Self-Care for Working Moms: Embracing The Need of Caring for Yourself

Self-Care View

Where does self-care for working moms stand in focusing on working moms today? Working outside the home is challenging enough, adding to the home obligations that are constantly increasing. Will you ever have the time and energy to meet the demands of both sides?

It’s real that moms are seen like worker bees in a hive. The worker bees take on different roles inside the hive. They tend to the young ones, bring food for the pack and help keep the hive going. Without the worker bees, the whole hive can have a standstill. No output and no support.

Working moms carry this role: to be available and cater to everyone’s needs. You wake up and take care of your family. You clock in and out at your 9-5 job. Then you go home and manage the household. You strive to be present in everything about your kids and your spouse. Then you hit the sheets and do it all over again tomorrow.

There isn’t enough time to focus on self-care for moms while working outside the home. Finding quick ways to incorporate self-care activities can be tough for working moms. Time constraints can be a huge factor, and setting up one’s priorities is another.

My reality then…

It was difficult when I was a full-time nurse and a mom. The pressure of being 100% focused at work while thinking about home. While at home, the occupying thought if I’ve done what I needed to do at work before I left. There was always a crossline between my job and my life at home.

Balancing work and home always seems to find ways requiring me to multitask. I should be able to. Since I’m a mom and my professional life needs just that. I found out the hard way.

Because I didn’t feel the need for self-care was really that important, I felt drained after every 3/12hrs shift. Not as much from the physical, but the mental and emotional area is where I struggled the most. Don’t get me wrong, I loved my job as a nurse, and I love to help people.

Then, making sure my home obligations are met. People who depend on me are cared for. The house is kept at least to a minimum of acceptable cleanliness. Everybody is alive and well despite the chaos.

Something had to change; I chose to put myself first. At first, it was tough to re-adjust my life and my schedule. However, as I got into its rhythm, it became easier and more manageable to do self-care, even in short bursts during a hectic week.

 

Why Self-Care is a Must for Working Moms

Self-care is necessary for all working moms. This 5-step process is the way to regain your footing, recharge your being, and promote wellness.

Mama, if you keep doing the bare minimum for yourself to keep going, eventually, it will catch up on you. The total overload between home and work can change you inside. There has to be a way to unwind and reset for working moms. You have to choose what and when you’re going to start.

No one can deny that when working moms juggle home and work responsibilities, it can cause undue imbalance and may result in them reaching a breaking point. Instead of thriving, you are in survival mode.

As a mom, you bear it all. You are more than willing to do what’s needed at the expense of your sanity and health. You give all until you can’t give any more. Plus, add the pandemic to your overflowing plate.  

RELATED POST: How to Incorporate Exercise into your Daily Life

Glancing at recent surveys about working moms

According to an article in TODAY Parents, early this May 2021was released about, a survey conducted by TODAY Parents showed “83% of moms feeling burnt out by the pandemic parenting. More than two-thirds of moms (69%) reported feeling overwhelmed, according to our unscientific online survey of more than 1,200 moms, and 64% shared that the past year has been extremely hard.”

Now more than ever, working moms need the support they can get from work and home life if you’re working for a company that is sensitive to the needs of working parents and can offer options for flexible workload or fewer hours – GREAT!

What about those working moms who don’t have these choices afforded to them? They are who are going to be the most vulnerable or burnt out in the workplace. 

This situation can also be hard for moms who are just returning from maternity leave to the workforce. Re-entering the workforce needs careful adjustment and company involvement in the transition.

Some may need new accommodations, such as pumping milk during break times for babies at home. Some may cut back some hours/shifts to be there for a sick newborn. How the company supports these mothers will reflect on the values that the company itself upholds. In turn, supported mothers are more than willing to put their best efforts into work.

According to the analysis conducted involving 226K mothers by Great Place to Work’s Annual Study of the Best Workplaces for Parents. The analysis showed a “28% greater chance that working mothers will experience burnout than working fathers. Additionally, 2.3M are the estimated number of additional cases of burnout among working mothers due to unequal demands of home and work.”

Looking at these numbers, working moms are not only struggling but very much depleted overall. So how can we put self-care in front of working moms? 

Knowing the benefits of doing self-care for working moms. 

 

• Grounding and Energizing – it’s a soul searching and body-boosting activity. Your overall wellness is taking center stage.  

 

• Aligning Self – Choosing yourself by doing self-love and care. It clarifies what you need—asking the right questions and seeking solutions that are right for you and your busy life.

