12 Tips for Type A Moms Who Suck at Self-Care (Just Like Me)
I am not very good at self-care if fact I really suck at it. I’m a type A person and I work hard all the time, so I often don’t take time for self-care the way I should. I have a husband, three boys, two dogs, and two guinea pigs so I’m often too busy for self-care. However, I’ve learned a few tricks and tips to sneak in some self-care moments so I’m sharing my 12 Tips for Type A Moms Who Suck at Self-Care Just Like Me. I sincerely hope other moms can sneak in some self-care moments too by using my 12 tips for mom’s self-care.
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12 Tips Mom’s Self-Care:
Netflix and the Treadmill
Get yourself a Netflix subscription and go on your treadmill to watch a show you want while you work out. I find it so hard to make time to just simply sit and watch a show, plus I find it hard to find time to exercise, so I combine them. It works out perfectly because I get a workout, plus I get to watch an awesome show that I want to see. While being on the treadmill isn’t necessarily relaxing, I feel so good after I do it. Watching a good show makes the workout more enjoyable and it makes the workout speed by which makes it less agonizing.
My favorite shows to watch on Netflix while on the treadmill include the following:
- Once Upon A Time
- The Vampire Diaries
- The Originals
- The 100
Steal Micro-Moments to Enjoy Time to Yourself
Take a few minutes and snuggle with or pay attention to your pet. Read a book, magazine, or online article for ten minutes. Peruse Pinterest for ten minutes and save some awesome looking pins to enjoy in the future. Close your eyes for five minutes and just sit to rest. Go to a different room than the rest of your family to do these things to add more value to your self-care moment. Go outside for a walk with your dog or smell the flowers in your garden.
Schedule Your Hair Appointment
I find if I don’t schedule a hair appointment and just keeping thinking I will I go, I just keep putting it off. I always find other things to do instead and then my self-care moment falls through the cracks. But, if I have it scheduled, it is so much for more likely to happen. Having it on the calendar makes it more set for me to actually accomplish the appointment.
Movies or Games With My Kids
This is a win-win because I take some time for self-care while spending time with my kids.
This may not be time alone, but I find it really helps me with self-care because I slow down and just sit to be present with my kids. I’m not good at sitting down just to sit because there is always so much to do. I often fear if I take too much time to sit, I will be even more overwhelmed from the stress of thinking about what I need to get done. Sitting down with my kids to watch a movie or play a game helps me reevaluate what I really need to do and what really matters. Often, I can simply lower my standards, relax for a few, and then go back to working. It’s a breather and sometimes that is all I need to refocus.
My boys are loving watching the shows Full House and the Fuller House which is nostalgic for me as I watched Full House as a child. I’ve even been known to suffer through a Spongebob Squarepants episode or two just to sit with my kids.
Take a Shower Every day
Water is so rejuvenating!
I admit I’m not good about daily showers either. If I get to working and the day goes on too far, sometimes I skip a shower. I don’t like it when I do that, but it happens. It’s a pitfall of being a Work-At-Home-Mom (WAHM) because if I don’t have to go anywhere for the day, sometimes I don’t get the shower in. However, when I do get the shower in, I’m so very happy I did. Showers are the best self-care moments, plus, they don’t have to be long to give great comfort and relief.
Take a Break From Cooking and Order Pizza or Take-Out Asian Food
Order pizza or do take-and-bakes when you have a busy day and need a break from cooking. I love the take-and-bake pizzas because they are cheaper and so simple to prepare. Ordering pizza is perfect too, a definite favorite at our house. We also love to bring Asian food home also. I love doing this every so often when the budget allows because it really is self-care to take a break from cooking and serving your family.
Go to Bed by Midnight (or 12:30)
Ooh! This one is tough for me. Like I already mentioned, I’m totally type A and sometimes I can’t stop working, especially when I’m on a roll. Sometimes while writing or working on something for this blog, I get on a roll and that can happen to me even at midnight so I have a hard time stopping to go to sleep. I’m not a giant sleeper anyways and I honestly can only sleep for six or seven hours at night before I wake up. One of my goals this year, a New Year’s Resolution, is to get to bed by 12:30 am. Now, I have already broken that a few times in this first month of January, but no one’s perfect, right?
