Are you feeling overworked and exhausted in your motherhood journey? Find ten easy and practical tips that can help you stop feeling like an overwhelmed mom.
So, moms how have you been holding up? This past couple of months with all of us being quarantined at home because of the pandemic, life has seemed to get busier and busier with no help whatsoever. I have been feeling the burn too lately. With a hyperactive toddler who always wants to play and the never-ending household and work tasks, I feel that I have too much to juggle between on my plate.
In these situations, one can often feel extremely overwhelmed with nowhere to go. It’s normal after all we are all humans. It’s exhausting to be present in all the situations in your life all the time with no time left for you to relax and unwind. These past weeks have quite felt the same way with me. With so many months trying to do it all, I have started to feel the burn and often feel guilty for not being able to spend enough time with my daughter what she needs the most from me.
As the feeling of not being enough for my family kept troubling me for many days, I decided to journal my thoughts in a diary and see what actually triggers me to get overwhelmed and what can help that feeling go away. Below are a few of my pointers big and small which helps me turn my bad day around and also makes me stop feeling like an overwhelmed working mom.
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10 Easy and practical tips that will make you STOP feeling like an overwhelmed mom
1. Stop everything and make yourself a cup of coffee
Yes, it works! Sometimes when I am feeling extremely overwhelmed and filled with guilt of not being able to give my best to my family, I stop doing what I am doing completely, and instead I go make myself a hot cup of coffee or tea.
I have tried doing this many times now, and this little thing helps me clear my mind and also gives me the motivation to attempt it all once again with a clearer mind.
In the end, it’s all about how you feel in your mind. Just looking at the same situation from a different perspective can help clear your mind of all that stress. And making a hot cup of coffee exactly does the same thing for me.
2. Keep only 3 high priority tasks on your to-do list to complete in a day
So, I have shared this many times in the past with you all, that I love making a to-do list for the next day as it helps me relax my mind and sleep better. Even though I was able to take on multiple tasks initially, but presently with all of us at home, I have realized that one of my trigger points that often makes me feel overwhelmed was having too many tasks to complete on my to-do list.
To get rid of this feeling, I started to shrink my to-do list. And to be honest, it took me a lot of time to accept that as of now with everything going around me, I can barely complete three goals in a day.
I distributed my three goals according to high, medium, and low priority, and target them as per importance first thing in the morning. I also keep a small little task list of things that will not take me more than 15 minutes, but while making that list, I make sure never to get ahead of myself.
You can download my to-do tasks daily planner here
This helps me stay calm and I feel great when I am able to complete my tasks in a day.
3. Even better give yourself a break from the to-do lists
I know it’s not possible all the time, but if you are feeling very emotional and stressed out, and if it’s possible, then it's best at times to leave all your tasks for the day and simply relax and unwind.
I have noticed that a cluttered mind is often the biggest trigger to feel extremely overwhelmed. Sometimes just moving your tasks for tomorrow can help you clear your mind and instead of worrying about other things you can concentrate on what is the most important thing in your life.
4. Wake up before your kids
Well, I can’t stress that enough. I have noticed that the days that I wake up 1-2 hours before my daughter, I feel very energetic and motivated to take on the day with full force.
Maybe it’s because I am able to get some time for myself in the morning or I am able to tackle my high priority task when the house is the quietest. Whatever it is, waking up early in the morning has always been a huge motivation for me.
5. Workout for 30 minutes in a day
Two of my biggest triggers that often push me in the direction of feeling like an overwhelmed mom have been – waking late in the morning and missing my workouts in the day.
I get that working out with kids and with so much going around is easier said than done, but there is something about pushing your body to exercise that can instantly take all my stress away.
I just spend easy 30 minutes with myself, either running around my household block or following an easy 30 minutes exercise YouTube video. But the feeling of being able to spend those 30 minutes on me is like self-care and always leaves me with a great feeling.
Lately, I have been doing the BBG workout designed by Kayla Itsines. This workout is for busy women who have too much to get done in a day and it takes only 28-30 minutes to complete and makes you feel great.
6. Ask for help
Sometimes we have no idea what a small help can do to you. When I had got back to work after my maternity leave, things often felt out of control and I would often felt overwhelmed by all this. At that time, I hired a house help who would come in and cook meals over the weekend for me. This easy help was a big blessing to me, and it pulled me out of my misery.
Maybe it could be getting a nanny for a couple of hours in the evening or a cleaning lady to come clean your house 1-2 times per month. Whatever it is, it will make a big difference in your life.
7. Journal your feelings
This would be the ultimate tip that really helped me keep a close track on things that can instantly make me feel better. There were days when I was feeling extremely overwhelmed back to back and that’s when I started to journal my days.
I would write about my day, how I felt that day and in the end on a scale of 1 to 10, I would mark where I was in terms of motivation for the day.
After journaling for a week, I started to notice a pattern that the days that I worked out and woke up early, I felt very energetic and satisfied by the end of the day. Also journaling my day, helped me vent out how I was feeling that day and helped me sleep better.
8. Speak or visit a friend
Being able to speak to someone and share your feeling when you are feeling down can leave you feeling instantly better.
Sometimes our cluttered and exhausted mind, often makes small things really big in our head. Just being able to vent those feelings out with a loved one or a friend, can make us feel better and help us clear our mind of all the negativity.
9. Take a walk outside in your neighborhood
Sometimes all you need is some fresh air to clear up all those stuffed and overwhelmed feelings in our head.
Whenever I am feeling extremely exhausted or overworked, I just step out. I usually take my daughter along with me and let her run around while I walk and clear my mind of all the mixed feelings in the head.
Taking in fresh air and seeing new faces around, always makes me feel better and always leaves me feeling fresh.
10. Stick to your schedule
Lastly, I cannot stress this more – ALWAYS stick to your schedule. With kids not having a good routine, it can really mess up your entire day and your mood as well. A good routine is like a backbone for the family. It helps keep things in order and in check.
I follow a similar routine with my daughter mostly every day and plan my day around her routine. There are days when I have to be flexible, but still having a structure in the back of our mind of what the day looks like, helps us all stay sane as a family.
You can find a few helpful kid schedule resources on the blog like how I set up a routine for my toddler that actually works and why routine in kids is important.
Feeling like an overwhelmed mom is a common feeling. We all have those days but if you are someone who is not able to feel better then it is best to talk to a loved one and seek help. Speaking to your partner or a family member can help you understand your situation better and sometimes it can also make those feelings go away.
I hope these tips were helpful and it can help you stop feeling like an overwhelmed mom. The best way to turn a bad day around is always knowing what can make you feel better and the best way to know that is to journal your day so that you can understand what actually makes you feel better!
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