How to Balance Life as a Stay at Home Mom: 10 Tips and Ideas
Are you a stay-at-home mom feeling overwhelmed and like you can’t balance it all? You’re not alone! It’s hard to manage everything and still find time for yourself. The good news is that it is possible despite the very common obstacles!
In this blog post, we will discuss different ideas and tips for balancing life as a stay-at-home mom. We will cover tips for managing your time, making time for family, taking care of yourself, and much more. Let’s get to it!
How to Balance Life as a Stay at Home Mom: 10 Tips and Ideas
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There’s no one perfect solution for living a balanced life, especially as a mom. But there are some key things that will set you and your family up for success. Try one or more of the ideas below and see how they work for you.
1) Learn To Manage Your Time
Figuring out the best time management methods for you and your lifestyle is key to actually sticking to it. Maybe you thrive on a set schedule so you can predict your daily life or you prefer loose guidelines that allow for lots of intuition and flexibility. There are no right or wrong answers and you will probably end up trying a few different time management techniques before you find one that works best. Of course, not everything can be planned for and you should expect the unexpected, but having some go-to routines and schedules will make a big difference.
No matter how you like to manage your time, it’s important to find a system that is repeatable and works for your family. When you know what can reasonably be expected each day, it will be easier to stay on track and feel more put together. Having a schedule or plan of some sort will also help reduce stress and anxiety as long as it’s realistic and you’re willing to tweak it as needed.
There are endless time management ideas out there, but a really common one is time blocking. You simply block out a chunk of time in your day to devote to a single task or series or similar tasks. For example, if you know that folding laundry and putting it away will take a minimum of 30 minutes, you can schedule a half-hour in your day at an optimal time to focus on doing it until it’s done.
Setting a timeline or schedule can be daunting if you’re not used to it, so you can buy a beginner-friendly planner to manage your time, like the Clever Fox planners.
If you prefer a digital planning method, you can use free tools like Trello or Google Calendar, or a digital planner like this one.
There are also a ton of free and affordable printable planners and schedules, which you can find in The Mom Life Vault and Your Best Mom Life Shop.
2) Set Aside Time For Family
Whether it’s one hour every day or one whole day each week, make sure you are spending quality time with your family. This will improve the quality of your relationships, not to mention it eases mom guilt when you know that you were present with the time you did spend with them.
There are a lot of different ways to spend time with your family, but here are a few ideas to get you started:
– Have breakfast together every morning.
– Play games or do puzzles together in the evening.
– Watch family movies or go on hikes on the weekends.
– Make weekly dinners where each person prepares their own dish.
– Have a family meeting once a week to go over the schedule, any upcoming events, and discuss concerns and celebrations.
You can also try some simpler ideas like reading stories, playing games, having lighthearted and open-ended conversations, going on outings, or any other activities that everyone enjoys.
If you can’t all decide on one thing to do, try coming up with a system that gives everyone a voice and a chance to do their activity of choice. For example, everyone can get together one evening to write their own ideas down on a piece of paper (one idea for each piece of paper) and all the ideas then get put into a bowl. One day a week (or however often you plan family time) one idea gets drawn and is the winner. This is a great way to teach the family that everyone deserves to vote and participate. It’s also a great lesson in giving and taking and being fair!
If you’re feeling really strapped for time but still want to prioritize family connection, there are a lot of great short activities you can do that will help build strong family bonds in short chunks of time, too. You can find more ideas in this blog post about 50 Fun Activities to Do With Your Kids (Ideas for Every Age).
No matter how you do it, make sure that you are carving out time specifically for your family. It will be worth it! The main thing is that you’re all spending time together and enjoying each other’s company.
3) Take Care Of Yourself On A Daily Basis
Taking care of yourself is vital for balancing life as a stay-at-home mom. Make sure you are getting enough sleep, eating healthy foods, and exercising. This will help you to feel better both physically and mentally, which is essential for managing your stress as a mom. Burnout is real, but it’s also avoidable when you prioritize your own needs and establish some non-negotiables.
This also includes leisure “me” time. It can be something as simple as taking a bath, reading a book, taking a walk, or catching up on your favorite show. Just make sure that you are giving yourself some time each day to relax and de-stress.
You can also find more tips for self-care in this blog post, How to Take Care of Yourself As A Busy Mom.
