3 “Easy Buttons” to Prioritize Self-care This Summer
Do you always find yourself last on the list of people to take care of? Let’s change that Mama. Your well-being matters!
This month I want to help you see how you can prioritize yourself. Not in a vain or selfish way, but in a way that recognizes your inherent dignity and the value you bring to this world.
As a busy mom myself, I know what it’s like to know what I’m supposed to do and yet still struggle to actually do the thing. That’s where my “easy buttons” really come in handy.
How Easy Buttons Support Your Health
Easy buttons, as I’ve defined them, are the habits, routines, plans and systems we put in place to automate parts of our lives. When we have easy buttons in place we have more energy to devote to other things that aren’t so easy and we’re better able to prioritize our own self-care.
Easy buttons primarily reduce your mental load — all that remembering you’re always doing — and can help reduce some of the stress in your life. They also free your brain up for the things that require more thought or more energy. And, when you create easy buttons around prayer, movement, diet or sleep, they have a very direct impact on your overall health.
As a health coach, I love helping my clients figure out what easy buttons are going to work best for them.
One client worked hard on improving her sleep and was not only able to be more present for her dying mother, but able to care for herself through that painful process. Another client needed to drink more water, so set up a row of water bottles in her kitchen so she could see and drink them as the day went on. Another incorporated listening to worship music on her drive into work to set the tone for the day at her stressful and mentally exhausting job.
Easy buttons are just one piece of the work my clients and I do together either 1:1 or in my 12-week program, The Exhausted Mom Solution.
This concept of “easy buttons” is sprinkled throughout The Exhausted Mom Solution, but here are a few strategies you can use right now to prioritize your self-care, even on the busiest of days.
Build a Habit Off of an Existing One
Habits are an incredible easy button because a true habit is automatic and subconscious. A lot of habits we talk about tend to be more like routines, but those are wonderful easy buttons, as well. Let’s say you want to get better about praying daily. (Prayer is such an important foundation to our days and our lives; it’s hands down the best easy button you can have!) Think about something you already do every single day. Brush your teeth? Drink a cup of coffee? How could you add in prayer time either right before or right afterwards? Every time you do that existing activity, use it as a trigger to pray. As you work on creating this habit you’ll naturally start to associate the two actions together.
One habit I have is to do some squats or calf stretches as I’m brushing my teeth each night. What started out as a way to get a couple minutes of movement in before bedtime has become automatic.
This summer, choose one habit that you want to work on for your own self-care. It could be praying as you do laundry, it could be stretches before bedtime, it could be a morning walk with the kids before it’s too hot. Consider what you need and start there.
Have a Plan
Knowing how you’ll deal with a situation before it arises is so helpful and a great easy button! Let’s take the example of a pool day. What happens if it storms and your plans are canceled? Instead of being super frustrated and cranky with the disappointed kids, decide now - in advance - what you will do if this situation happens. How will you be gentle with yourself? What will you do? What will you choose not to do? How will you feed yourself? How will you talk to yourself?
You can create plans for any scenario that you’d like to be more prepared for. When you do, instead of being stressed out and likely making less-than-ideal decisions, your plan keeps you grounded.
This summer, come up with one plan for a potential scenario before it happens. Cancelled plans, sick kids, bad weather, everyone was up too late. Think about how you’ll handle that situation now and when it happens you’ll take much better care of yourself (and your family, too)!
Find Your System
What do I mean by systems? Anything that will help you remember to do something. It can be calendar reminders, things you put in your planner, sticky notes, emails…whatever works for you. For example, I use tasks in my Google calendar for everything from watering plants to scheduling the kids’ well visits. The important thing is to find something that works for YOU.
This summer, try making a system that’s just for your own self-care. Do you have a reminder on your phone or calendar to schedule your annual physical, GYN, or eye exams? It’ll take you 2 minutes, if that! How about a system that reminds you to take your vitamins/supplements? Put them next to the coffee maker, by your toothbrush or another place you’ll see them each morning.
Figure out your unique easy buttons
If you’re looking for simple, practical and do-able steps to support your health, The Exhausted Mom Solution is exactly what you need. There are three different ways you can participate, so you can choose the option that works best for you.
As you enjoy the summer, imagine what your fall and winter will look like when you have so many new tools to support your well-being. Whether it’s creating easy buttons, identifying your cravings, getting to the root of why you keep making excuses to workout, or learning an amazing way to handle stress, you will come away from our time together with hope, with renewed energy, and most importantly, with a deeper relationship with Christ.
The Exhausted Mom Solution is one-of-a-kind and I can’t wait to see how God works in your life through this program!
