Quick and Easy Self-Care - Boost your mood and energy in Under 10 Minutes

In this week's episode  we dive into the world of self-care for busy mums in need of a quick mood boost. Life can get hectic, and finding time for self-care can feel like an impossible task. But Im going to tell you how in just a few minutes a day you can make a real difference.

I share some eye-opening statistics about the limited time mothers have for themselves each day, which might resonate with many of you. Juggling parenting, work, and daily chores can leave us feeling drained, and self-care often takes a backseat. But here's the good news: even dedicating just 10 minutes to self-care daily can have a transformative impact.

I introduce my concept of "mini mum moments," providing you with a variety of fast, easy, and effective self-care practices you can incorporate into your day. These small moments of self-care can plant the seeds of accomplishment and motivation that lead to positive changes in your life.

I invite you to reflect on what self-care means to you. Self-care is a unique and personal journey, and it's essential to discover what truly recharges and empowers you.

Thank you for listening to Season 1. Be sure to catch our special Christmas and New Year episodes in November and December, and I'll be back with Season 2 in January. I appreciate your support, and we can't wait to continue this journey with you.

Transcript

Hello. Welcome to this week's episode where I am going to be talking about some of the very quick and easy self care activities that you can do to give yourself a boost just when you need it so that you can turn the day around if everything's heading south.

I read a statistic this week that said that moms only have an average of 17 minutes a day to themselves, which, although it's supposed to be shocking, It didn't surprise me at all. Time for ourselves is by far the most common thing that mums I talk to want. Being a mum is super hard work. From waking up in the night to feeding the baby or resettling your toddler or even your 7 year old like me, To school runs, food shopping, laundry, and the rest of it, us mums have busy days and busy nights. It's no wonder that we're absolutely exhausted. So when it comes to looking after our own needs, it's no wonder we don't even know where to start. And so self care easily falls out of our to do list. But here's the thing if you can even give yourself 10 minutes of self care every day, it's gonna help.

Okay? So how do we do that? Well, we take mini moments. So what are these mini mum moments? Well, if you're one of the mums who who's crazy busy, feeling overwhelmed, frazzled, and the thought of self care just annoys you because taking a bath or going to get your nails done is actually a distant and very unlikely possibility. Maybe you don't have childcare support to give you that free time and a break to yourself. Or you're juggling work and home and you're finding that balance means you have to be the one to give things up, because otherwise, it just doesn't happen. Everything can't possibly get done. Whatever the reason, that means that self care isn't even on your radar, let alone a regular practice. Let me give you some fast, quick and very easy suggestions that you can do in under 10 minutes. Once you start adding some of these into your day, you will be sowing those seeds of accomplishment.

That feeling is gonna help motivate you to make other changes that are also gonna help. 1st up, it's quite a simple one, but something that we all get to do, and that's breathe. Just stop whatever you're doing and take a deep breath. There is actually a lot of power in a single deep breath. It is taking a pause. It is connecting to your body. It's releasing, and it's letting go of stress and tension. And it's really easy to do.

You just take a big inhale, Big breath. Fill your lungs. Fill them all up, and then exhale it out. Okay? Even better if you add in a sound.  Do it again. It feels great, And you feel your whole body just relaxing. And the sounds that you can make, you know, You know, letting it out.

I mean, it sounds really attractive, doesn't it? But it feels really good. It does feel good. So checking your breath in this way is gonna be such a good check-in with yourself. So often, we are holding tension, stress, frustration in our bodies, and this can mean we are shallow breathing. We're only using that top part of our lungs. And this means that we aren't getting the optimum levels of oxygen into our lungs. And it can lead to feeling tired, foggy, a bit off. You know, taking a deep breath, it's Just gonna change your life, honestly.

It's connecting you in that moment, and it's a really simple, simple thing that you can do. And you can do it at any part of the day, No matter where you are, no matter what's going on, and actually, if you're in it with the children and you're having a bit of a stressful situation, taking that breath can be the difference between you losing your mind and letting go, and then regretting it later. So I urge you to take a breath. 

Next up, I wanna talk about laughter. How often in a day do you laugh? Another statistic that I saw said that 6 year olds laugh an average of 300 times a day. Adults laugh about 15 to a 100 times a day. I mean, that's quite a difference, isn't it? Smiling and laughing is one of the fastest ways to boost your mood. It lifts your spirits, and it lifts your energy.

I'm an absolute sucker for a cheesy joke. And my kids are at that stage where they try to tell me jokes, but they trip over the punchline, which can also be funny too. So here's one for you. How do you open a banana? With a monkey. Awful. Absolutely awful. And I've heard it so many times, But it is funny. It just you have to lower your expectations, don't you, when it comes to children and jokes? The jokes don't have to be good.