4) Socialize With Friends
It’s important to have a social life outside of your family. Find time to go out with friends or join a mom’s group. This will help you to stay connected and have some adult conversation that you’ve probably been missing out on.
Plus, it’s always nice to have people to rely on for support and advice. When you’re feeling overwhelmed or like things are just too much, your friends will be there to help you out. Likewise, they should also be there to celebrate your wins!
You can find a ton of great ideas for how to make and socialize with mom friends in this post. Whether you live in a rural area and don’t meet a lot of people or you consider yourself introverted and find it’s hard to make friends, there’s a way for you to have friends and a support system!
5) Set Boundaries With Your Friends And Family
You can’t do it all yourself, and you shouldn’t be expected to. If you’re taking on too many commitments and burning out from mom life, set boundaries with the people who need them. Let them know when you need some alone time or help and stick to it. This can be hard, especially if you’ve always been the go-to person for everyone. Just remember that you need help, too. And, it’s okay to ask for it!
You can find more tips on how to set boundaries in this blog post.
(It goes without saying, but if you’re worried about potential reactions from those you need to set boundaries with, talk to a professional about how you should approach the situation — especially if you feel like it will put you or your kids in danger.)
6) Find A Hobby Or Activity That You Enjoy
This can be something that you do by yourself or with your family. Having a hobby will help you to relax and feel more balanced overall. You deserve to get your mind off of your everyday responsibilities, so try taking a class online or an in-person workshop and get creative!
Having a hobby can also help you to make friends who share your interests. It’s a great way to connect with people and get to know yourself even more, too.
If you’re not sure where to start, check out this post for some ideas.
7) Set Realistic Expectations
One of the most important tips for balancing it all as a stay-at-home mom is to set realistic and forgiving expectations. This goes for yourself and everyone else around you. Life will have ebbs and flows and doesn’t always go according to plan, so set everyone up for success by setting appropriate expectations.
This includes allowing yourself and your family to have down days and not feeling guilty or shaming anyone about it. It’s perfectly natural to feel overwhelmed and stressed out at times. Just know that you’ll get through it and things will eventually get better as long as you’re open to support and give everyone some grace in the process.
8) Start Or Grow A Side Gig
It probably seems counterintuitive to have this one on a list of ideas for balancing life as a stay-at-home mom, but starting or growing a side gig can actually have a positive effect on your life. Not only can you earn some extra income but it may just help you learn to manage your time and set priorities more appropriately. And if your partner tends to work overtime to cover extra expenses, the income from a side gig could help free up their schedule, as well.
There are a ton of different ways to start a side gig, so find something that you’re interested in, research it, and go from there. You can start a blog, do freelance work, start a small business, or become an expert consultant in your field.
No matter what you choose to do, just make sure that it doesn’t take up too much of your time, or else it will be hard to balance with everything else on your plate.
These are just a few tips for balancing life as a stay-at-home mom. What works for one person may not work
9) Invest In Your Mental And Emotional Well-Being
By far the most important thing you can do is to invest in your mental and emotional well-being. Not just surface-level things that are considered self-care. You need to figure out who you are as a person outside of motherhood and relationships, and nourish that person. This can look like going to therapy, making time to go to the doctor, or working with a life coach. It can also look like committing to an exercise program and choosing healthier choices so that you feel better all around.
10) Prioritize The Truly Important Things
It may feel like everything is important, but really much of the time, most things on our to-do list can wait. Not everything deserves to be prioritized, nor should they be. Figure out what your true priorities are in every area of life, from relationships, parenting, schooling, household, personal development, and so forth. And not what others prioritize and expect of you…this is about what you and your family prioritize on your own terms.
The Gist: How to Live a Balanced Life as a Stay at Home Mom
The most important thing to remember when trying to balance life as a stay-at-home mom is that it’s not going to be perfect. There will be times when you feel like you’re barely keeping your head above water, but that’s okay. As long as you’re taking care of yourself, your family, and your commitments, you’re doing great! And, don’t forget to ask for help when you need it. There are plenty of people who are willing and able to help.
By following these tips, you will be able to live a more balanced life as a stay-at-home mom. It is possible to find time for yourself and still take care of your family. Just remember to make a schedule that’s flexible and feels good, set boundaries, prioritize what matters, and find ways to enjoy each other’s company on a regular basis.