23 | Your Daily Self-Care Plan for Busy Moms (Free Guide Inside!)

Hey mama — you know self-care matters, but if you’ve ever thought, “I don’t even know where to start,” this episode is for you.

In this episode of Intentional Motherhood, host Kelsey Redd — stay-at-home mom of four and Mental Health Counselor — shares a practical, no-fluff approach to building a personalized self-care plan that actually fits your real life.

Kelsey walks you through her free Self-Care Planning Guide, filled with over 30 self-care ideas organized by category (mind & emotions, body & physical wellness, creativity & play). You’ll learn how to:

• Identify which practices are most beneficial and realistic for you
• Make a simple daily self-care plan that feels nourishing, not overwhelming
• Stay consistent by connecting your actions to your deeper why
• Use reflection to adjust and actually build habits that last
• Practice a calming, 3-minute mindfulness meditation to regulate your nervous system (yes, even with kids around!)

If you’re tired of being told to “just take a bubble bath” and want a self-care approach that’s soulful, simple, and sustainable, this one’s for you.

🎧 Listen now and let Kelsey guide you step-by-step to a life where your needs matter, your breath gets deeper, and your joy feels possible again.

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Episode Transcript

Kelsey Redd (00:10):
Hey friends, welcome to Intentional
Motherhood. I'm your host,Kelsey Redd, a stay at home mom
of four, twins included, all sixand under. And I am right there
in the trenches with you withthe milk spills and the dirty
diapers and the endless laundry.And we have created here a

(00:31):
community of uplifting momswhere we can talk about the
struggles and challenges ofmotherhood, but do it from a
place of purpose and sacredcalling so that we can continue
to find the joy in thisprivilege of raising these
little ones. And because we knowwhat a sacred calling this is,

(00:52):
we parent intentionally so thatwe can create the family culture
that we're proud of, have a calmhome, and take care of ourselves
so that we can feel like a wholeperson, a whole woman with
dreams, ambitions, and goals ofour own, as well as passion and

(01:13):
purpose in motherhood andfamily.
So let's get started becausetoday I have a special treat for
you. I have created a whole selfcare guide to help you come up
with ideas and a plan for how toimplement your self care
practices. I created this guidefor you because I kept hearing

(01:36):
from friends and listeners that,yes, I know I'm supposed to be
doing self care, but I don'teven know what to do. I don't
have free time. How do I even doit?
It's like we all know we'resupposed to eat our vegetables
and take our vitamins, but it'sthe implementation that is the
challenge. So I wanted to makesomething that was
straightforward and easy for youto have ideas of what to do,

(02:00):
have a plan for how and when todo it. And most importantly,
this is the key here, is to haveyour why, your commitment for
why it's critical for you to doyour self care so that you're
more likely to follow through,along with a little area for
reflection so you can see what'sworking and what isn't working.
If you would love to followalong on this guide as I talk

(02:24):
through this episode, go aheadand pause now and jump over to
my Instagram account creating.Intentional.mothers and click on
the link in bio and grab yourself care planner freebie.
It'll be sent right to youremail inbox. And then you can

(02:46):
follow along as we go throughthis whole self care guide. So
the first thing you're gonna geton this self care daily planner
is a list of 30 ideas of ways todo self care. Because so much of
the time we're like, I meanlike, are we talking like take a
warm bath? Are we talking aboutgoing to a yoga class or getting

(03:08):
a massage?
Because all of that self caresounds amazing, but totally
impractical, right? So these 30items are split up into
categories of mind and emotions,where you're kind of just
getting more in touch with yourthoughts and feelings with ideas
such as journaling, doing fiveminutes of deep breathing, maybe
listening to a guidedmeditation, or even repeating

(03:32):
affirmations. We also have abody and physical wellness
section where maybe we'retalking about just walking
barefoot in the grass to groundyourself for a couple minutes or
stretching for a couple minuteswhile you're doing something
else, while you're watching yourbaby. We even have listed on

(03:52):
here to take a hot showerbecause sometimes that's the
best self care we can take. Now,I wouldn't necessarily classify
just taking a shower as selfcare because that is self
hygiene, right?
That's a requirement, just abasic necessity of life. But if
we can take a hot showermindfully, maybe with a couple

(04:13):
essential oils dripped into thecorner of the bath to give us
another sensory experience, thenwe are starting to talk about
self care because we're doing itin a way that refreshes and
rejuvenates our mind and oursoul. So keep that in mind.
Another one is rest. Can you laydown and close your eyes?

(04:35):
Maybe you'll get so lucky as totake a nap. But I also
understand that again, some ofthese things feel like I'm with
you. I have two six year olds, afour year old and a one year
old. I try so hard. Thishappened literally ten minutes
ago.
The moment I finally getcomfortable on the couch, I open
my scriptures and I'm thinking,oh, I'm just gonna have like

(04:56):
five minutes to just read andjust relax. And what do I hear?
Mom, done going potty. Which isthe call I get a few times a day
from my finishing up pottytraining four year old, meaning
I have to go wipe a bum. So wedo the best we can.

