How to fit self-care into your hectic schedule and get fit!

Our busy lives are overloaded, especially if you are a working mum with small children, and often we can’t imagine fitting in anything more. In the craziness of our busy lives we tend to neglect our self-care. It’s not like screaming kids who have to be attended immediately, or dinner that has to be cooked.

I often promise myself to fit in some self-care at the end of the day when everything is done but there is never any time left. Ideally, I would go to a gym and treat myself to a spa every now and again but at the moment, between a small baby and the pandemic, it’s not possible.

I’m a mum of two, my new baby is four months old and I have millions of things on my plate. I run my own natural skincare business and I find it hard to switch off. At the same time, I’m trying to look after my family and mind myself to stay sane. I don’t like exercising except for yoga but I find it hard to schedule even an hour per week to do it.

I was attending gym in the past but didn’t stick to it. I blamed lack of time and I found it hard at times. Can you relate? So what to do to take care of yourself and stay fit, well and sane? It’s about finding what you enjoy doing, breaking up self-care into tiny manageable chunks that effortlessly fit into your busy schedule, and making a habit out of it. Here’s how to do it.

I divide self-care into two categories - physical self-care that focuses on your body and emotional/spiritual self-care. Both are equally important for overall well-being. Physical self-care includes physical activity, healthy eating, getting enough sleep and fresh air. The emotional and spiritual self-care is different for every person. My non negotiables in this category are spending time with family and being in nature, also how I care for my skin is very important to me as it hugely affects how I feel.

For others it may be seeing friends at least once a week or taking some time off work every few months.

Let’s look at some of these in detail and discover how to easily incorporate them into your daily life.

I find exercising the most challenging. I recently came across an article by Paul Knight who is a fitness and life coach and his approach to exercising instantly resonated with me. Its simplicity and ease of introduction into the daily routine is fascinating. The trick is to find just five min per day (for example when waiting for a kettle to boil), during which you fit in some physical activity. If you can do that six times during the day, you work out 30 minutes per day or 3.5 hours a week without going near a gym. You can pick different types of exercise to work different muscle groups during those five minute slots depending on your goals (flat stomach workout, losing baby weight or just getting fit).

Other concepts advocated by Paul Knight are walking like you are late and conscious sitting. Whenever you go somewhere you walk faster, like you are in a rush to fasten your heart beat. And conscious sitting is sitting with your back straight, tummy tucked, head up and before you know it, your posture becomes nice and straight. The repetition and regularity is key so it’s important to stick to it until it becomes a habit.

In one of his blog posts Paul suggests sticking post-its everywhere as a reminder. Over time when it becomes part of your routine you won’t need reminders anymore. You can adjust your workout plan with more complicated exercises as you become fitter.

Personally, I like making lists. I have prepared a list of different exercises that I enjoy doing most. I alternate between the exercises depending how I feel and how my day goes and I tick them off the list once done, making sure I do 30 minutes per day. My list contains the following: Walking (30 mins), yoga (30 mins), walking up and down the stairs (5 mins), dancing (5 mins), planking (5 mins), crunches (5 mins), push-ups (5 mins), wall squats (5 mins), regular squats (5 mins).

Your exercising ideas may be different as it should suit your lifestyle and your goals.

Sometimes I’m too smashed to exercise and the self-care aim for the day is to manage to lie down. And that’s okay too as long as I have the list and I’m consciously aiming to do the 30 minutes each day until it becomes my habit.

This easy system allows for a possible 3.5 hours workout per week without the hassle, time demand or expense of going to a gym. I find this truly amazing. There are times when I just want to go for a walk without a purpose - be in the moment, enjoy the fresh air and sunshine on the skin and this is also important for emotional well-being.