doing and try new things. This was especially helpful when I found myself going into autopilot and having redundant days. Painting, cooking, taking photos, playing with makeup, gardening and blogging are all hobbies I have found joy in.

If you want to learn how to start a blog I created a post for you! My blog has been my greatest outlet to pour into myself (as you can see). I have made it a goal to write once a week and it gives me something to look forward to. I have written several posts to help other moms get into blogging because it has been such a great outlet for me as a mom to connect with other moms! It has been the best self-care as a busy mom for me!

Anything that allows for creativity is a great way for us busy moms to shift the energy into positive activity for us. For me, social media is a place of joy and takes my mind off things, so I count scrolling Instagram and Tik Tok as a form of self-care too. That’s the cool thing about self-care, you can spend it how you want!

Get Out of the House.

Working from home with children left me a hermit and I wouldn’t get out for days on end. I found it very important to just go for a drive, go for a quick shopping trip, or go to workout classes.

Getting out of the house, without your kids in tow, is such an understated self-care time for moms!

These can be a quick 10 minute trip, or a few hours, whatever you feel you need to breathe.

Schedule out me-time.

Yes, you heard me. If you are a planner (which if you are a busy mom, I’m sure you have a to-do list somewhere), add something for you to that list. I have found if I don’t plan something, it gets missed and doesn’t happen. So I show up for myself and make sure I have time for myself!

We are busy mamas, and it can be that you are just so into autopilot that you forget to pencil in time for yourself.

Whether you decide to wake up before the kids to have this time, during nap times, bedtime… Put in the expectation that you will do something for yourself today. For me, I experience a mid-day crash.

We wake up early and immediately go into our routine, so I make note of when I will have some quiet time in our day. This allows me to take on the rest of the day and have a pick me up to help me through.

Something to remember with self-care time as a busy mom

Moms, I want you to take guilt-free self-care time. I think that is the most important piece in all of this. It is normal to need time to yourself! You are more than a mom and if you are anything like me, you may struggle to ask for help.

There is a saying “it takes a village” that I’m sure we have all heard, but easily forget. Raising children is no easy feat and can’t be done alone. Ask for help, make time for yourself, and fill your cup mama.

If you have experienced mom burnout, what methods of self-care helped you through? I’d love to hear your experience in the comments!