One of the hardest things for busy moms to do is to put themselves first. We have this innate ability to put everything before ourselves and that means that the last person that is often taken care of is us. Which is totally backwards. The first person you should be putting in your planner is the person that matters the most, and that is yourself. Easy to say, hard to execute.

Take a look at some ways that I make sure to make room for me in my schedule each week. 

Use a Brain Drop Box: 

When I use a Brain Drop Box and can see all of the things that I have scheduled I can see where the balance lies in the categories. Each week I can see what my responsibilities are for family, business, home, and personal. If I physically can see the unbalance, that means that I need to take a look at my schedule and see what can be shifted around to find a little more harmony in my week. 

Make a List: 

Make a list of things that you like to do just for you. Maybe you prefer bubble baths, reading a book, crafting, working on a hobby, exercising, journaling, spa day, get a massage, or taking a walk. Having a ready made list that you can choose your “dates” from makes it easier to fill in the blank of what you would like to do just for you. When we have a ready made list, we can quickly choose something that we could be doing to fill our mind, body and soul, rather than mindlessly scrolling social media or wasting time doing things that don’t have value to us. 

Put YOU on the Schedule:

You know what your schedule looks like, because you just did a Brain Drop Box. And, you know what activities you have available to you. Now the question is when. Take a look at your schedule and determine when you can put yourself on your schedule. Treat yourself like a Very Important Person and don’t cancel your date with yourself. The first step in making sure that you take time for you is to actually set a time to take care of yourself. 

Set Boundaries: 

You put yourself on the schedule so the last step is to set boundaries and expectations with others that might keep you from taking time for you. Chat with your significant other, hire a babysitter, explain the reason to your kiddos about the necessity of taking care of yourself. When you set that expectation and they understand the reason, they will learn this valuable trick as well, and be able to set their own times to take care of themselves, doing what they love as well. This is a chance for you to teach through example. 

Use a Self Care Tracker: 

Just like any other new habits we build, sometimes we need a visual accountability partner, and a tracker is a great way to be able to do that. With a Self-Care planner or tracker you can track dates that you have taken with yourself, journal your experiences, track your mental health, and make it possible to see what you might need to work on in the future to help yourself feel important enough to take better care of you.