Seven ways to prevent burnout as a mum

Certain signs will present themselves should you be going through a burn out. You will find yourself feeling emotionally exhausted, mentally drained and unable to do even the activities you enjoy.

Burnouts are a form of mental breakdown and they’re definitely not a fun thing to experience. It feels like all your emotions are tumbling down at the same time and that can be hard for any woman. 

For mums, the pressure is double. You can experience burnout from balancing home and work life and before you come for my neck, full time moms are no exception.

Burnouts are often inevitable. Still, small adjustments make everything better and reduce the number of breakdowns you experience. Here is how to achieve that. 

i. Make a to do list 

These are three magic words that help you put things into perspective. We sometimes assume that taking mental notes is enough when all it does is clutter our minds with worry. Make a habit of creating a schedule the night before. It will literally take less than a minute. They organize your thoughts and reduce stress levels in the long run.

ii. Accept your limitations

There’s no such thing as a perfect mom or a perfect life. Those only exist in movies and they’re nowhere close to real life. You have to decide that you’ll always do your best and that’s enough. The world won’t crumble if things aren’t perfect. At the end of the day you are human.

iii. Surround yourself with positivity

Surround yourself with positive music, friends, shows and everything in between. Even the people you follow on social media should have a positive influence on your life. Most of the time, you’ll discover that the pressure is coming from your external environment. They might even be the main source of your burnout triggers without you realizing it. Start doing an overhaul of your friends, your social media or even your playlists and you’ll see how huge the shift will be.

iv. Use your time wisely

The ‘African timing’ mentality has never helped anyone. I can attest to that. It will only leave you feeling overwhelmed and it can actually piss people off when you’re late. That’s why you should try keep time whenever you can. Also, you’ll have more time to relax when you’ve already handled your priorities early. Don’t waste hours on your phone or on things that will only cause chaos in the end.

v. Eat right and get enough sleep

The basics of preventing stress or burnouts is getting enough rest and eating the right things. They both affect your hormones and they should actually be your everyday goal.

vi. Take the day off

Yes, you’re a mom but that should not be your only identity. You have friends, a relationship with your partner and so many other things that make you happy besides being a good mom. It’s totally okay to spend a day with your girls or have a date night with your partner. You can hire extra help if you don’t have, for those few hours or take your kids to a relative who will watch them for some time.

vii. Avoid micromanaging your kids

Another source of parenting anxiety is micromanaging. If you’re always hypertensive to what they’re doing all the time, they won’t have a chance to become independent. They’re on their own journey in life and they have to learn certain things on their own, so release that burden of being constantly worried. Sometimes all it takes is a prayer to ease the nerves.