Get Things Done So You Can Take Care of You

Many moms put many things ahead of themselves, working hard to make sure that the people around them are healthy and happy. Do you do this? If so, I’m right there with you.

This means that we’re doing a great job of taking care of our families but how well are we taking care of ourselves?

Becel recently surveyed Canadian moms to find out how we’re doing in that department. I bet it won’t come as a surprise that the majority of us say that we just don’t have enough time to take care of ourselves. Funnily enough, over a quarter of us have spent hours making Halloween costumes, and/or stayed up all night baking for the school bake sale, and/or run all over town looking for the season’s hottest toy. Sound familiar?

So what about our health and happiness? Moms need to be encouraged to make themselves a priority. Becel has created this super sweet video that you can personalize and send to the moms in your life to give them this gentle reminder. Check it out and share! It is an important message we all need to keep top of mind, because too many kids lose their mothers to heart disease and stroke, a leading cause of death for Canadian women.

The good news is that we can reduce our risk—by as much as 80%!!—if we take care of ourselves and make healthy lifestyle choices. Now, to find ways to carve out the time to make this happen…

If you keep these “Three Ds to Getting it Done” in mind everyday, you’ll be on the right track.

1. DELEGATE

As much as delegating is hard for many moms, it really is ok to ask for help. In fact, to lighten your load and make the time for you, you’ll need to rely on your support networks.

Ask a co-worker at work to help you with a project so you can take a break and eat a proper lunch away from your desk. Get your spouse to take on some chores around the house so you can get to a weekly yoga class. Go to grandparents or babysitters for help with the kids so you can get to a doctor’s appointment. Delegate what you can when you need to.

And if you have older kids, you can delegate to them too! As the Kid is getting older, I’m getting a glimpse into the future of getting more help from him. He’s 6 and a couple weeks ago, he blew my mind. He was home from school for lunch and I had a timely email that had to go out for work before I made our lunch. He said, “I can make the egg salad for you.” I watched in disbelief as he peeled the eggs, mashed them and added in the mayo ALL BY HIMSELF while I sent my email. I’m so excited by the idea that in the near future I will be able to give him a task and take those 15 minutes for something that is good to me.

2. DELAY

Let me tell you something that I have to tell myself every day: As much as you may want to, you’re probably not going to accomplish everything that you want to get done today.

It’s all about prioritizing and when things get busy, something’s gotta give. Decide what is most important and delay the rest.

But the key in making these decisions is to really figure out what is important and remember to keep you in the mix. If you haven’t eaten your meal, the dishes can wait. A basket of unfolded laundry that sits for days is not more important than getting out for a walk.

You can delay some things and, what the heck, consider skipping some things altogether.

I don’t iron. I have one and can’t remember the last time I used it. If something is wrinkled, I toss it in the dryer for a few minutes with some damp clothes instead of taking time to iron.

I also choose to have a short hair cut. When I go to the salon, I tell the stylist that I won’t do anything to my hair other than wash it, let it air dry, put a little product in it, and go. For me, I don’t have any desire to spend time doing my hair.

If you can cut back on things that aren’t that important to you, you can reclaim some time.

3. DEPLOY

In order to get things done and make some more time for yourself, you actually just have to do them. Sounds obvious, right?

But procrastinating on not-so-fun tasks distracts you from being present in what you are currently doing, takes up mental energy, and adds stress. This ultimately makes the task take a lot longer. If it is a daunting job, try tackling part of it at a time to make it easier to get done and just start doing it.

Another option to get "Must Do" tasks done is to try multi-tasking. I've sent many an email while simultaneously preparing dinner. You can even mix your tasks with taking care of yourself. Calling to make an appointment while taking a quick walk around the block is getting two things done at the same time, including getting in some exercise. And if the appointment that you're booking is that physical that you've been avoiding, even better!

If you have perfectionist tendencies, like me, deploying your list of tasks in a timely fashion can be a challenge. Despite “fine” being a dirty word to me, I try to remember just getting it done is job number one. Maybe the entire bathroom isn’t spotless, but the toilet, tub and sink have been given a cleansing wipe and that’s enough for now.

Hopefully taking this “Three Ds to Getting it Done” approach will help you carve out a little extra time to take care of yourself too. And don’t forget to head over to personalize and share the Becel video with moms in your life who need a little reminding and encouraging to do the same.