Making Time to Rest
Mom burnout is real, especially when you have a kid that doesn’t sleep and you are trying to get things done when he sleeps so you can spend time with him while he is awake. I have got in the habit of going to bed so late because I feel like I need that time to myself after spending so much time getting him down for the night. Then when I finally make myself tired enough to get in bed, he wakes up. After a month or so of this endless bedtime cycle, I am needing to prioritize rest! I decided to come up with a challenge for myself before the busyness of the holidays are here.
1) Drink my morning coffee outside at least 3 mornings out of the week.
By drinking my coffee outside I don’t have to look at all the things inside that need done. It gives me a chance to breathe a prayer while sipping hot coffee in the cool morning air.
Check out my blog post with our favorite coffee recipes if you are looking for some new ones to try!
2) No television. At all. All week.
I can listen to music, read, listen to podcasts, etc. Anything that I can do without the television on!
3) Do one load of laundry every day.
I have always tried to save my laundry for the weekend but it can get so overwhelming! Having a laundry room downstairs instead of on the main level makes it easy to talk myself out of doing it. If I get everything washed and dried then I end up with a giant pile on my couch that looks too overwhelming to fold. I think if I did one load every single day then it would be easy to put away quickly and wouldn’t pile up!
4) Clean the kitchen every night.
The kitchen is the one room in the house that I appreciate having clean more than any of the others. What my kitchen looks like when I wake up and walk out of my room in the morning sets the tone for my day! I know that even on the nights that it is hard to take the extra 5 to 10 minutes to make sure it’s clean, I will appreciate it so much more the next morning!
5) Drink a cup of hot tea every night before bed.
I love drinking hot tea at night. It keeps me from snacking so late but I also think it will help set a good nighttime routine for me to look forward to. If I’m lucky, maybe the chamomile will help make me sleepy!
6) Get more sleep!
I have always been a night owl. Since becoming a mom, I feel as though I can go long periods without sleep but after days of little sleep it starts to catch up with me. This particular season, I have a toddler that doesn’t like sleeping so he stays up late and wakes up early. I want to try to make myself go to bed an hour earlier every night for atleast one week. Some nights that will mean not doing things I would normally do during that time, but I also realize that my body is desperate for the rest it requires to function.
7) Read more books!
I absolutely love books, but it is so hard to find time to sit and open a book as a stay-at-home mom. I’m not someone that can just read one chapter a day because I get into the story and can’t put it down. This might be one that I have to start out slowly on, like reading a couple chapters while my toddler has breakfast and solo play in the mornings.
For some good book recommendations, check out my blog post on my favorite books!
If you are in a season where you need to take some steps to rest, try one of the above ideas! Rest isn’t always easy, but it is necessary!
Praying blessings and rest of you, friends!
