Let’s face it: as moms, life is always busy. These self care tips will give you the permission you need to take care of yourself so that you can do a better job of taking care of everyone else. A big thank you to Lincoln for sponsoring this post. All opinions are my own. 

I have reached the level of exhaustion where once in awhile I keep my eyes closed for a few extra seconds when I blink because it feels so freaking good. If I put my head down on my desk, I’m one hundred percent sure I’ll fall asleep. But at night? At night I lie in bed awake with a lengthy to-do list running through my head over and over again, trying to burn it into my mind so that I don’t forget anything. Have you ever been there?

For me, it’s the result of an inability to say no, an overstuffed schedule, and a tendency towards procrastination that build off of each other and explode in my face. Not good, my friends. Not good.

Why do we so often put ourselves last? We’re really good at taking care of the health and happiness of everyone around us, but when it comes to ourselves we often put it aside to be dealt with later—you know, at a more convenient time. But there is no convenient time!

Fellow mommas: if we don’t take good care of ourselves, we can’t possibly take good care of anyone else.

Now, I know I’m not an expert at the art of self care. But I think it’s really important that we try to be better at it. Baby steps, maybe? What if we start with three things we don’t have to feel bad about and then go from there?