Staying Sane While Raising Your Teens

Essential Self-Care Tips for Exhausted Working Parents

December 22, 2020 at 7:28 am Leave a comment

Guest blog by Leslie Campos, wellparents.com.

Being a working parent is like holding down two full-time jobs at the same time. How are you supposed to find the time to do anything other than work, cook, clean, and chauffeur the kids around? Caring for yourself is so far down on your priority list that you’ve learned to dismiss your needs completely.

But without regular self-care, you’re on the fast track to burnout. Keeping your cup full is essential for maintaining the physical energy and mental stamina you need to keep up with your work and personal life—especially during the pandemic! Keep reading to learn how you can work self-care into your hectic life.

Commit to Short Exercise Sessions

Regular exercise is one of the most important components of a healthy lifestyle. Exercising will help you stay mentally sharp at work and energized right up until bedtime so you can tackle all those household chores with ease. Plus, exercise is a fantastic stress reliever and mood booster. Believe it or not, you don’t have to exercise for long to see benefits. Keep your sessions short. If you have 20 minutes, sweat through a quick bodyweight routine in your living room. Have just 10 minutes? Take a brisk walk around the block. Any amount of exercise is better than none.

If you’re looking to lose weight, stick to high-efficiency workouts that burn fat quickly. Don’t like running? No problem! Strength training and HIIT burn calories much more efficiently. You could even support your weight loss efforts with supplements that help you burn even more calories. Research weight loss pills on websites like Fitter Living to find the best formula for your needs. Just remember to talk to your doctor before starting on a new supplement.

Make Healthy Food Swaps Whenever Possible

Alongside regular exercise, healthy eating will help you feel your best all day long. But dieting can be expensive and time-consuming. Instead, make simple, healthy food swaps in your routine meals. For example, you could try swapping out regular pasta for whole-grain varieties or buying whole-grain bread instead of white bread. Eat This recommends several other easy swaps like replacing mayonnaise with mustard, drinking seltzer water instead of soda, and eating open-faced sandwiches to avoid that second slice of bread.

Adopt an Evening Ritual

You can eat healthy and exercise all you want, but if you’re not getting adequate sleep, you’re still going to feel burnt out. Make sure you’re going to bed early enough to get at least seven hours of sleep every night. Avoid working late into the evening—it’s much better on your body to wake up early and get some work done before your kids wake up. If you have trouble winding down at night, develop a relaxing evening ritual to help your mind and body relax before bed.

Relax for Just 5 Minutes

No one can run on all cylinders without taking a couple of minutes to rest here and there. Any time you’re starting to feel strained, steal yourself away for just five minutes of uninterrupted “me” time. If you can get more, go for it! Meditate, do some deep breathing, stretch out your body, close your eyes, and let go of everything that’s nagging on your mind.

Be Kind to Yourself

To practice self-care, parents have to overcome one major barrier—guilt. We feel guilty prioritizing our needs over others and taking time away from our work or family commitments, even if we really need a break. Try to think of self-care as a favor to yourself and the ones you love. You can’t take care of everyone if your battery is depleted! Try to let go of guilt, let things get a little out of control, and realize that the world will keep turning even if you don’t get the laundry done today.

Life as a working parent can be exhausting, but there are plenty of things you can do to stay healthy and energized. Take advantage of these easy and approachable self-care tips to keep your body healthy and your mind sharp. And if you’re looking for more parenting tips, visit C. Lynn Williams’ blog often.

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays

C. Lynn Williams, #MsParentguru

clynnwilliams.com

Entry filed under: #MsParentguru, Parenting, self-care. Tags: exercise, healthy eating, pandemic, parenting, self-care, stress reliever, working parent, working parents.