Me Time: Four Things For Mom To Do All By Herself

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As moms, we have precious little me time to ourselves. I feel pressured to do all the things anytime I have a free moment and even sometimes finding time to do all the things we need to do is hard enough.

But something I discovered while battling my severe anxiety and OCD is that I need to take some me time to do absolutely mundane things all by myself.

me time mom busy
I know it’s hard to find time between soccer games and ballet practice, but time alone is really important for your emotional health.

Now, I know we’re all as different as snowflakes, but I compiled a list of the things that I like to do that are completely unproductive (by most definitions of the word) and absolutely wonderful. I hope these are things you can enjoy, or that you can get some inspiration from them.

Write silly poetry.

me time mom journaling
Write, doodle, whatever– just spend time letting your thoughts flow onto paper.

I bought myself one of those fancy journals and fill it up with musings that would make a middle school girl proud. Every little thought that came into my head went down on that paper. I wrote a few poems, copied some song lyrics, and doodled to my heart’s content. I would recommend this activity to everyone! We, as moms, hold so many feelings in that they burst out at random moments. I found that letting my feelings leak out in a controlled environment did wonders for my emotional health.

Take a walk.

Just wander around your neighborhood or go stroll by the lake. Don’t take the kids, don’t take the dog, and don’t go for a workout. Meander. Dilly-dally. Look around at the trees and flowers; breathe in nature. Just getting out of the house with no goal in mind and no errands to run can help clear your mind and give you a great reset for dealing with the day-to-day mom stuff.

me time mom movies
There’s nothing like a good tear-fest to clear out the cobwebs.

Watch a super sappy movie.

I’m talking about a movie you used to watch with all your friends after someone had a hard breakup, while eating whole pizzas and tubs of ice cream back in college. And if you didn’t do that, you need to start now. It’s wonderful. Take a break from Peppa Pig or Voltron and immerse yourself in a Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan tear fest. But make sure you grab a box of tissues and a spare stuffed animal to hold.

Watch the sunset.

Yeah, I know it’s way more magical to snuggle with your significant other or your babies while you watch the last golden rays of the day melt below the horizon, but something about spending a special moment with yourself is also fantastic. Don’t even meditate or do yoga, just watch. Look at the colors and the way the clouds drift across the sky. Focus on the beauty of this everyday masterpiece, not what’s going on inside of you for a change.

A big part of my me time involves setting aside quality time to spend with myself like Laura mentions in her article about being an introverted mom. Get to know that person inside who exists apart from the laundry and chores of your everyday routine. Appreciate the world that you live in by taking in all its beauty.

And if you’re still struggling to find that precious me time, check out this Parenting.com article.

I hope you’ll see that my frivolous, but not actually so frivolous, me time activities can enrich your experiences and add a sense of peace to your life that just might prevail while you battle the whirlwind of motherhood. And, those me time memories will give you a nice mental image to conjure while you’re counting to three.

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