How To Find Time For Yourself As A Mom

(Without Getting Up Before Everyone Else In The House)

Learning to find time for yourself as a mom is one of the most important and valuable lessons. As a mom, it feels so incredibly impossible to find time for ourselves. There just aren’t enough hours in the day. It’s easy to brush things off by saying you just don’t have the time.

To get in some quality me-time, some moms recommend getting up before everyone else in the house. I’m thrilled that they have been able to make this work for them. I’ve tried this and it wasn’t for me as I got exceedingly cranky throughout the day and then, of course, I’m still the last one to go to bed. 

I need and love sleep. I prefer to get as much sleep as I need as opposed to forcing myself to get up to have some me time and then feeling tired and cranky later in the day.

So I set out to find a better way for me. Surely, with 24 hours in every day, I could find a way to get all that I need to get done and that includes some self-care. 

Affiliate Disclosure: “This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase using this link.”

Does Waking Up Earlier Make You More Productive?

Waking up early doesn’t make you more productive—there’s no difference in socioeconomic standing between early risers and night owls. What makes you more productive is becoming deliberate about how you live and work—including with your wakeup ritual.

A life of productivity 

I’ve successfully been able to find time for myself without having to wake up before everyone else and I really want to share these tips with you. They can also easily be adopted for moms who work outside of the home. 

How to Find Time Throughout The Day for Yourself As A Mom

If you feel like you have no time to yourself, you have to find that time and create. These are the steps I took to free up time to do the things that really matter to me 

1. Track your existing day 

Perhaps the most important step is to see where you’re currently spending your time. This helps to establish when you can ‘create’ some time for yourself. 

Most times it’s not that we don’t have time for ourselves, it’s just that we have to shuffle some things. For instance, ask your partner to take over a chore; or we may most likely need to cut out or cut down on something(s) from our day.

When I downloaded…. and tracked my day, it revealed the shameful amount of time I spent on social media and instant messaging. Without realizing it, I was prioritizing each notification

I took the time to prioritize and create new habits for myself. Now I have more time to focus on what’s really important to me. 

Now, my phone stays on silent (apart from my husband and family) and I’ve removed notifications from social media. This allows me to focus when I’m with my kids, hubby, working, doing chores, etc. Once I started doing this not only did I “find” time but there was a significant increase in the quality I was able to give.

2. Understand the Need to Find Time As A Mom

This was also a big issue for me. Making time for myself wasn’t a priority because I didn’t see the importance. I struggled through infertility for so long, that I felt like being a mom was my only identity. I felt like I had to and wanted to spend every waking hour doing things that concerned my kids. 

Of course, I burned myself out and sure enough, I was no longer efficient at anything! Yes, I got things done because it’s what I do lol but I was always so tired and stressed. Pouring from an empty cup is no good for anyone!

Once I really understood that it wasn’t just ok, it was necessary to take time for myself, life got a whole lot better.

3. Prioritize Your Life

When you prioritize you’re able to identify what means the most to you and your family. Using the time you tracked, determine what is most important, what can be minimized or cut. 

Because “I had no time”, I would try to work while the kids were playing. Of course, this meant that I’d become extremely frustrated as I couldn’t concentrate. I then tried getting up earlier than everyone or staying up way too late and get similarly frustrated.

Now, I set my goals and prioritize everything. I’m now able to plan better and block out times to give my kids, work, chores and myself, quality attention.

4. Create Routines For Your Family

I’m a believer in routines as it helps efficiency with everything! We end up forming habits and things become second nature. 

Create and follow a routine to help free up some time by cutting how long chores take. 

5. Share The Chore Load

Chore charts are a must with kids! It teaches them responsibility and also eases you up. Kids love to imitate us and they love to feel important and accomplished. Very simple examples are allowing kids to tidy up their toys before moving on to another toy and clearing themselves after a meal. 

6. Decide What You Want To Do Beforehand

What may be relaxing for others, may not be what is relaxing for me. For instance screen time for some is a welcomed break but for me, it doesn’t leave me feeling rejuvenated. One of the things I love to do is sit on my porch and enjoy nature. 

Deciding ahead of time what you’d like to do when you have your downtime helps to maximize that time. When I started implementing ‘me’ time, I’d spend half of it wondering what I should do. Now that I plan ahead or at least have a few ideas, I’m able to use the entire time just enjoying what I set out to do.

7. Use Nap Times To Your Advantage 

Instead of doing chores when the kids are napping, take that time for yourself. Take a nap, pamper yourself, read a book – do whatever makes you happy.

8. Ask For Time Off

When I transitioned from being a full time working mom to working from home, I found I had less time, even though without the commute and so on, I should have had more. 

As a working mom, I felt like I had a little more time to myself during the day. However, the early mornings, the commute, the daily work demands come along with the chores, evening activities.

Being a stay at home mom or working from home comes with its own set of challenges. Even though we try to block out times and use routines and schedules, it may still be difficult to fit in some quality rejuvenation time. This is especially true if you’re with your kids 24/7. 

Even though we do everything “right”, we still feel like we don’t get sufficient time for ourselves. 

In these instances, ask for assistance. Organize with hubby or a family member or friend so that you can have some time.

Take Away

Needless to say, the outcome of ensuring that I have sufficient uninterrupted time has been nothing short of life-changing. I am happier and all of my relationships have improved. My kids are happier. My house and business benefitted drastically as well.

We all have the same number of hours to work with each day and the trick in maximizing your time is in making the right choices for you and your family. 

By following the tips above you will most certainly be able to find and capitalize on some much needed time to rejuvenate your soul. 

I’d love to hear how you have been able to find time for yourself! I look forward to reading your experience or tips in the comments below and please share if this post has helped you. 

You May Also Like