I know, I know... You hear it all the time. If you are like me, even the mention of self-care can feel overwhelming. Like “yeah, yeah, I get it, I need to take care of myself, but y’all don’t get it, I’ve got nothing left. My tank is empty.” As a mama who totally lost herself more than just physically after the birth of my first child, I want to talk about self-care on a more holistic level.

So, here are some simple tips that you can easily incorporate into daily life!

1. Figure Out Your “Happy Boosters” Is it spending time outside? Ok, let’s figure out how to check off your ever-growing to-do list AND boost happiness. Take your dog for a walk, play outside with your kiddo, take the conference call on your front lawn, etc

Wearing bronzer? You don’t have to do a full face! Just throw on bronzer or tinted lip gloss and mascara. Make it attainable for you. Keep it in your purse and throw it on at a stop light. Little steps like this can make a huge difference.

Doing a face mask? Why does this always make me happy? Especially when wine is involved.

Listening to music? Play it softly at work, put your earbuds in while washing the dishes, yell at Alexa and tell her to play your fave tunes while you fold laundry.

Reading? A daily devotional? Scrolling social media? Carve out 10-30 mins each day to allow yourself time for this. I’ve found reading before bed makes me extra sleepy, takes my mind off the 8 million things I am ruminating on, and promotes a better night sleep.

Laughing - Find someone who makes you laugh. Be around that person. Laughter is everything for me, y’all. Luckily my husband is funny AF.

Figure out YOUR happy boosters and implement them!

2) Have a Go-To Meal I can’t be the only one who has been too overwhelmed or too busy to eat, right? The thing is, it’s super important to eat on a regular basis (simple, I know, but like I said, it's so easy to forget). Keep easy snacks on hand. I have packets of nuts or Lara Bars in my purse and at my desk.

But even more than just snacks, figure out a go-to meal you can turn to when life is just crayyyyy.

For me, that’s a protein shake (water, frozen fruit, frozen spinach, chia seeds, protein powder or collagen peptides, etc - basically whatever I have) or meat sauce spaghetti (jar of sauce, minced garlic from the fridge, ground beef from the freezer, and good ole’ pasta - I’ve been doing a lot of chickpea pasta these days). Honestly, it can even be a go-to meal from a favorite restaurant. Throw the number for your favorite pizza joint in your cell and be ready to call them and pick up a hot meal!

3) Ask for Help

Yep, I SUCK at this and need to practice what I preach. We weren’t meant to go through this crazy world alone, y’all. It doesn’t have to be asking for help for big things, it can be little things like asking your hubs to pick up that go-to meal I mentioned above so you don’t have to throw the kids in the car yet again to run out. Or asking someone to switch the laundry over so you can head to bed. Asking a friend to pray for you. If your co-worker is running out to get lunch, ask them to grab something to-go for you (venmo and paypal makes this so easy these days). Ask a friend for a safe space to vent (this one is huge for me - I love a good vent sesh). Remember, people love helping people. Think about the last time you helped someone out - it felt good, right? Sending you all lots of love! Xoxo,

Marlee