Self-care is hard. No question about it. We can talk about it, complain, bemoan our lack of time and resources, but do we actually take any practical steps toward self-care? Honestly, most of us busy homeschool parents don’t! In (yet another) attempt to change that, here are 5 simple and practical self-care strategies you can implement today.
- Delegate. Do you have a tendency to do everything yourself? Do you find it easier than asking somebody else to do it? Make an effort today to delegate a task to an older child. It doesn’t have to be anything complicated. If your child is 5, you can ask them to close the door, or throw something in the hamper, or put something back in the fridge. The goal for today is just to begin getting into the habit of delegating.
- Laugh. Yes, use your sense of humor. Notice something funny and tell your kids about it. Laugh together with them. Your sense of humor can go a long way to counter inevitable frustrations and disappointments of daily living.
- Relax and let go. Do something you consider silly and unimportant – play a game, turn on music and dance, dress up or play pretend with your kids. Remind yourself that these things are no less valuable than doing the dishes piling up in your sink.
- Plan a date night or time with friends. Schedule it today, so you’ll have something adult-only to look forward to. If your children are young and child care is hard to find, plan an at-home date night with your spouse or a time for a friend to come over after your children are asleep. If you have children who are old enough to stay home by themselves and/or to baby-sit their younger siblings, plan to get out of the house and do something fun without the kids.
- Let go of perfectionism. As they say, perfect is the enemy of good. Notice an area in your life where you tend toward perfectionism and adjust your expectations. You are not perfect, and neither are your spouse or your children, but you and they are good enough. And your home doesn’t need to be perfect either. It needs to be livable.
Use these 5 strategies to get a head start on your self-care. For more ideas, read previous posts on this blog and check out our live sessions and recordings at Digital Homeschool Convention.
