Being a mom can sometimes be stressful. No mom would likely disagree. Thus, you must learn to beat stress in order to experience the joys of motherhood too!
But how do you beat stress when there never seems to be a shortage of stress-inducers in the daily life of a mom? Can it be done?
While a mom may never truly be able to beat stress, it is possible to tame it. Here are some things you can do to start minimizing mom-stress today!
Start your day 30 minutes earlier
Get a jump on your to-do list by setting your alarm clock a mere 30 minutes earlier. This way, you can knock out some of your tasks before anyone else is up to need your attention. Additionally, just giving yourself time to start your day calmly, in a non-rushed manner, may set the pace for your entire day.
Get organized
When everything has its place – and you know where that place is – this can be a huge time saver and stress buster. The frustration of not being able to find something and putting your schedule behind looking for it, can be very stressful. Beat stress by eliminating this problem in advance through organization.
Make a plan
Similar to getting organized, making a plan puts you in the driver’s seat over potential roadblocks and obstacles that may otherwise divert your attention and cause stress. Ideally, the best time to make your plan for the week is at the end of the weekend when you are more relaxed and can focus better than at other times. However, it’s also a good idea to look over the next day’s plan each night before and factor in anything that has come up since you made it. Of course, there will always be surprises but having a plan and knowing where your time is – and is going – can help you deal with unexpected events and responsibilities calmly, making them much less intrusive.
Unplug when you can
Make sure that you are not a slave to your devices. Email, for example, can be a huge time drain (and stressor) when you are checking it constantly. Especially since, as women, we want to try and solve every issue the moment we are made aware of it. This indeed, can actually be very stressful rather than relieving stress because you’ve dealt with the problem. Create blocks in your schedule for taking care of email sending and replying. Also, make use of wait times for these tasks as well.
But take advantage of tech too
Additionally, don’t forget there are a lot of good apps out there for helping moms de-stress or beat stress. Scheduling apps, specifically, and those for time management, can be a good “teacher” if you are having problems with those areas – often big sources of stress – on your own. There are even apps that help you carefully plan your weekly menus and will craft a shopping list for you. This is something that can be done while waiting to pick up the kids, waiting for the doctor, etc.
Talk to someone “adult” as often as possible
One often overlooked stressor for moms is having no one to share with, commiserate with, and even, laugh or cry with at times. As moms, we often completely shape our lives around our children, or work and children, or children and other family. Even though we may love all of these responsibilities, not stopping to think and consider your own hopes, thoughts, and feelings can be stressful. After all, you need someone to be there for you too. Hopefully, if you have a spouse or partner, you are still interacting with him or her daily or at least, a couple of times a week.
However, you also need another adult to lean on emotionally as well. This should be someone you can be yourself with and who won’t judge your thoughts and feelings. Ideally, it should also be someone who has no real vested interest in the outcome of anything you share. If you don’t have someone you can open up to periodically, you may want to consider Mommy-and-Me groups (where everyone else is trying just as hard to beat stress as you are) or perhaps, even a professional. It’s that important.
Stop trying to do it all, have it all, and be it all–perfectly
Let’s face it, life just isn’t perfect. Trying to be perfect yourself – have the perfect job, house, relationships, etc. – is setting yourself up for failure. NOBODY is perfect or has the perfect everything. Even if it sometimes seems that way for some people. Remember that all others are human, just like you. Give yourself a break. THAT… may just be the best way to beat stress above all else.