Get enough sleep for your body, I think that is a necessary self-care tip for everyone (including my little stubborn type A self).
Eat Well by Adding More Vegetables to Your Diet
Yummy food is a definite level of self-care I love. I thoroughly enjoy cooking and making up recipes (except when I really need a break from it, hello ordering pizza).
I try to eat healthy and sneak in vegetables whenever I can add them in. You can do this too. I often like to sneak extra veggies in when possible like when I make my tomato squash pasta sauce or my butternut squash apple bars dessert. If you make the vegetables yummy, they are easier and more enjoyable to eat.
Healthy eating=self-care.
Have a Mug of Tea
I love having a cup of tea in the afternoon. I’m a coffee girl in the morning, be sure to do a cup of coffee for self-care moments too, but in the afternoon or late at night, I’m all about a mug of tea. One of my favorite brands to sip on is Adagio Teas®. I love their tea bags and some of them are even pretty, which heightens the self-care experience for me.
I took this photo of teabags I received from Adagio Teas to do an honest review on my blog for them last year. Being introduced to Adagio Teas has brought me the best self-care moments. Take a look at this pretty tea bag in the pic below. Whoever thought a tea bag could be pretty!! I also love their strawberry iced tea.
Click the link to see my recipe for White Chai Tea Pumpkin Spice Latte. Love this tea drink, and it includes a little scoop of ice cream:) More self-care mamas, just take the moment and own it!
Adagio Teas Artisan Comfort Collection Gourmet Tea Bags, 30 count
One of my favorite brands of coffee is the Peace Coffee Organic Fair Trade Twin Cities Blend Ground 12oz because it is fair trade and it’s delicious!
Have a Glass of Wine
Having a glass of wine is very relaxing and enjoyable to me so it is a form of self-care (as long as I don’t have too many of course;) I’ve always been a wine snob, until I met a box of wine I love! I love the Nighthawk Black box wine by Bota Box. It is very inexpensive and delicious. It’s a great way to treat yourself.
The other self-care action I take is by being a member of the California Wine Club. I get deliveries about four times a year and I enjoy getting a mix of white and red wines made here in the USA by small family-owned wineries. I love to support small family businesses, and I have been happy with the wine bottles I have received as part of the membership.
Affiliate link:
Buy The California Wine Club’s Premier Series For Yourself
This wine picture below, Roblar Chardonnay, has been my all time favorite wine from the club. So yum!
Snuggle with Kids Before Bedtime
Sometimes I’m so overwhelmed with housework, work, feeding my family, and taking care of everyone (including pets) that I need a few minutes to snuggle with my son before bedtime. I just need to get myself to stop moving for a few moments and rest. My youngest son is most likely to want to snuggle so I take time every night, no matter how late he is getting to bed, to snuggle with him. Spending this time with him is huge for me especially if I’ve been busy all evening. I almost always bring one of our guinea pigs to the bed to snuggle with us.
Use Bath Bombs
OK, I admit I only do this about once a year (again, I’m not very good at taking time for self-care 🙂 I should do this more than once a year. But, when I take time to take a bath and use a bath bomb (with a glass of wine), it’s a tiny slice of mom heaven. I love these cruelty-free bath bombs. Using cruelty-free products that are never tested on animals is very important to me. If I know an animal suffered for my own enjoyment, my enjoyment of it is dead.
Use Toxin-Free Skin Care Products
I recently tried out essential oils for the first time, and I am so hooked. I love the so very, very much! My skin is glowing, clear, and it feels amazing. I love making the fun recipes and trying them out. A great way to relax and do some self-care. To learn more about this type of skincare, click here for Pure Essentials for Clear Skin.
