As a single mum, it can be hard to find time to do what YOU want to do, to work on your own goals, and to have time to yourself. Our own health and well-being often come second place to that of our children.
A great way to start the year is to make some commitments for the year. Making commitments is great because you are making a firm decision and a promise to yourself that might even help toward reaching your bigger goals.
Last year I wrote a similar post: 10 New Habits for a Single Mum to Implement in 2017. This year I’m including some of the same and adding some more. Pick and choose what you want from this list of eight commitments for a single mum to implement in 2018 to have a happy and healthy body, mind, and soul.
Commitments for 2018
1. Get more sleep.
Getting more sleep was my number one resolution for 2017. And I am a little ashamed to admit that I did not achieve it. I am TERRIBLE at prioritizing my sleep. I got to sleep waaaay later than was ideal and particularly in the second half of the year got myself into an awful habit of not going to sleep before midnight most nights. I can’t remember the last time I woke up in the morning naturally. It only ever happens if my daughter is having a sleepover somewhere, and even then my body clock has adjusted so I am usually awake by 7. I’m keeping this as my number one resolution for 2018. It affects my mood, energy, eating habits, patience levels, everything. I even had a car accident because of my fatigue last year. Enough is enough and for me, I will make sure I succeed at this in 2018.
2. A healthy and active lifestyle.
Although I was pretty good at getting to the gym regularly this year, I want to ramp up my overall health and active living lifestyle this year. It’s important for me that my daughter and I are active and that we spend a lot of time outdoors. I think we could have done more in 2017, and 2018 is the start of a new chapter. I’m going to ensure that I get us doing more active things than last year. And although I ensure my daughter eats very healthy food generally, I can’t always say the same for myself. I want to improve on that this year.
3. Drink more water.
A lifetime ago when I was working in the mines, I could easily drink 6 L of water a day. And although I currently do drink at least 2 L of water a day, I think I could do with a little more. I’m going to increase my water intake this year. It’s sooooo good for our health.
4. Self-care and me-time.
Prioritizing self-care and me-time was one of the commitments I made for 2017 and it worked very well. I even took myself off to Bali on one of the weeks that my daughter had with her dad. Every year I get better at recognizing when I need it, and ensuring I get it regularly to avoid burnout. This year I will continue with it but improve it by scheduling at least thirty minutes in my diary every day, and blocking out my calendar for self-care. Whether it’s booking a gym session, a swim, a walk, a bath, a movie, reading a book, or a magazine. I know that if it’s in my diary, I have more chances of ensuring I do it.
5. Practicing gratitude.
This was another commitment I made at the start of 2017 and I will continue with it in 2018. I love it.
Practicing gratitude, and making an effort to feel grateful every single day, is a proven method of a way to feel happier, and to get a more positive mindset.
There is a difference between trying to feel grateful and taking the extra step to write down what you are grateful for. Every night before I go to sleep I write down three things I am grateful for for that day in my Gratitude Journal. Some people choose to write in their gratitude journal in the mornings, but for me, I like to reflect on the day that has been, before I go to sleep. I have not missed a day since I started this at the start of 2016.
And you know what? It works!! If you try it you will find that within a couple of months, you will find yourself automatically thinking about what you are grateful for throughout the day. It allows us to focus on what is going RIGHT in our lives, and what we are grateful for rather than what is going wrong or on what we don’t have. And as a result, you feel HAPPIER!!! Try it for yourself!
6. Setting Goals.
Setting goals is amazing because it forces you to sit down and ask yourself: What do I want? Without goals, nothing changes. Life just carries on as usual. But if you sit down and think about what you actually want to do or achieve, it can help you to know yourself more, and it can change your life. We can shape our lives with goals, and if you go through the process of goal setting correctly, you can achieve anything you want. We can gain confidence in reaching our goals, and it helps us to feel good about ourselves.
7. Date.
This was another commitment I set for myself for 2017. And I did put a lot of effort into it for the first half of the year. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out that well for me (you can read about that here) and I needed some time to focus on other things in the second half of 2017, but now I’m back. I’m ready to get back into it. And although it’s not something I aim to actively put effort into for the first half of the year (as I have other priorities for that time), I’m not going to knock back a date if I meet someone I like in my everyday life.
Dating is hard work. If you’ve tried online dating, you’ll know it’s pretty much a full-time job. Especially if you’re on multiple dating apps. But I have also come to the realization that I DO want to find the right person for me. I do want to have a partner to share my life with and to hopefully have more children with one day. So in order to find the right person for me, I have to actively put in some effort to date. So come mid-2018, I will be dedicating some time to sifting through all the not-so-desirables that come my way, to finding the right person. And if you’re relationship ready, then you might want to think about it too, because we all deserve great love in our life!
8. More quality time with my daughter.
People always assume that I spend loads of one-on-one time with my daughter, and whilst that is true, it’s hard sometimes as a single mum to get quality time with her. I feel like I was rushing around a lot in 2017; running from one thing to the next and not being mentally present enough with my daughter. I was often thinking about the next thing I had to do rather than just enjoying the moment with my daughter. We didn’t have enough FUN together. This year I plan on doing more fun things together, and spending more QUALITY time together, and being more present and in the moment with her. Especially as she’s starting school this year. I want to dedicate the after-school hours and weekends to fun.
What are you committing yourself to this year?
P.S DID YOU KNOW?
You can also book one-on-one coaching with Julia Hasche from wherever you are in the world!
- Have you just parted ways with your partner, and feeling lost?
- Have you been single for a little while now and need assistance with getting your life back on track and feeling empowered?
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Pretty much all of the above except I’m really not interested in dating. I’m really enjoying being single and figuring out my own life before I decide to let anyone else into it!
That’s a really great mindset to have 🙂