 

• Addressing Mom Guilt – being a mom comes with this intense feeling. I wouldn’t know how it is for you because it comes in numerous scenarios for every mom.
  • Take the time to acknowledge – you can’t be there for everyone; there’s only one you.
  • You think you fail when you don’t meet those needs. It’s perfectly okay to feel this way. Much easier to handle your emotions when you know where you’re coming from.
  • Caring for yourself is not selfish. It’s self-love and self-preservation.

The 5Fs: Realistic Tips Working Moms need to address before creating a Self-Care Plan

• First Small Steps – you don’t have to dip with your whole being in one go. As a busy working mom, take each step at a time. Choose one activity at a time and build on it.

 

• Fold and look inward – sit down and breathe. Search within what can make your life easier and better. Your priorities and goals. What can be done now and others the next? What makes you happy?

 

• Follow a Schedule – it’s fun to be spontaneous. But, when you mix it with your work schedule and home routines – it can become what keeps you from doing self-care. Manage your time well. Sticking to a schedule, you’ll know what to expect at a given time. Although, adjusting to anything in a snap is one of your strengths being a busy mom. Block a time for self-care to be consistent.

 

• Find Hacks to lessen the load – Home management can become mountainous work. The climb is never fun! So then, when you find what works to keep your household going, employ it—having online grocery deliveries, getting everyone to pitch in, being humble to ask for help from your circle, and hiring professionals to help with kids/housework. You get the gist of it.

 

• Flush out distractions – what comes first on your distraction list? Take note of what keeps you from achieving your daily tasks at home and work. When you have the answers, move on to keep them to a minimum or schedule them in a time block (20mins a day or so). Try not to overdo it, or you’ll waste time instead of being productive.

The 5 Steps Process of Self-Care

Take the brave step of creating your self-care plan. It is a process that walks you through from step 1 to step 5.

Moms can apply this in creating their personalized self-care plans. I understand how limited your time is as a working mom. The windows of self-care opportunities are so rare that even every ounce of your being wants to grab them. 

Let’s explore each step within the context of Self-Care.

 

• Assess
  • This step is the part where it all begins for you. But, first, write down who you are as a person, including your strength and weakness. 
  • Look closely at each aspect of your well-being: Physical, Emotional, Spiritual, and Mental. What is lacking? Are there any holes that need filling? What can you do to promote self-love? Ask the hard questions. 

 

• Identify
  • Based on your answers above, write down what needs improvement, growth, or cut-offs.
  • Old unhealthy habits might pose another challenge for you. Commit to yourself in this change.

 

• Plan
  • Reflect and create your personal, realistic goals. Focus on your short-term goals for now. Long-term goals will follow. 
  • You can create a vision board for these goals and refer to them whenever – hiccups happen.

 

• Implement
  • Make time! Create it! You can’t practice self-care without carving your own time. As busy as you are now, make a conscious effort to pause each day and do your favorite Me-time.
  • Taking your time to practice each self-care activity before adding another one will get you going. 
  • Start simple and be consistent about it. 
  • Give yourself to commit to 7 days of self-care. Short-term goals, remember? Then add in more days or weeks until it becomes a habit for you.

Related post: Self-Care Tips for Working Moms to Avoid Burnout

 

• Evaluate
  • When you finally reach to measure your actions and how they affected you, sit down and look back to what happened in a week, a month. The outcome of your renewed self will be a reward. See the person who chose to transform positively.
  • Re-adjust your time management, add more or take less of your chosen self-care activities. 

 

 

Self-Care Summary:

To start self-care, recognize your own need for it and what you are expecting to get from it. Realistically, following the 5Fs will prep you for creating your self-care plan. Then use the 5-Step Process of Self-Care to begin your own self-care journey.

Life can hinder practicing self-care and even your own personal growth. Working moms are challenged to do a balancing dance between work and home every day. It’s not going to go away even if you perfectly do so. However, doing self-care for working moms is quite possible if you choose to do it.

When you’re tired and depleted, your coping mechanism gets tousled around. How you handle it – is entirely up to you. How you feel afterward is manifested by your attitude, relationships, and life in general.

If there’s anything you need to do now in your demanding mom life, take a moment for yourself. Put yourself on top for an hour, a week, or so. Let this commitment be engraved for self-improvement and self-love. Because by choosing yourself – you also ultimately choose the people you love and be the best in your career.

If you’re interested in starting your self-care journey today, download the Self-Care Worksheets below for FREE. Jumpstart Yourself Today!

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Do you want to learn more about self-care for moms?

• Physical Self-Care for Moms

• Self-Care for Moms in this Hard Year

• Ways to Incorporate Self-care into your Early Morning Routine

 

 

What do you want to change in your life? Are you choosing self-care as a priority? How do you plan your Me-time after a hectic week? Share in the comment. Share this post with your Mom tribe.