The joy on my kids' face when I giggle at their awful jokes is just wonderful. Having a little giggle can be a super quick and easy way to boost your mood and your energy. The late afternoons and before bedtime can sometimes feel especially hard if we've had a challenging day. Also, when you first see the kids after school, sharing a laugh over a joke you make can be a lovely way to reconnect after that time that you've spent apart. So if I ask my kids questions about school, I get nothing back. But if I say, oh, I heard a really funny joke today, and I couldn't wait to tell you about it. They're super excited, and they engage with me, and it's just lovely.

So another thing I like to do is I put on YouTube on the TV, and I search for funny animal videos. My kids absolutely love it. We bond over it, and sharing those moments and laughing absolutely is a form of self care. It relaxes me. It boosts my mood and my energy, and it's creating a connection with my children. Okay? So whatever it is you find funny, whatever it is your kids find funny, Add more of it in. Find more ways to include it because laughter is a really easy way to add in something for you. And it's so quick.

Honestly, it's such a quick boost. So another big one. Another way to take a mini mum moment It is to have a drink of something. It can be tea, coffee, water, whatever it is. You are deciding to be mindful in that moment and to make it a calm one. It shouldn't take more than a few minutes. Make yourself a cup of calm, whatever your favourite drink is, and then sit down. And I want you to notice 3 things.

The colour of the drink, the weight and the feel of the cup in your hands, and the feeling of the chair. And then consciously breathe into your shoulders. Try to feel them relaxed down a little and enjoy your cuppa and your mini moment to yourself. If you notice your mind starting to wander off into your thoughts and you're fretting about all you have to do, just bring it back, Back to your senses, back to that moment. Okay? If you're having a tough day, it might take you to boil the kettle 10 times before you actually get to sit down with your drink. For me, sometimes, the first chance I get to sit down is when I pour a glass of wine. Sometimes I do that while I'm making the dinner, and I use the 10 minutes in between cooking different bits to have my moment. Other times, it's when the kids have actually gone to bed.

At this time of year, I like to make a hot chocolate and put some little mini marshmallows in it. The extra bonus is I don't have to share it with the kids. Maybe for you, it's not a drink. Maybe it's a favuorite  snack that you don't want to share. Whatever it is, it's about being in that moment. And it's about taking that time to focus in and and forget about everything else around you to just focus on those 3 things that I talked about before. The color of what it is, the weight of it in your hands, and the feeling of the fact you're sitting in a chair. You're relaxing, and you're just not thinking of anything else.

You're just in that moment. And that can be very quick, but it can be very powerful. Another thing that you can do is to really look at yourself in the mirror. This might feel a bit uncomfortable at first if you don't usually dwell on your reflection or if you instantly go into critical mode of how you look. But even if you just pause when you're cleaning your teeth and you really look and connect with you, and I want you to say a positive affirmation to yourself. Positive affirmations are a very powerful way of sending yourself a dose of good vibe energy. They are a great way to show yourself love. They can be grounding, energizing, motivating, inspiring, or loving.

Because here's the thing, our minds and our body don't know what's true. It only knows what we tell it. And so the way we speak to ourselves is so important. Our mind and our bodies, they're listening.  

So Some positive affirmations that you can say to yourself, 

I love my body and all it does for me. 
I love the woman that I am. 
I am more important. I choose me.
I am so much more than a mum. 

Remember, how you think about things determines how you feel about things. Positive affirmations might seem silly at first. But they are surprisingly helpful and can be very effective. Just give them a try and see what happens. What have you got to lose? 

The last thing I wanna talk about is challenging yourself. What I mean by this is taking some time, it can be 10 minutes, As human beings, we are naturally curious, and we're interested in the world around us. I want you to nurture that curiosity that is inside you.

Maybe you can listen to a podcast or read something or some parts of a book. Maybe you can watch part of a tutorial on something you wish to learn or just watch a program or documentary some of something that you've you don't normally watch. Choose something you're interested in, that you're drawn to, or curious about knowing more. It's amazing how these things, these little pockets of time add up. And before you know it, you've read that book, or you've learned that new skill, or We've just enjoyed hearing a different perspective. Feeding our curiosity feeds our creativity, and that feeds and fuels our energy levels. We feel inspired and motivated and part of something, and it makes our lives far more interesting and enjoyable. I hope that you found these suggestions useful, and you'll give some of them a try.

The truth is that self care means something different to whoever you ask. In general sense, it means taking care of yourself. But as we are all so different, it can mean very different things on an individual level. Self care is whatever you need to help your body and your brain feel recharged, strong, and most importantly, resilient so it can cope with your life. I really want you to take a few moments to think about what self care really means and looks like to you. Thank you so much for joining me. Sadly, this is the last episode for series 1. 

I will put out a Christmas episode the last Friday of November and a new year episode the last Friday of December and then I'll be back again with you for series 2 in January.

Thank you so so much for joining me for this 1st season. It has been so much fun, and I have learned so much. And I really appreciate you listening along with me and, following my journey. And I look forward to, being back soon with you all. Take care. I hope you have a lovely weekend.