One of the focuses of the Strong Mom Tips series is motivation and tools to help moms in all stages of their journey to reach their goals. Today, we’re talking about when to step back and take a breath, and take it one day at a time. A few weeks ago I emphasized the importance of working through tasks intentionally. This means that we give our whole attention to what we’re doing and don’t try to multitask.
Today’s message takes the idea of intentionality and adds back the element of grace. Even when you move with intention through your day, you’ll find that your energy rises and falls often at inconvenient times. Your energy levels can vary wildly from day to day, especially if you’ve been pushing yourself too hard.
Today’s message takes the idea of intentionality and adds back the element of grace.
It’s easy to say that a day was a failure because you didn’t achieve as much as you did the day before. It’s also completely unfair to yourself to think in terms of success by weighing how much you get done. When you take one day at a time, your goal is to shift your focus away from the number of things you complete to if you’ve honored your body’s needs.
Settling yourself into the moment:
Consider how you are feeling right now. Are you calm, anxious, stressed, tired, or jumpy? If you’re reading this, you might be avoiding something that is bothering you or that you don’t like doing. Maybe you had an early start and have been going strong for several hours and are feeling a little draggy. Maybe you didn’t sleep well last night.
Regardless of what is causing you to feel tired, honor yourself enough to adapt the intensity of your day to better suit how you feel. Days when you are tired are days you get to choose easier options. Make a simpler dinner than planned. Swap off labor-intensive chores for organizational ones. Prioritize anything that has an imminent deadline first and leave non-essential work for another time.
By taking better care of yourself, low energy days tend to be less frequent and easier to manage.
Work/life balance as an entrepreneur, author, and mom of three
I’d love to say I’ve got it all figured out. I’d love to tell you that my business is thriving, my family is super happy, and my house is spotless. It’s not. Every single day I have to weigh how much energy I have and how much I need to get done and make choices. Most days I overestimate that energy and end up hitting a midafternoon slump that leaves me flopped on my bed staring at the ceiling.
The best I can do is keep trying and adjusting my plans and working toward hitting that sweet spot where I manage to care for my business and family while also taking care of myself.
Discussion question: How do you take care of yourself when you’re tired?
