5 quarantine self-care tips – for the boss mom

Anyone else going crazy staying at home? I was definitely in that camp until I decided to double down on self-care.

Today I’m sharing 5 self-care tips that have helped me stay sane while we have been quarantined. As a business owner, mother of two and wife, my idea of self-care may be different from the average person.

At a time when the whole world seems to be off its axis it’s important to find ways to stay grounded. Yes…the world is different from what many of us were looking forward to but here we are. Here are 5 ways I have been able to adapt.

1. Create Quarantine A Morning Routine

I have been so busy pivoting my business, checking on clients, making sure my family is fed, keeping the house clean, making sure the girls have a schedule, school work is submitted… that I let myself go even more than I usually do.

I corrected that by creating a new quarantine morning routine for myself.

Since we no longer have commutes or school drop-offs, we had slipped into a cycle of sleeping late and waking up even later. By the time we woke up, the kids were looking for breakfast, they needed to start on the school work, we needed to jump on calls…

Essentially, I was diving into the day head first without taking time for myself.

So…enter the morning routine which forced me to wake up before everyone else.

• Do my daily devotional
• Workout
• Shower
• Go through my skincare routine
• Fold laundry for 15 minutes
• Lay my bed
• Have coffee while checking emails

…all before the girls wake up at 7am.

Following this routine has left me in a much better mood during the day AND I’ve been even more productive.

So…if you’re free flowing your day while you’re quarantined, you may want to create a quarantine routine that works for you and your family.

2. Use Calendar blocking for homeschooling while Quarantined

Now that homeschooling is here to stay, I have been intentional about including the girls’ school work in my calendar.

As parents, I think some of our frustration stems from us trying to homeschool AND do our work at the same time. I’m sure you’ve noticed this isn’t a set it and forget it type of activity.

I have found that most of my kids’ school work can be completed before lunch time. Which means between 9 am and 12pm, we are focused on their school work.

During this block of time, I still respond to emails and work on tasks that don’t require my full concentration. The key benefit for me has been that, I don’t feel frustrated about being pulled away from work.

On the flip side, my core work hours have shifted to between 12 pm and 4:30 pm. I’m fortunate enough to have kids who still nap after lunch so this works well. Of course, you can always work after the kids go to bed or early in the mornings if needed.

3. Be realistic about how much you can accomplish

Are you accustomed to knocking out 10 things on your to-do list before 5 pm every day? Keeping up that same pace may be difficult during this time when there are kids and spouses around requiring your attention.

As I mentioned in my calendar blocking tip, my work schedule has changed. Along the same lines, I have also had to re-evaluate my business and life priorities.

This means I now have 3 business and 3 household priorities every day. I split them up into morning, afternoon and nighttime tasks and save tasks requiring the most concentration for the quietest part of my day.

I can comfortably fit these 6 tasks into my day. For you, that number might be higher or lower. The point is to be realistic about how much you can get done so you’re not frustrated when you don’t get to something.

4. Find a hobby

For some of us, while we don’t necessarily have extra time on our hands, our schedules have shifted around enough for us to make time for new hobbies.

One of my favorite pastimes has always been cooking and baking. It seems like I, along with the rest of America are doing baking these days. The other day I went to Wal-Mart all masked and gloved up only to find there was NO flour and NO yeast.

The Instacart runner from Costco had wanted to get us a 50 pound bag of flour which we definitely don’t need so I decided to brave to outdoors and finally found some at Central Market.

Along with baking, I’ve also gotten into gardening. My goal is to turn our back yard into an oasis my family can enjoy.

A side benefit of this hobby is I now I more lifestyle content to share you all both on Instagram and YouTube.

5. Practice gratitude

How do we stay positive when the world around us seems to be spiraling out of control? It turns out practicing gratitude can drastically improve your mood and help you create a more positive outlook on life.

Before you wave this off as some “woo woo” stuff, consider the fact that this has been scientifically proven by researchers who tracked the gratitude practices (or lack thereof) of 3 groups over the course of 10 weeks. Spoiler alert! The group that focused on the things they were grateful for every day, were happier and healthier.

I’ve started writing down 3 things I’m thankful for every day. On days when I’m feeling down, my hope is to look through this list and remember how blessed I am.

That’s how I’ve been staying sane and even thriving during this season. I would love to hear what’s been working for you!