I Hope My Tips Help Fellow Moms Find Moments of Self-Care!
I sincerely hope my tips help all you fellow moms find moments of self-care, even if those are just micro-moments, they help reduce stress and crush the overwhelm. Eat well and enjoy life!
Make some yummy food to enjoy during your self-care moment! Jalapeno Chia and Pumpkin Seed Cheese Ball
Or, Cheddar Hash Brown Potato Jalapeno Bites Appetizer
Read a book:)
Copyright @2018 Julie Hoag. All Rights Reserved.
Make a skin scrub: https://www.juliehoagwriter.com/2020/01/02/diy-sugar-scrub-mandarin-orange-cocoa-anti-aging/
Orange skin scrub: https://www.juliehoagwriter.com/2020/03/23/natural-body-scrub-sugar-orange-burst/
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Great tips thank you – I really enjoyed reading this and shall implement into my own lifestyle!!
Wonderful! I’m so happy to read that!!! I hope you enjoy and relax and succeed in getting some self-care:) Thank you!
I seriously love these all of these tips! Thank you thank you thanks you!
Danielle
momwifefoodie.com
You are SO WELCOME:) I hope my tips help you out so you can get some self-care for yourself! You deserve it:)
Sharing these tips with my mom!
Awesome!! Thank you! I hope my tips work for her!!
I love watching movies with my kids too. And Chick-fil-a is our go-to take out on busy nights! Great tips! A reminder for me to just take a minute to take care of myself. Thank you!
You are welcome! I hope my tips give you some mom time for self-care! We all need it:) Thank you!
These are great, the one about snuggling with your kids. I need to do this more!
Yes, I need to also! When they get older, they stop wanting to snuggle, so do it while you can! Thanks!
LOL I love this because this is so me! Really great tips!
Thanks! I hope my tips help! I find it a giant challenge, but I try to do the best I can to get some self-care time! I hope you can too:) Thank you!
Self-care is so important. These are some really great tips for new moms or moms in general who don’t have time to look after themselves!
Yes, it is so important. Thanks and I hope you get yourself some self-care time:)
Great self care tips! I do many of them, it really helps with stress levels when you take the time for yourself!
Yes, I agree, it really does help so much with stress levels. Thanks! I hope my tips help you:)
I love to watch netflix while I workout, such a great tip, it makes workout so much more interesting ahah
Yes, I’m totally with you on that! Watching a good show while working out makes all the difference in the world! In fact, when my phone doesn’t have enough power to watch a show, I delay my workout until it has enough power;) Thanks!
Oh man this is so needed. I remember having to re-establish the habit of taking showers every day when I became a mommy. And I’m still horrible and scheduling the hair appointment!! Arg! Great reminders here!!
I have troubles with these things too! I try, that’s all I can do is try, right?? Thanks and good luck with your self-care time!!! 🙂
I’m so bad at self care! I love this list though, so I’ll have to use it to get better at taking care of me!!! Thanks for sharing!!!
I hope my list helps you find time for self-care! Thank you and good luck:)
Self-care is so important and these are great tips to get started with. Best of luck to you on your journey!
Thank you! Best of luck to you as well:)
Self-Care is always important! These are great tips for anyone who is a mom (and not a mom)! I think we always forget to take care of ourselves due to the busy lives we all lead
I totally agree! We need to make time, but it is hard with our busy lives, but so important!! Thank you!!
I’m in desperate need of scheduling a hair appointment for myself. Thank you for the reminder. <3
It’s so hard to fit that in isn’t!! But, when my boys need a haircut, I get them right in! I need to get better about that for myself;) Thanks!!
Preach it sister…great tips!!!
Thanks!! We all need it;)
You are reading my mind! I do workouts while watching some cool shows or movies and I finally started to take care of myself how I used too before kids(I have 2 and 4 years old)
It’s such a challenge, isn’t it! It’s hard to find time to exercise with kids. But, when I can, I MUST watch a show while I work out!! Thanks!