9 Self-Care Activities You Can Do in 10 Minutes

Making time for self-care activities when you're a mum can be tough. With kids running riot during the day, and the chores and your partner wanting your attention at night, it's easy to see that finding time for yourself is difficult. But you can spend time on yourself with these 9 self-care activities you can do in 10 minutes!





There is no picturesque version of what self-care looks like; it's different for every person who wants to practice it.

Jenna Wortham





Take a shower




9 Self-Care Activities You Can Do In 10 Minutes | Take a shower and you'll feel a ton better!
Taking a shower can make you feel like you again.



A quick shower can do wonders for your mood. Washing away the stress and strain just getting 10 minutes to take care of yourself can set you up for the day. Whenever I get a chance for a shower it's like the sun is shining. The water flows over me and I smile because it's time just for me, no one bothers me and I'm completely alone.



Write in your journal


9 Self-Care Activities You Can Do In 10 Minutes | Write about your day in your journal.


Journaling can really help with your mental health, or even just to get ideas out of your head so you don't feel so cluttered. Whenever I feel overwhelmed by everything I write, I get the ideas and thoughts out of my head and when I take the time to do that I feel so much better. We spend so much time thinking about everyone else and storing information in our head that we can get "clogged up" and suffer as a result. Take 10 minutes for self-care, get things out of your head occasionally, and you might find yourself smiling a little more.



Put on make up


This could be a full face of make up or just a little lipstick. I don't do full face make up, it would take me hours, but I do like to wear a little mascara and shiny lip balm. These days, as I get older I need highlighter under my eyes too so I don't look so tired. But to be honest I like to keep it simple. Just using those three things I feel loads better. I don't have to spend ages putting on make up and I get that little boost to my confidence - even if I'm not going anywhere.



Paint your nails




9 Self-Care Activities You Can Do In 10 Minutes | Take some time to paint your nails!
I always enjoy painting my nails - it makes me feel good.



Like I said I'm not much for the beauty stuff, but I do like to paint my nails regularly. Somehow it just makes me feel good. I don't spend hours in a salon having my nails done, it's just normal nail polish (I like Rimmel Super Gel) and I do it myself. When I get 10 minutes I spend it on one of my favourite self-care activities - I paint my nails. Then, even though the rest of me may look shocking, I can look at my hands and smile, because at least something is nice and put together. 



Do your hair


If you're anything like me you get up in a morning give your hair a quick brush and then throw in back in a hairband or quick bun. Most of the time I like my hair to be out of the way, up off my shoulders and tied back so it doesn't get in the way when I'm cleaning. But sometimes I'll take the time to "do" my hair. And no, I don't spend ages on that either. Just 10 minutes is all I need to put some mousse in my hair, scrunch it up, and leave it. That's it. 



9 Self-Care Activities You Can Do In 10 Minutes | Do your hair, it'll make you feel a little better.



I've got curly hair, well wavy really, but I don't like to spend ages messing about with hairdryers and special products so all I do is bung some mousse in, scrunch, and done. And to be honest I love how my hair looks when I do that. 

Why not take 10 minutes for yourself and make your hair look nice? It's amazing the difference it can make when you can look in the mirror and say "huh, my hair looks good today!".



Meditate


If you can find 10 minutes this self-care activity can really help. Simply sitting in the quiet and breathing is therapeutic. It helps you let go of the things the aren't important, it helps you focus, but most of all it helps you centre yourself. 





I like to sit in my backyard. I go out on the hammock and sit in silence and kind of meditate. Nature is calming, and it's nice to go out there and clear my head.

Devon Werkheiser





The thing with the word "meditate" is that if you're anything like me you imagine sitting cross-legged with your hands out to your side, forefinger and thumb making a circle, saying the word "om". And it makes you giggle. But meditation isn't about finding the right pose, it's about getting a little time to sit and basically do nothing. To clear your mind, concentrate on your breathing, and calm yourself. When I get the chance (which isn't often) I do like to sit on my bed, eyes closed, and just clear my mind. I sit and breathe, and do nothing else. It's a calming experience and can really help with those hectic days.



Read a chapter


Nothing says "me time" like sitting to read a chapter of your favourite, or current, book. Taking 10 minutes for this self-care activity is not only helping you get time for yourself but depending on the book you're reading you could also be working on improving yourself (not that you need improving!). I'm currently reading The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F***: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life by Mark Manson and it's quite different to my usual reads - like Me Before You by Jojo Moyes. My book is opening my eyes to my own thoughts and actions and I'm making small changes in my thought processes to try to improve things. That's not to say I think I need improving, just that the book has helped me see some bad habits I've got into. 



9 Self-Care Activities You Can Do In 10 Minutes | Read a chapter of your book - a great escape.
Escape adulting and delve into your favourite story.



Reading is a way of letting go of the day-to-day stuff. To escape, if you're reading fiction, into a far off land where you watch the lives of other people (or creatures). You broaden your horizons, you go on adventures, and experience all the emotions that go along with it. And taking the time to read during the colder months is brilliant because you can snuggle under your favourite fleecy blanket with a hot coffee and your book!



Colour in




9 Self-Care Activities You Can Do In 10 Minutes | Colour in with your kids, you'll both have fun!



A while ago adult colouring seemed to take off in a huge way, and while it seems to have died down again I think it's a great way to spend 10 minutes. The other thing about colouring is that you can involve the kids too! Give them a colouring page, grab your own colouring book or page, and get colouring. It's a great way to spend time with your kids but you're also getting that all important self-care time.



Waste time


Whenever I look at self-care activities that people suggest it almost always consists of taking care of yourself activities like the ones above. It's about making sure you get time to make yourself feel better. But sometimes what you actually need is just time to switch off - to stop being mum, even if just for 10 minutes, and to "waste" time. To be able to sit and mess about for a while instead of feeling like everything is your responsibility and you have to be an adult all the time. 



9 Self-Care Activities You Can Do In 10 Minutes | Grab your iPad and have some fun!
Spend some time on your favourite game.



That's why my last self-care activity is to waste time. Grab your iPad (or other tablet), download a game, and waste 10 minutes. Play games, do a puzzle, whatever it is you like to do. There are lots of games I use to waste my time and at the moment I like Merge Dragons (on the iPad) and Zelda on the Switch Lite. It's nice to just switch off and be me.

To be honest you don't have to play games, however you like to "waste" your time - do that. Because it's all about letting go of the responsibility of adulting. Let it all go for 10 minutes and you'll feel so much better!



9 Self-Care Activities You Can Do In 10 Minutes | Got a spare 10 minutes? Try out these things to look after yourself.



Self-care is an important part of life, and as mums we neglect ourselves far too much. Give yourself 10 minutes per day for self-care activities and you'll soon get into the habit of looking after yourself. Of course there'll be blips in your routine, but that's okay too, as long as you get back to it. The key is learning that it's okay to take care of yourself sometimes.



Further reading


I've been reading about self-care and how we should be looking after ourselves and found a few posts I think you might like. Sara over at Get Mom Balanced shares her ideas for 15 Minute Self-Care: 15 Quick and Effective Strategies. And if you're looking for a quick read full of ideas check out the guys at Good Therapy who have 134 Activities to Add to Your Self Care Plan.



Which self-care activity will you spend 10 minutes on today?