Do you have more time now?
My children are returning to school next week – finally! Although I love my children dearly and genuinely enjoy their company, it has certainly been challenging at times to be constantly distracted, disturbed and questioned at random times throughout the working day. “Mummy, can I just add this to your shopping list…”, “Mummy, can I go to so-and-so’s garden?”, “Can you give me a lift to….?” “I am hungry” …. and so on.
But face-to-face school is recommencing and that will be a shift back to what life was like before this health crisis started. For those people who are suddenly going to have fewer little people around, it might be a good time to start some new habits. After all, before this pandemic started, I suspect many of us thought we were too rushed to spend anytime on self-care, exercise or cooking from scratch. It is interesting that we found time to do a little home-schooling, feed our kids lunch while they were home, spend time queuing outside shops and do our own cleaning during lockdown (for those of us lucky enough to have cleaners usually).
You may find that now that you don’t have to do those things that you might have actually created a little more time for yourself. Might I suggest that if you are a mother (or father!) who has found the last six months particularly challenging and are relieved that your offspring are returning to school and are wondering what to do with the extra time, that you seriously consider spending some of it on some self-care. It does not have to be a major commitment – you don’t need to radically change your life, but how about some of these top tips to spend a little bit of time focussing on you:
Sit down each day to lunch. So many people I speak to just grab food during the day, never actually sitting down to a proper meal. This means that they might never be properly satisfied which often leads to even more grabbing and snacking
Make sure to drink enough water. Many of us rush around and forget this very simple but important self-care tip
Do some exercise. Face-to-face classes may not be possible for you, but there are other things you can enjoy, like brisk walking, dancing at home or a game of tennis (excellent for social distancing!)
Sit in the sunshine – these may be the last days of summer but take a few moments to go outside, look up to the sun and listen to the sounds of nature
Have a treatment – you might not be able to go to a salon, but how about treating yourself at home to a face or hair mask, a foot-rub or a facial massage. These little moments of self-care can really give you a mood boost