Fifteen 15-Minute Rare Mama Resets
Okay, mamas, you’re time-starved, and I get it. But you still need little breaks in the day to refuel, recoup, and reset. Here’s the basic science, if your body and mind are in motion all day long and your adrenaline is pumping and telling you to run like a cavewoman from a wild animal chasing you, at some point, it’s going to burnout. It cannot keep up at that constant pace. It needs to reset. If you don’t make time to take a break, you will start to feel the emotional and physical effects of this constant state of “go.”
But we are rare-disease mamas. We know we need to take care of ourselves, but we don’t see how when we have so much on our plates. We live in a reality where we have children that need us, paperwork that we need to fill out, doctor’s appointments that we need to attend, etc. So what can we do?
We can find 15-minute spots each day to build in little resets. We can take these short breaks to turn off our bodies and our mind and regroup. I am telling you, these short breaks can make a world of difference.
So how do we do this? We schedule it into our day. We literally take out our calendar or planner and look for spots in the day where we can squeeze these breaks in. We have to be smart, and we even have to be a little bit scrappy.
Listen, I would love to have this perfectly balanced daily schedule, where there is the optimal amount of time each day to complete all my to-dos and the perfect amount of time to rest. But it’s just not the way my life operates. So instead, I have to shove these little breaks into the day wherever I can. It’s not perfect, but it certainly helps. It helps me change my state of mind back to calm (or calmer).
So, for now, try and start with one day at a time scheduling a 15-minute break. See how it goes, see how it feels, and see where in the day it works. It may be a little trial and error at first. Then over time, perhaps you can build up and add another 15-minute break into the day. Then another one. Small steps here and there until you have a few resets that allow you to breathe and regroup.
I’ve put together the steps to get you ready for your reset along with fifteen 15-minute refresh ideas that I chose specifically to turn both your mind and body off of their regular program.
I know you don’t have hours on end, but I bet you can find 15 minutes. I really bet you can! Mama, I urge you to try this. I encourage you to do this for yourself. You are a beautiful mama doing beautiful work. Now love on yourself a little bit with a 15-minute break for you TODAY!
Five Steps to Prepare for Your Resets
- Wake up 15-minutes earlier
- Look at your schedule and pencil in your break time for that day
- Choose the 15-minute break suggestion you’re going to do
- During that time, turn off your phone, social media, distractions, and anything beeping at you
- During that time, clear your mind—this is your time, this is your space, no to-dos, no what-ifs…tune it all out and only be in that moment
Fifteen 15-Minute Resets
- Walking —outside in fresh air and taking note of nature
- Breathing— doing breathwork to reconnect with your calm
- Stretching—lengthening your body to allow it to be loose and limber
- Sipping—savoring a hot cup of tea and literally doing nothing while you sit and sip
- Dancing—shaking it like you’re at the nightclub…choosing your favorite pick me up song or a tune that takes you back to old times and dancing like you crazy (you might enjoy this way more than you plan to)
- Journaling—writing down all of your feelings and thoughts and getting them out of your head
- Praying—talking to God, thanking him, and asking him for what you need
- Meditating—clearing your mind and connecting to your highest self
- Acupressure—applying acupressure techniques to promote relaxation
- Reading—letting your mind escape to another place or time
- Laying—positioning yourself flat on a bed or a lounger and just being still and off your feet
- Bathing—soaking in a bubble bath and feeling the textures of the water and bubbles
- Calming—using a calming app for soothing and bringing your pace down
- Massaging—using your hands, a foam roller, a tennis ball, whatever you have
- Painting/Coloring/Drawing/Writing—creating to let your spirit fly free
P.s. If you haven’t checked out this article Rare-Disease Caregiving: Mama Needs A Break, check it out now.
