Working for more than should be humanely allowed is not very uncommon nowadays.

When I had my pre-kids job I would regularly work 6 days a week starting at 7am and finishing later than 7pm.  Even with kids, many parents put in long hours.  Running my own business to make a full time income requires a lot of working hours, dedication and commitment around raising two young children. 

There's a great quote that says 'entrepreneurs are the only people who work 80 hours a week so they can give up working 40'.  It's so true.

That combined with looking after the house, taking care of the kids,  keeping on top of the never ending laundry, staying on top of the garden, organising your households schedules and whatever else you may have on your plate can easily become too much for one to bear. Leaving you completely overwhelmed with by the sheer amount of tasks in everyday life. 

I must admit, I regularly reach boiling point at the moment and find the whole lot very stressful.  I am not savouring the toddler days, but wishing them away so the kids are more independent and in school full time so I can have some sort of normal working week!

On top of everything else you are also trying to maintain a healthy and happy relationship with your other half.  It can be quite a challenge with young children taking up all your time and energy!  By the evening you often feel exhausted and not in a 'relationship' mood.  Of course that's totally expected, but if you have any serious family and relationship issues then do consider family counselling to help address any problems.

Now while there are not many ways to limit the number of responsibilities, there are ways to try and stay sane and improve your general wellbeing. The key to a healthy body is a healthy mind, it has been proven numerous times before that stress is the primary cause of many health issues, such as headaches, low energy, nausea, chest pain, insomnia amongst many others.

Without further ado, let’s see how you can get started some self improvement.

Treating yourself

While not the optimal long-term solution to a healthy life, occasionally treating yourself is almost guaranteed to keep your spirits high. Buying that one thing you’ve always been putting off buying because you feel guilty treating yourself or it's a bit much, can often work as great stress relief.  Be it that pair of shoes you’ve been eyeing for the past month or a luxury watch that you've wanted for years.

Finally buying one of them can really get rid of that weight on your chest and if you can afford it and it makes you feel better, why not?

Not that just buying things forever to keep yourself occupied while not addressing the real problems at hand is a permanent solution, but sometimes it might just be what someone needs.

Same principle applies to food. Strictly sticking to your diet is a task not many can boast of achieving and is a rather impressive feat, but with the wrong mindset, it can be more stressful than it is worth. Forcing too many changes at once often leads to burnout rather than progress, leaving your discouraged and not wanting to try again in the future.

Now I'm not suggesting you go out and spend a load of money you can't afford on things you don't need, but every once in a while it's worth remembering we are allowed to treat ourselves and not feel guilty about it.  As a mum I often feel guilty about spending money on myself and not the children or the whole family.  But it's OK to do this and we deserve a treat every now and then. 

My treat this month is a facial experience which is one hour long with a massage included.  I can't wait and it's only £30ish.  It will give me one hour away from hectic family and business life to totally relax and soothe my mind.  Good for my mind, body and soul.

Treating your body

The mind and body are forever intertwined. Without a healthy body, it might be hard to get into a good state of mind in the first place. If you suffer from chronic falling back to bad habits, then try to take things slowly.

Introduce positive changes into your life one at a time. Start off with a better-than-current sleeping schedule. Of course, in an ideal world it would be possible to sleep early always but everyone’s experienced the working late into the night scenario before.  Try to plan out your day in a way where the evening is a time off as opposed to a time of last minute panic.

If you don’t already, try to introduce regular exercise into your daily or weekly routine. A morning run in the park can leave you energised and give you that sense of clarity your mind might need for the busy day ahead.  Find free online yoga videos to calm, destress and also provide physical exercise all in one go.

Try to incorporate more greens into your diet, your parents weren’t nagging you for no reason as a kid. Try to buy organic fruit and veg from farmers markets, they are much healthier than the usual supermarket counterparts, and you’ll be doing your part supporting local farmers.  Why not try a weekly organic fruit and veg box delivery?  They're great value for money and will encourage you to try veg you may never have thought of buying before.

If eating lots of veggies isn't your thing, invest in some sort of chlorella tablets which are rich in chlorophyll, protein, iron, magnesium and amino acids. Spirulina is very similar in that regard and also highly recommended.  I take a handful of  organic spirulina tablets every morning without fail, their benefits are huge. 

While nothing will beat a balanced diet rich in all sorts of vitamins and minerals, supplement tablets are the next best thing and they can also complement your healthy diet. Do not be afraid of doing some online research yourself and taking matters into your own hands, after all, your health is not just important to you but also your loved ones.