Being a mom is hard work. This is particularly true these days. According to a survey, moms are much more likely to work full time now than in the past. Despite this, they’re also usually responsible for handling most household responsibilities.

This type of lifestyle can easily become stressful. That’s why it’s important to prioritize self-care. After all, you can’t handle all your responsibilities if you’re too burnt out to function.

These tips will help you avoid that. If you’re a busy mom looking for ways to practice self-care on a tight schedule, keep them in mind.

Make it a Priority

Don’t just tell yourself you’re going to practice self-care. Actually include it in your schedule. If you don’t treat it as a genuine responsibility, there’s a good chance you’ll overlook it.

Combine Self-Care Activities

Exercise is a major component of effective self-care. When you work out, managing stress becomes much easier.

Save time by finding a type of exercise or physical activity you truly enjoy. By doing so, you’ll essentially combine two forms of self-care: working out and having fun.

Remember You’re a Role Model

You always want to set a good example for your kids. They learn from your behaviors, so it’s important to behave in healthy ways. During meal time, this could mean finding healthy or vegetarian recipes that your kids truly love. This trait carries through to other areas, too.

Remember this if you’re feeling guilty about setting aside some time just to take care of yourself. Self-care is healthy. When you make it a priority, there’s a better chance your kids will do the same in the future.

Modify Favorite Activities

You have to be honest with yourself as a busy mom. With so many responsibilities, it’s not possible to enjoy all of the activities you did before having kids.

That doesn’t mean you need to ditch them entirely. Instead, you might simply have to modify them to fit your current lifestyle. Maybe you can’t devote an entire weekend to a big hike, but you could still go for a brief walk around your neighborhood. Perhaps you don’t have time to spend the whole day walking around the mall, but you can still treat yourself to some online shopping from time to time.

Make It a Routine

It’s a good idea to focus on the kinds of self-care activities you can practice regularly and consistently. Your goal shouldn’t be to practice self-care randomly at various times throughout the month. Instead, self-care should become part of your routine, which will ultimately make it a lot easier to stick to a self-care plan.

Get Enough Sleep

Don’t overlook this simple but important advice! With a busy schedule, you might feel you need to sacrifice a little bit of sleep in order to make room for other duties.

Unfortunately, you can’t be the mom you want to be without getting proper rest. Lack of sleep has many consequences, including reduced productivity, increased stress, and even cognitive decline. Make sure you’re getting enough.

Most importantly, don’t feel guilty about practicing self-care. You need to take care of yourself in order to handle your responsibilities. When you take care of yourself, you’re much better-equipped to take care of all the other people in your life.