Ways to get 10 minutes for yourself

When you're a busy mum getting time for yourself seems laughable, even just 10 minutes can seem impossible. With the kids around your feet wanting to 'play' or have you involved in their bickering, the washing mountain that seems to grow rather than reduce, and the need to come up with - and cook - healthy but yummy meals that everyone will eat, you end up feeling like all your time is gone and you'll never manage to get any for yourself - not even 10 minutes.

This is especially worse during school holidays, at least when they're at school you can take care of the cleaning when they're out but with them at home everything becomes more difficult. You have to work around the kids, and follow them as they make a mess in every room in the house. It's exhausting.

But there is a way you can get time for yourself.



Start your day right - get 10 minutes for yourself


Getting out of bed with all the good intentions is great, but you need to follow through. It's all well and good saying "I'm going to do X today" but you actually have to do X or you're going to feel bad. I always find that getting out of bed and having a quick shower is a great way to get myself motivated for the day. Following that up with my skincare routine, a touch of make-up, and an outfit that makes me smile, and I am ready to go.

Ways To Get 10 Minutes For Yourself | Start your day right with a shower and some great clothes!
A shower always helps me get motivated.


Find the thing that gets you motivated in a morning, whether that's a shower, like me, or perhaps a nice hot cup of coffee that you can drink in peace. When you're happy you're generally more motivated and being motivated is key to getting extra time for you.



Be more organised with your chores and you'll get 10 minutes for yourself!


Chores are a pain. They never go away and sometimes they seem to take forever. Believe me, I get down about it all occasionally and feel like I'm just running on a treadmill or living Groundhog Day. The washing never goes away. The dust keeps settling. The ironing stares at you from the basket.

Ways To Get 10 Minutes For Yourself | Get chores done in the morning and you'll have the rest of the day for you!


But again, mindset is key. I like to tackle my chores first thing, once I've had breakfast (and a coffee!) I get on and do my chores. First I fill the dishwasher with the dinner plates from the night before and all the breakfast things. Once the dishwasher is on I put the washing machine on too - then I set a reminder on my phone to come back to the washing machine when it's finished. With the machines doing their thing I head back into the kitchen where I wash anything that couldn't go in the dishwasher, then I wipe down the kitchen sides. Within about 20 minutes the kitchen is clean, even during half term when the boys are home. I save any ironing I have for when I'm watching TV, I can multitask (kind of).





When I have time, I'll be a good girl and do my chores. 

Camilla Luddington





Get 10 minutes for yourself by keeping the kids busy 


When the kids are home it can sometimes be tough to come up with ideas that will keep them occupied for a while. But if you have a host of things in your "activities" arsenal you'll find it easier to go through the list and they're sure to say yes to something.

Activity books, movies, and building forts are just a few of the ways I keep my kids occupied. LP loves building forts and will often spend an entire day inside the fort once it's built. BP is easy, as a teenager really all he wants to do is watch movies, and would happily spend the day watching his favourites but I do like to mix it up so I'll make him do other stuff too.

Ways To Get 10 Minutes For Yourself | The kids will use their imagination to turn their blanket fort into a real castle!


You can sit and watch movies with them (enjoy a coffee while you do!) or you can sit them down and let them watch it on their own. This way you'll get a little time to do something you like. Activity books are great - they're full of pages that make the kids use their heads, but are also easy enough that they don't usually need your help. And as for forts - they're sometimes the best thing you can do to get 10 minutes for yourself. Forts are magical. The kids can see the blankets and furniture but once they're inside their imaginations take over and they're suddenly inside the castle, hiding from a dreadful monster, or they're in a tunnel waiting for the awful storm to go away. I love how the kids' imagination can take them somewhere special while they're underneath some blankets that are draped over a few chairs. Magic.



Be organised to get 10 minutes for yourself


As much as you can being organised really helps you identify time that is free. If you spend your morning getting chores done and coming up with plans for the kids you'll suddenly find you have a little time with nothing to do. When the dishwasher is doing its thing, when the washer is mid-cycle, and when the kids are enjoying their imaginative fight against the monster, you can read a chapter of your book or enjoy that hot coffee you've been craving all day.





If you are disciplined, it shows you are organised. 

Virender Sehwag





I have found that being organised makes a huge difference to the amount of things I can get done in a day as well as giving me extra time for myself.


Ways To Get 10 Minutes For Yourself | Start your day right and you'll get at least 10 minutes for yourself!


Organisation and scheduling can really help you get 10 minutes for yourself, and you may even find that you get more than 10 minutes!



How do you get time for yourself?




Don't forget to grab the Wonderful Winter Activity Book for your kids, it'll keep them busy for at least 10 minutes!