You look at the calendar and sigh.
Another busy week lies ahead of you and you wonder when things will ever slow down.
Within a minute your kids are fighting in the other room and the dog is scratching at the door to get outside.
You’re exhausted and overwhelmed.
When did your schedule get this crazy?
Moms do a lot… often too much! However, it’s come to my attention that there are 5 things moms need to do more often.
Moms do a lot, but they NEED to do these 5 things more often! #momlife #formoms Click To Tweet
DELEGATE
We can’t do it all. We wish we could, but realistically, we can’t and when we push ourselves to do more than we can handle, the tasks exhaust us and lead us down a road of burn-out.
Learning how to delegate is essential to a mom’s mental, physical, and emotional well-being. Push yourself to let go of tasks and enlist the help of family members to get things done.
You may need tools like chore cards to make this happen. Perhaps you need some counsel on letting go of control. Regardless, practice delegating tasks to other family members.
Action Plan:
This week, get your family on board to do at least one chore/task per day. This task should be in addition to their regular chores.
Beautiful chore cards by Military Wife and Mom
ACCEPT HELP
Accepting help works in conjunction with delegating.
You need help. So when someone offers to do something for you, accept the help! If a friend offers to pick your kids up from school, let them! If your husband offers to do the groceries, hand him the grocery list and send him out the door! You’re not doing anyone a favour by trying to do everything yourself.
Action Plan:
If someone offers to do something for you, say YES! People usually don’t offer to help unless they want to do something for you.
ACCEPT COMPLIMENTS
I recently was in the company of a group of moms. Since I’m a bit of an introvert, I sat to the side and quietly observed the conversation. It was lovely to watch these moms be so generous with their compliments and encouragement to one another.
However, I was surprised at how only one of the moms could actually accept a compliment. Everyone else was dismissive of the positive things being said about them.
I openly admit I’m guilty of dismissing compliments. It’s like an instinctive, weird, and false humility.
“I’m a good mom? HA! You should have seen me yesterday when I sent my kids to their rooms for twenty minutes!”
We need to be able to accept compliments. When we don’t, it’s almost insulting to the compliment-giver. Also, those compliments, when received graciously, serve to build us up! Allow yourself to be encouraged!
Action Plan:
If someone compliments you this week, smile and say thank you! Don’t try to dismiss what they said or “one-up them” with a compliment in return. Just accept the kind words and be thankful that someone recognized how awesome you are!
FORGIVE THEMSELVES
I watched a fabulous session with Kelly Jensen during last week’s Mom Conference. Kelly talked about “mom guilt” and I had many tear-filled “a-ha” moments.
We want to be the best moms we can be for our children, but we need to cut ourselves some slack. If we mess up, we need to be able to forgive ourselves and move on. Mom Guilt only perpetuates unhappiness and MORE mom guilt. It becomes a vicious cycle and no one benefits from it!
Action Plan:
If you mess up this week, imagine it’s your best friend who screwed up. Would you be as hard on your best friend as you are on yourself? Extend the same grace to yourself, that you would give so freely to others.
Also, if you haven’t seen the mom conference yet, I HIGHLY recommend it. I was so inspired and encouraged by the talks.
RELAX
Admit it. You don’t relax enough.
Tired and weary moms need the opportunity to rest and rejuvenate. Whether it’s a candlelit bubble bath, a quiet cup of tea with a favourite book, or a leisurely walk, you need to take care of yourself.
While it may seem you don’t have time to relax, I’m going to challenge you and say, that actually you probably do! Maybe you need to shift your schedule a bit, or perhaps you need to start a quiet time with your children.
Here’s the thing… you ultimately control your schedule. If you make relaxation and self-care a priority, it WILL happen.
Action Plan:
Sit down with your calendar and schedule at least 20-30 minutes of self-care time daily. Set a timer on your phone. Treat it like it’s an important appointment. Stick to your schedule and make these rejuvenating times happen!
Are you in need of some help? Have you been forgetting these five things? By taking some time to focus on these 5 areas, I’m certain you’ll be a happier and more confident mom.
SHARE WITH OTHERS
Only Monday here, but yes I could most definitely use a few of these suggestions above as I am tired and burnout from all the weekend’s activities for all in my family. So, thank you for the simple, yet effective tips and advice here, my friend. Hugs and wishing you a wonderful week ahead now xoxo <3
I have a hard time doing almost all of the above. I’m not good with compliments, don’t like delegating because they never do a good job, and find it hard to accept help, even when I need it. I so need to take your advice and maybe it might just get easier for me.
Thank you for the reminder! I’ve got to remember that I am human and that I have tiny humans and none of us are perfect. Great thoughts.
I’m so glad this helped you Tricia. Sometimes we just need that little nudge to remember to give ourselves grace.
Yes times five! Each night I’ve been delegating after-dinner kitchen cleaning with my girls, and it’s been a game changer. They’re all old enough to contribute, it teaches them skills, and it helps me (even mentally) to know it’s not all on my shoulders.
Thanks, Jennifer!