Avoid Mom Burnout — Put Your Oxygen On First!
Mom burnout is a real thing. Why?
There’s no other group of people who work harder than MOMs… no matter how you slice them — they come up as the masters of doing!
Whether you’re a professional, work-at-home mom, an entrepreneur, or a stay-at-home mom… you likely juggle an extraordinary number of tasks, activities, and priorities daily, weekly, and monthly.
Some moms do it with more ease, finesse, and pizazz than others teeter on mom burnout.
How to some moms manage so well?
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Do they take more vacations?
Do they have more time off?
Are they independently wealthy?
Oh — I know… the answer is MORE WINE!
Well, no actually.
The real key to avoiding mom burnout and finding success for moms and anything else begins with ruthless self-care. And therein lies the rub of working motherhood: Sometimes it feels as if you have no choices.
While work can come and go, mom burnout happens when moms have no days off.
There are no breaks or vacations…
How To Discover Your Needs
When you are in survival behavior, you’re on the precarious edge of mom burnout already. Unless you learn to move from an intention — to attention — to action, repeatedly, you will be caught in survival. In other words, you must intend and plan a vacation, take one, and make time to DO IT.
So — How do you avoid overwhelm as a mom today?? Are you feeling close to burnout?
To avoid mom burnout try to DO ONE IMPORTANT THING EVERY DAY.
(Yep, I’m intentionally shouting here. You need to hear this, just like I do much of the time.)
- Be intentional.
- Be rigorous.
- Be a stand for what you want and what you need.
- Learn more about life balance, for you. (Check out this awesome complimentary, printable Wheel of Life to get started)
- Be ruthless with your own health and well-being.
If You’re Currently Overwhelmed
If you are burning the candle at both ends, bleary-eyed due to sleep deprivation, and feeling frumpy and not vital, it’s time to STOP.
Can you practice stopping? Right now. Just simply stop, close your eyes, and sit there for a few seconds.
Take 3 deep breaths, and regulate your heart rate.
Can you feel it? Can you already feel a little lighter? If not, just breathe for another round of 3 deep breaths.
Once you feel a little more regulated, open your eyes and then answer the following questions –
Mom Burnout Journaling Prompts
- How am I taking care of myself?
- How am I actively working on staying healthy?
- How am I supporting myself?
- How am I showing up as a partner?
- How am I supporting my family?
- How am I showing up for my children?
- How will I run my business and get it all done?
Knowing these things and working toward goals in these areas are absolute golden keys that differentiate professional moms who are successful, and moms who burn out.
You may want to try some simple self-scans and meditation exercises to see how they work for you. I highly recommend checking out Yoga Nidra and other scripts to follow if you’re a first-timer.
How to Take Care of Yourself
Taking care of yourself extremely well means: Taking breaks, eating well, staying healthy, having fun, and spending time rejuvenating.
The longer I’ve run my business, the more strongly I’ve felt about this particular ingredient. If you do not spend time rejuvenating and doing things you love daily, you will likely burn out and may even fail.
There is a reason that every single time you get on an aircraft, they do the safety drill and remind you every time to put your oxygen on first! Eat well, create routines for exercise, sleep, and maintenance tasks, stay on top of your physical needs, and take physical and mental breaks.
In Conclusion
To avoid mom burnout, focus on regular self-care. When you to, you contribute ‘rejuvenation deposits’ into your wellness account. Regularly showing up for yourself helps you in the long run when you do have the occasional pushes that life inevitably throws your way. If you think you can’t afford the time to make deposits, try working around the time it takes to recover if you fail in these areas.
If you know another mom who is presently experiencing burnout (or potentially on her way), please share this message with her! And if you’re experiencing mom burnout or have successfully learned strategies to balance your life and many responsibilities, please share your thoughts in the comment section below! If you’d like to discuss how to make more time for yourself, perhaps now is a good time to talk to a coach. Schedule your complimentary Discovery Call with me here.
