5 Awesome Ways to make time for yourself when you are a mum

We have all heard the phrases ' you need to look after yourself too' and 'sleep when the baby sleeps', but we have also, probably all, felt the desire not to sleep when the baby sleeps as that is the only moment you have to just be you or maybe just have a shower...  So with that in mind how can you make time for yourself as a mum?

So if you are reading this and feeling sceptical then I be reassured I know how you feel.  Here at Just 15 for Me we write from our own experience and we know how you feel.  We have been in that down spot.  I personally had 4 kids under 4 so I get what it is like to feel like there simply is no time for you and to want to swallow whole the next person who tells you that you must still look after yourself, but here is the thing; it is true and it is possible.  We know it doesn't always feel like it, but you can make time for yourself when you are a mum and it is our mission to help other mums find their way to self care.

You need to make time for yourself when you are a mum as otherwise you will not be able to give your best.  So here are 5 ways that you CAN make time for yourself when you are a mum

Schedule your Self Care Time

• Agree with your family and partner a time each week when you can take time for yourself.  Sure everyday self care is awesome and if you can make that work then go for it, but once a week is 100% better than nothing
• Try to leave the house if at all possible during your self care time if it is tough for the other member's of your family to stick to you having this scheduled self care time
• Actually add your self care time to the calendar and your phone so that you get a reminder 

Be Realistic

• Time for yourself may not look the same as it did before you became a mum so be realistic
• You may not be able to spend a full day at the spa regularly any more, but it doesn't mean that you can't practice self care and it doesn't mean that your self care won't be a valuable activity
• Self care and making time for yourself as a mum might be more about taking just 15 for me.  It may be just doing one thing that day that is just for you.
• By being realistic about the time you have and planning what you will do with that time you reduce the disappointment factor.  If you plan something small and easy you will make it so that you can actually make time for yourself when you are a mum.  Let's face it; finding 15 minutes spare is much easier than finding a few hours.

Accept that your partner is just as capable as you

• I know that you, just like me, are fairly sure that your partner doesn't quite have this parenting and home management stuff nailed.  (**I know you are probably right - shhhh! don't tell them I said that) But, if you want to make time for yourself as a mum you have to allow others to help; namely your partner
• Creating a role as the centre of the universe and master of all things home and childcare makes it very hard to get any time for yourself.  So it is a good idea to make sure that your partner gets a look in too.  You never know they might be really keen to help.
• If you don't accept that your partner is just as capable as you then you will find it hard to relax when you do get the chance to make time for yourself as a mum

Pre Cook Meals to make time for yourself

• This was an absolute game changer for me...  The idea is to plan a week's worth of meals in advance and cook them all ahead of time
• Put in all the cooking effort on a Sunday so that preparing dinner is basically reheating...  This will free up time every evening.  You can use that time to do some other chores so that once the kids are in bed you can have some down time just for you and practice some self care.  Or if your kids are a little older the time when you would have been preparing dinner could become their screen time and you can put your feet up and read a book, or have a bath or anything that makes you feel good.
• A variation of this is making meals in a slow cooker or one pot meals that you can slow cook in the oven.  This doesn't free up quite as much time, but it still helps a little as once you have prepped your meal you don't have to think about it until it is done.

Be honest with yourself

• It is hard to make time for yourself as a mum, but how many times have you spent an hour or two on instagram or Tik tok and thought I don't have time for that hair treatment or it is too late to read my book now...
• Someone once said to me 'If you have time to watch crap on Netflix you have time for self care' and it is so very true!  
• Sometimes my self care is going to bed and watching something on Netflix and that is of course Ok.  Your self care is your self care, but if you are then saying things like 'I really want to work, have a facial, blow dry and style my hair or read a book, but I don't have time' and then you are binge watching the Real Housewives then you aren't being honest with you!

Make you a Priority

You have to be intentional about making time for yourself when you are a mum.  Spare time tends not to fall in your lap right?  So I urge you to make yourself a priority.  After all, as long as the kids are fed, watered, safe and happy, what would be so terrible about something not being done one day so that you can make time for yourself as a mum? 

Ask yourself what could you change to make time for yourself as a mum?

And once you have made time for yourself then we have some awesome self care ideas that you might want to try: