If you’ve never quite managed to build self-care habits, NOW is the time to do it. As a busy mum, you might be devoting all your free time to your kids, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But you can’t really give your loved ones your best if you don’t take care of yourself, too.

If you’re reading this today, it’s a good reminder that looking after yourself should always be a priority. Some ideas may need small adjustments depending on your lifestyle or circumstances, but the key is to make these tips work for you and apply them in a way that feels realistic and sustainable.

You know how, on a plane, the safety briefing tells you to put on your own oxygen mask before helping your children? That principle applies to everyday life as well. You need to take care of yourself first in order to truly support others.

I’m not talking about leaving your kids with the grandparents while you enjoy spa days and manicures here. It’s often the most basic needs that we mums tend to overlook. Here are five tips to get started with self care.

1. Get more sleep

This might sound obvious, but hear me out. What do you normally do when you have an endless to-do list? If you’re like many mums, you probably stay up really late until you get everything done.

But you’re doing yourself a disservice by skipping sleep. It has a powerful impact on how you feel, both emotionally and physically. In fact, a lack of proper sleep can even cause health problems. That’s why you should address sleep as one of the first steps in your self-care routine.

You’ll also get through your to-do list much faster when you’re well rested.

Take a look at your bedtime routine and find ways to improve it, like avoiding screens right before bed, keeping caffeine to a minimum in the evening, and ensuring your room is dark and cool for a good night’s sleep.

2. Make good food choices

I’m not going to tell you that proper self care involves going on a diet. It doesn’t, especially if you’re at a healthy weight. There are often simple ways to improve your daily meals and boost your energy levels. Eating more plant-based foods can help, as well as reducing excess sugar, which often leads to energy crashes and fatigue.

You can also add more immunity-boosting foods to your meals. Vitamin C–rich options such as red bell peppers, broccoli, and citrus fruits are easy places to start.

If you have a slow cooker and you’d like to cook more variety in it, have a look at DIAF: Slow cooking & fast batching. You will learn how to take any recipe you find online and adapt it to cook in your slow cooker, getting an equally delicious dish – which I also teach you how to batch cook.

3. Move more

Have you ever heard people say they’re addicted to running? I know, that might be the last thing you think could ever happen to you, but a “runner’s high” is real. Exercise boosts your mood by releasing feel-good endorphins and reducing anxiety and stress.

You’re probably too busy to go to the gym every day, but any movement is better than none. Maybe you can start doing a short yoga video in the morning or walk laps around the football field while your son has practice. Or perhaps you just want to turn on your favourite songs and start dancing around your living room.

Developing self-care habits shouldn’t be about dread, so choose an activity you love, and be sure to change it up from time to time!

4. Schedule some “me time”

Time-outs aren’t just for misbehaving kids. You need some time-outs, too, and making them part of your daily schedule can go a long way toward helping you manage stress and keep a good work-life balance.

Even if you can just set aside 15 minutes, it can make a big difference, whether you use it to go outside for some fresh air, sit quietly and sip of a cup of tea while looking out the window, take a warm bath, or read a good book.

5. Don’t feel guilty

Mum guilt is real. Your family needs you for a lot, there’s no question about it. And you might feel guilty about spending any amount of time, no matter how small, on yourself when you could be devoting it to them.

But as hard as it can be to tell your daughter you’re not up for another round of Monopoly when you really need to get in the shower, you need to just start doing it. Explain, if necessary, that developing self-care habits is important so you can be the best mum possible.

Don’t apologise for going to get a haircut, and don’t feel bad for letting the laundry pile up because you feel like watching TV once in a while. The world won’t end if you take a few moments to yourself, so don’t feel bad about it. It’s never too late to get started with self care!

If you liked this blog post, you might want to check out ’10 self-care practices I say yes to daily’.

Love,

Nakita xxx