5 ways to nurture yourself with a busy schedule...

Today I have Naomi from Seven Cherubs guest posting for me. I have no idea where she finds the time to blog, let alone draft up guest posts for me, around her seven children, but I thank her anyway, for a really great post on nurturing...

As a mother to seven children and a slightly addicted blogger who loves to write every day, I often find it a struggle to find any time for myself in my busy schedule. Although most of my days are filled with a variety of activities and household duties, I believe it is important to create the time to nurture yourself as a woman and as a mother.


Here are 5 ways that I nurture myself:


1. Plan your personal time out.


So often as women we put the needs of others first and forget about ourselves. We are just as important in the priority of our families and need to plan some time out for ourselves as well. On Sunday night I like to look at my week ahead and plan at least a couple of time out moments for myself during that week. They do not have to be large blocks of time, even 30 minutes of relaxation or rest helps me to feel nurtured for that day.


2. Give yourself breathing space


Nurturing is all about helping to create an environment of personal growth and to help care for something or someone. As women I believe we place unnecessary pressure upon ourselves to run a million miles an hour all of the time. Giving ourselves some breathing space helps us to clear our minds, to asses our personal care levels and to know if we need to focus on a specific area of our life such as diet/exercise/sleep etc. For me some quiet time in the morning helps me to know where I need to make some changes.


3. Know what you need


One of the keys for me in knowing how to help nurture myself is to be in-tune with my feelings and to know what I need. As I run around during my day which can range from doing the laundry, to the food shopping to writing a blog post, I make sure I stay connected to myself and how I feel. When I am able to snatch a moment to take some time out I can easily know what I need as I am aware of how I feel. Often what I need is simply a rest, sometimes an escape by reading a book and sometimes just a chat on the phone with a friend.


4. Involve your children


If you are a mother and have young children do not be afraid to involve your children in your nurturing moment. Teach them to care for you as a mother as you would care for them.. A small game I taught each of my children when they were young was the ‘sleeping game’. In this game my children would run off to a bedroom and get a pillow and a blanket just for Mum. I would lay down on the couch or even on the ground and they were to take care of me. They would put the pillow under my head. Lay the blanket on me and then give me a little massage on my back. This was all done whilst they had to be very quiet and you could only whisper if you needed to talk. It always amazed me how loving my children could be back to me and often this was the only break I would get during the day.

5. Write a nurture list


When my children were very little I often struggled to find time to nurture myself. When I could snatch a moment to myself I was often too tired to even think of what to do to help myself feel better. So I sat down one day and created a list. A short list of ideas of what I loved to do and what activities I could fit in around my busy schedule. It included taking a bubble bath, taking a short walk down my street, reading one chapter of a book, painting my toenails and sometimes simply putting on a clean t-shirt! I found having a quick reference helpful.

Do you take the time to nurture yourself? How?

About Naomi:
Naomi is a blogger, writer, chocolate lover, kitchen dancer, jewellery addict, commuter bus driver, happiness seeker, home decorator and motherhood advocate. She blogs at www.sevencherubs.com and recently wrote her first ebook, Pockets of Happiness. You can also find her on Facebook and Twitter.