Summer holiday self-care – reasonable reality or popular perception.

Summer self-care – reasonable reality or popular perception?

Self-care is an investment for your family, friends & colleagues, as well as for yourself

If you are a working Mum, the summer holidays can be a particularly challenging time for self-care. It may feel impossible to find time for yourself whilst trying to honour work commitments, spend quality time with your children and get ready for time away – or tackle the washing mountain when you return.

Healthy eating, mindfulness and other self-care activities are often the first to get brushed aside during the busy summer holidays

So, it’s at times like these that its vital to remember the most important person to take care of is you.   If you’re not healthy, you won’t be any good to anyone – work or family.

Also, remember the best legacy you can give to your kids is an example of a life well-lived. They may listen to what you say, but they will do what you do. If you tell them to take care of themselves and you don’t do it yourself, what kind of message are you sending?

Self-care to the working Mum is the equivalent of the woodcutter Steve who Sharpened his axe whilst woodcutter Robin carried on relentlessly and was then astonished to find he’d not chopped nearly so many trees!

 

You can’t pour from an empty cup. Take care of yourself first.

Ideas for self-care during the summer holiday

• Take half an hour for yourself at the begging of the day (even if that means getting up half an hour earlier). Take ten minutes to jot down what will make your day great. Ten minutes to write your to do list, and ten minutes to mediate or journal or do whatever means most for you. Self-coaching is time well spent.
• Keep meals simple. The busy summer holidays are not the time to be regularly trying out new recipes. It’s time to rely on the healthy basics: chicken stir fry and fish with roasted vegetables are my ‘go to’ 20-minute healthy meals.
• Be kind to yourself. Allow yourself to mess up, make mistakes, fall apart a little. You are human! Always try to find the humour no matter how bad the situation may feel in the moment.
• Remember your kids won’t be around forever. How many summer holidays do you have left with them? What will make this one special and memorable? Apart from the brown grass!!
• Get creative and think of ways to include your kids in your self-care. Consider going for a bike ride or country walk together, make a delicious healthy meal, or colourful and nutritious smoothies. You could teach them about mindfulness and mediation.
• Make yourself a cup of coffee and take ten minutes to read my Working Mum’s Sparkle Discovery Guide.
• Finally, consider treating yourself to a free Sparkle Discovery Life Coaching Session with me. Click here to schedule 45 minutes to be coached on a topic of your choice: making the most of your summer; how to eat healthy during the summer holidays; or whatever you need.