4 Easy Ways to Carve Solo Time Into Your Busy Mom Life

Although it may be challenging, the most important thing you can do is schedule yourself. It can not only save your health, but it will also make you a better mother. Every mother's got bad days. But when those bad days become bad months, it may be time to take a break. Judy (name changed) A Indian - American Mother found herself constantly snapping at her sons—Joseph, 7, and Jayden, 2—for minor offenses like playing soccer in the house. Things were no better with her husband, Danny, with regular conversations turning into small arguments. And when she started to flare up her once-sporadic migraines, Judy knew she was approaching a point of the break. "I've been so busy looking after everyone else that I didn't care for myself," she says. "I've been exhausted and angry, and I've taken it out on my family." Recently, a British study found that moms average "me time" only 30 minutes each day. That number could be even smaller for Indian's as a result of a historically Indian culture in which mothers are the nurturing souls that gel families together, but they are still expected to pick up a lot of care and housekeeping duties, even while holding down jobs outside the home. "They're doing everything. It's what we've learned from our moms," says a well known-American psychologist in Miami. "You're burning out over a long period of time, and eventually that can give way to depression." The antidote isn't always easy to achieve: finding personal time on your "crazy-busy" day. Nevertheless, research shows that the one thing a mother can do to be a better parent is focused on self-development. "More grounded, more centered, and better mood," as per the Psychiatrists. "You're a better partner for your other significant and just as important for yourself." The trick is to learn how to get what you need and enjoy it, free of guilt.

1. Ask for assistance

Ask for help before anger overturns your frustration, says Psychiatrist. She ended up butting heads with her husband when Tlatelpa did not do this. She would have demanded that he make mistakes or drive the kids around, but he would have resisted saying that he was too busy with work and school to help. "I finally had to say to him, 'I'm doing as much as you are, and I'm still managing. I'm expecting you to do the same thing,'" he got the message loud and clear, but her bluntness could easily have backfired. "When you're in that mode, nobody wants to get close to you," says the doctor. Control your voice tone and be specific to your needs. "People are not readers of the mind. Consider how you want to be asked for help, then do it that way." The doctor recommends a list of all household responsibilities to create a more compelling case and get everyone together to fill out a calendar with the week's activities. Then add the amount of time it takes each to complete. "It helps people appreciate how much you're doing and willing to step in," she says. Her husband realized the load she carried after using this technique. "He often says to me, 'I don't know how you've done this alone,'"

2. Let the guilt go

Once you master healthy, effective communication, the family calendar will require you to allow time for yourself. Whether it's a mani-pedi or a girlfriends brunch, don't let anyone make you feel guilty or shameful when it comes to meeting your own needs. "While young Indian moms move away from the traditional idea of sacrificing everything to their children without even thinking about their own needs, it's a struggle for many of us because deep inside we still want our family's approval," says Jersey Garcia, a Dominican-American marriage therapist in Pembroke Pines, Florida. "Take a moment to think about what would make you a happier person, parent, and partner when those feelings set in. You will realize that it is no longer important what other people expect from you. And since you can't do much about their opinions, you're going to shift your focus to what's best for your family." Self-criticism can, of course, be more difficult to deflect. When Freemont, California's Melissa Avery started jogging five days a week while her husband was caring for their three children, the Peruvian-American mom always found a reason to feel crummy after each outing. "If my 2-year-old son was crying when I came back, or if they got sick the next day, somehow I felt like it was my fault," says Avery, who didn't realize how the runs affected her kids positively. "Through us, children learn how to relate to others," says Garcia. "If we constantly put the needs of others before our own and do not respect our boundaries, they will not know how to do it on their own. It's a disservice to them." Garcia suggests doing a simple exercise in front of bed: "Women tend to focus on where we're short, so to counteract the three things that you've done well that day. It helps you see you do a good job, and it encourages you to continue investing in yourself."

3. Figure what's going on for you

How long you decide to take depends on your lifestyle. It can be as simple as start-up sessions of five or ten minutes throughout the day or 30 minutes a night. "Put the kids down early, pour a glass of wine, and read a few chapters from the book that's been sitting forever on your bedside table," Dr. Martinez advises. "Your children have a routine at night. Why can't you do that? "Ruby Garcia of Arcata, California, knows that breather cannot be found. As a single mother of three children, ages 12, 4, and 2 figure out how to carve out solitary time used to be a non-starter although her job as a non-profit Latino Outdoors executive project coordinator involves teaching others how to use nature as a balm for the challenges of life. Then she found ways to leave work one hour early once a week to sit on the beach or walk in the old redwood forests of her area. "My life has been saved," says the Mexican-American mom, who supplements that weekly outing with a ten-minute daily gardening ritual she enjoys after the kids go to sleep. "I'm going to leave everything behind—sweet dishes, messy house—and repot my succulents and trim them. It's like a holiday."

4. Protect your "me time

" Even if you decide to clear the sink first, by steering clear of unnecessary activities, you have to be stingy with your time, says Dr. Martinez. That's Facebook included. "On social media, people only put the best 2 percent of their lives," she notes. "The rest you never see. So somebody browsing through will inevitably fall into 'comparisonitis,' and that's not healthy." According to a 2013 American Psychological Association study, frequent Facebook users compare their lives negatively with the lives of their online friends, and they fall into depressive states. Psychiatrists suggest SelfControl for people who do not seem to be able to stay away from their smartphone, an app that blocks access to social media sites for certain periods of time. You should also avoid using these precious moments to compete for Mom of the Year by performing tasks that you do not enjoy. "Women often feel they need to dress their children in homemade Halloween costumes, bake the perfect cupcake for school sales, or take part in PTA committees," says the psychiatrists. "If you're not happy with those things, don't do them. Make life easier on yourself, and you will find less stress and more room to plan things that will help you to regenerate." Judy recharges her batteries these days by teaching herself new makeup techniques through YouTube tutorials while her husband watches the kids. "He gets it," says Judy whose dressing table is lined with blushes, eyeshadows, and lipsticks that help her look just as beautiful outdoors as she now feels inside. "This is the time to worry, not anyone else, not my children, about me. It redirects me so I'm more relaxed when I go back to the world."