I am in my third month as a stay at home mom [read about my first month here and my second month here]. Quitting my job meant that I would have some time to do the things I have wanted to do for years but never had the chance to. The reality is that I have a one year old and a four year old, so my days at home are very busy. However, I don’t want to give up on the hobbies and goals I want to do for myself. I have big plans for hobbies I would like to focus on in the future and goals for the garden in the spring. Since I have been home, I have focused on small ways I can work on these hobbies and accomplish goals as a stay at home mom.
As a brief background [read more here and here about quitting my job and why I did so], I worked as an attorney for 10 years. But after having two kids, I found myself in an endless cycle of only three activities: work, spending time with my kids and sleep. I was just doing one of those three things all the time, and feeling guilty about not doing one of the other two. Literally, I would feel guilty sleeping because I could be working, so I would have more time with my kids. It was a bad cycle. I quit my job and became a stay at home mom on December 1st. I have been so happy with my decision. Of course, even though I am not working, it is still hard to do things for myself as I have two young kids at home.
Disclaimer: Links in this post are Amazon affiliate links, I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
Growth Mindset: Accomplish Goals as a Stay at Home Mom
I have recently read articles about having a growth mindset. In becoming a stay at home mom, one of my fears was becoming stagnant and not growing. I was always learning and being mentally challenged at my job, which I do not have anymore. I did not want to stop learning and growing now that I did not have a job anymore. The term “Growth mindset” is exactly the spirit I want to continue to have and to inspire my children to have.
I have many hobbies I have wanted to pursue for years and goals I want to accomplish, so I have had running in the back of my mind how I can work on my hobbies and goals while being busy with my kids. Obviously, one way is to do things when my kids are sleeping, by getting use earlier or working when they go to bed. I am used to getting up earlier then my kids and working in to the evening, so I do take advantage of that time. But I have found free time (5 minutes here and there) when I can work on things I want to do (other than errands, cleaning, laundry) and truly feel like I am accomplishing my goals and expanding my hobbies in those brief free minutes.
Working on my goals and hobbies
Exercise. I used to feel guilty for working out for more than 20 minutes at a time. If I was taking time to workout, then I was taking time away from my kids or work (which meant I had to work later and miss time with my kids). I love working out, I used to go to the gym several days a week after work before I had kids. I have used my Peloton bike consistently for years, but always limited myself to get the most workout bang in 20 minutes or less. When my son is in school three days a week, I have used my one year olds nap time to work out for at least 30 minutes. For the last few weeks I have been getting up at 6am to do a half hour of yoga and a core class. That is right, I have been working out for a minimum of 30 minutes a day.
As proof, here is my December summary from Peloton.
I am so proud that I was so consistent and made this time for myself. I would rarely do a yoga class when I was working because in my mind it wasn’t enough of a workout to do in 20 minutes when I could break a real sweat on the bike. But I love yoga and have now given myself the opportunity to do a thirty minutes class.
So how to work out as a stay at home mom- you have to make the time. Getting up early is the only way I can fit in my workouts right now, so that is what I am doing. I tried kid friendly yoga that is designed to do with your children, but while it was fun, it was not a work out for me.
Read for fun. I knew when I quit my job I wanted to read for fun. As an attorney I read all day, and all night sometimes. I would read for work, read emails, read cases, read articles in the field I practiced in, so by the time I had a moment at home, I could’t bring myself to read anything else.
I have now read 2 books in 2 months. I have read fun, easy reads, which has been great. I read before bed, I read when my kids are watching tv or napping. I use my iPad and phone to read, which are synced up to which spot I left off. I love real books, but ebooks make life so easy- I always have my book on me. I think this is key- have your book with you at all times and even reading for 5 minutes will get you to become a reader.
If you are looking for some fun reads, here is what I have read and recommend:
- The Stephanie Plum Series by Janet Evanovich. I just read the 29th book [Going Rouge: Rise and Shine Twenty-Nine, Amazon Link here] in this series bout a county hunter in New Jersey. Fun, easy reads that take place in my home state. Highly recommend when you know you want a good laugh.
- Epic Tomatoes by Craig LeHoullier. I am working on my spring garden plans, so this has been an amazing read. I have learned so much about the history of tomatoes (seriously, it is fascinating) and about individual types of tomatoes. The amazing pictures in this book got me excited to plant as many tomatoes as I can this year.
Worked on learning Spanish. I have worked on the Doulingo app every day since I became a SAHM. Doulingo is so easy to use and the lessons are short, so you can easily squeeze in just one lesson while your kids are distracted for 5 minutes. I even work on the lessons with my 4 year old (I tell him which buttons to press, which is exciting for him because my phone and iPad are normally off limits). I think it is great for him to see me learning and making mistakes in the lessons. I talk to him about how I am learning a new language and I like him to see me working on my education, since I hope to instill a love of learning on him.
I may only do one lesson a day, for a few minutes, but I am actively working on my goal of learning a new language.
Learn to Bake and Try New Recipes. I have two young kids, so I am being realistic in my attempts at baking and cooking. I have always wanted to bake bread- and I am starting with attempting to make a sourdough starter. This isn’t a time consuming activity (granted it has ben very unsuccessful). This is only a very small step in my larger hopes about baking, but it is a start.
I have baked a lot of cookies- from store bought dough. But I am still baking and it is an activity I do with my kids. I have tried new recipes, but nothing that takes hours to make. When I try a new recipe, I generally cook while my son is at school and my daughter naps and we reheat at dinner time. I also always, always cook enough for a few days. I am not baking or cooking anything you would see on Instagram- but I am doing activities I said I would when I quit my job. I know when the kids get older, I will (well, maybe) have more free time to expand my cooking and baking experiments.
Working on this blog. I almost did not include a discussion of the blog on this post, but I think I have to. I have spent time this month planning posts, creating social media posts and designing images. This blog has given me an outlet, a chance to be creative and a chance to learn new skills. I have learned so much about website design and development, social media strategies, and SEO. I get to be creative with this blog in a way I have not been able to in a long time. As an attorney, I can’t help but love learning a new skill and researching the blog business (YouTube, Podcasts and Pinterest have so many resources about blogging, growing your blog and making money from blogging), and I love learning the strategies of bloggers who have made blogging a career.
I can read an article or watch a video on Youtube after the kids go to sleep and learn a new growth strategy for Pinterest, which is a lot of fun. It won’t happen overnight, but I like having this blog to grow as my own and to be creative with. While I started this blog to showcase and connect with gardeners, this blog has evolved to a hobby and an outlet through my transition to stay at home mom.
How to Accomplish Goals as a Stay at Home Mom
I knew when I became a stay at home mom, besides spending time with my kids, I had goals and hobbies I wanted to work on. I wanted to read, workout, learn to bake, cook more and seriously learn a new language. By finding simple ways to work on these goals/hobbies during the day, even when both my kids are home, I am accomplishing my goals.
I do not need to make huge strides in my goals- I am being realistic. But these small steps count- I am continuing to grow and learn. My take away is to find small ways or small activities that help you work on accomplishing goals and hobbies you want to.
Do you have any hobbies or goals that you are working on?
If you liked this post, keep reading:
How to Transition to a SAHM and Not Lose Your Mind
Disclaimer: Links in this post are Amazon affiliate links, I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
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