As a full-time homemaker, full-time work from home mom, I relate to the struggle that many moms face as they strive to de-stress, when doing so seems like an almost impossible task.
Over the years, I’ve found five surprisingly practical things that have significantly reduced my daily stress levels. These 5 tips include:
Tossing out my alarm clock
A digital alarm clock had been a fixture on my nightstand for as long as I can remember. I’d often find myself unable to fall asleep or fall back to sleep because I knew exactly how much time I had before I needed to get up out of bed. This information sabotaged my sleep. I’d put so much pressure on myself to fall to sleep or fall back to sleep, I wouldn’t be able to. Once I tossed out the alarm clock, the room was darker (no more blue light), I slept longer and better, and I woke up on my own when I needed to.
Shut off the auto alerts
One of the downsides of being a work from home mom that keeps a flex schedule is that most times, you need to be accessible. I had always “pushed” my emails so that my Smartphone would alert me whenever a message came through. When the alert sounded, I felt pressure to read and respond to my emails immediately, regardless of what I was doing. Shutting off the auto alerts allowed me to decide when it was a good time to check and respond to emails, reducing a tremendous amount of stress.
Set aside time to handle business
Everyone I work with knows I am available to talk at length anytime on Mondays or between 11:30 am and 1:00 pm weekdays. Whether it’s before the kids get up, during nap or quiet time or while the kids are at school, having designated “office hours” to handle home or work related business can help ease stress that comes from trying to find time to connect with those I need to.
Keep gifts on hand ahead of time
From birthday parties to baby showers, the invites seem to keep rolling in. Finding time to purchase gifts can be challenging. Having a gift closet filled with assorted gift items definately comes in handy. I keep an assortment of my favorite new baby gifts, birthday gifts and get well gifts so that I always have something on hand. Doing so takes off the stress that can come from trying to squeeze in just one more thing to my day.
Enforce Bedtime
It may not be nice to say, but it’s the truth. I look forward to bedtime. Knowing that my children will be in bed each night at 7:00 pm gives me hope that if I didn’t get a moment to myself or with my husband all day, I soon will.
While we can most all agree that being a mom can be stressful, it can also agree that it is amazingly rewarding and fulfilling. Cutting opportunities for stress to creep into our daily routines is beneficial to us and our families.
Do you have any stress-busting strategies? What do you think of mine? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