(05:19):
Maybe we are not gonna get anap, but maybe you can take a
glass of water and slowly andmindfully take sips and swallows
of some cold refreshing waterand that is your self care for
the moment. Lastly, we have thecategory of creativity and play.
This might just be a doodling orcoloring just for fun. No

(05:42):
expectations, no perfection. OrI like this one, just try baking
something with zero pressure foroutcome.
Maybe you're just going outsideto stargaze before you get into
bed one night, or just actuallyplaying with your kids without
trying to multitask. Can weconsider that self care? This is

(06:03):
a little controversial becauseit's like, can playing with your
kids actually be self care? Butyou know what? Kids are so good
at teaching us how to becreative and how to be
imaginative and how to justplay.
I'm constantly amazed by mychildren's ability to laugh, to
have no pressure forproductivity or outcomes and to

(06:27):
just play for the sake ofplaying. And sometimes I think
we need to learn from them. Theyset a really good example to us.
So that's the first thing thatcomes in your guide is this list
of ideas. If you hate all theideas, that's okay.
Hopefully it at least gives yourbrain some juices to start
flowing to come up with your ownideas. But my goal was for you

(06:50):
to not have to overthink this,to not have to put any of the
mental work into coming up withyour own ideas. So the next
steps in my guide are toprioritize some of the top 10
beneficial self care practices.So you might be thinking like,
you know what? I am not reallybather.

(07:14):
I don't love baths. I'm not evengoing to put that on my top 10
list. Or maybe I'm not ajournaler, so that's not
interesting to me. But I do lovethe idea of making a smoothie or
a healthy snack that I canmindfully eat. So that might be
feeling very beneficial to youor even one of the ideas is just

(07:34):
turning off your cell phone foran hour and enjoying some
silence.
So I want you to rank them fromone being most beneficial to you
to your tenth, which would belike your lowest in the
beneficial rank for you. Thenyou're going to rank them again
in order from most realistic, asin like I can actually do this

(07:56):
in a day to least realistic.Your number one, your most
realistic might be like I knowthat I can at least find a
moment to take a glass of coldwater and sip it mindfully. That
is realistic, I'll actually beable to get there. Whereas your
tenth might be like, I wouldlove the idea of sitting down

(08:17):
and listening to a guidedmeditation, but knowing my kids,
knowing my family, I just don'tknow if I'm gonna get ten
minutes of uninterrupteduninterrupted time to get into
that zone.
So then you've got two rankings.And then I want you to circle
your top three that are bothmost beneficial to you and most

(08:38):
realistic to you. Those will bethe ones that have the lowest
number, as in number one mostbeneficial and number one most
realistic. There should be someoverlap that you'll find and you
want to find the lowest numbersso that you can say, These are
the things that I think willhelp me the most and that I
actually think I can do. Andonce you've gotten your list of

(09:00):
things that you can use as easygo to self care plans, Then you
can move on to your daily planworksheet in this guide where
you will be writing your topthree things that you need each
day to fill your cup and to helpyou be your best.
And you'll write those into theboxes and this is where it gets

(09:21):
interesting. This is where youwrite down your commitment. I
have the words started for you.I commit, dot dot dot, sipping a
glass of cold water, walkingoutside in the grass, and taking
one hour without my cell phoneon my person each day. Or maybe

(09:44):
it's even, I commit to one ofthese each day.
Or maybe it's, I commit to doingall three of these throughout
the course of one week. Whateverthat commitment looks like for
you, I want you to put it downin a commitment statement
because we are so much morelikely to follow through when we
have a written commitment. Butthe second part of the sentence

(10:05):
is because. So you're writingyour commitment and you're
writing why. Why do you deservethese moments of self care?
Why are these your right andyour responsibility? These might
sound like, I commit to doingthis self care because I want to

(10:26):
be the best mom I can be for mykids, or because I am worthy of
respect and self compassion. Ormaybe it's even I commit to
doing this because I want to setan example to my family of what
it looks like to take care ofyourself. This why is going to
be so important because when youinevitably get busy and the

(10:50):
chaos takes over and you'rethinking, whatever, maybe I'll
just indulge in Netflix binginginstead of journaling. You're
going to remember the why andsay, oh yeah, but I really want
to be the best version ofmyself.
I really want to be the kind ofwoman that I want my daughters
to grow up to be. So I'm gonnamake the choice to do what I've

(11:13):
committed to do, to prioritizemy own self care so that I can
fulfill this why. Okay, then thenext box again gets back into
the practicality of how andwhen. And again, I know that
sometimes it's impossible toeven predict what a day might
look like with your kids and youmight say, I'm going to do this
right after breakfast. And thenyou're in the middle of managing

(11:36):
a tantrum right after breakfastand that's not gonna happen.
But you may be able to at leastspecify like first thing in the
morning or at least I know whereI'm gonna do it in my bedroom
right after I put a baby downfor a nap. Or I'm gonna ask my
husband to help with the kidsfor an extra ten minutes while I

(12:00):
can go have some alone time. Orit might even look like taking
all the kids to the park andsaying, Mom's gonna go walk
across this field. Do you wannacome with me? Because I'm
grounding myself in the grassright now and this is my self
care and this is the only way toget it done.
So the how and the when willmake it that much easier for you
when you're ready to moveforward because you won't have

(12:22):
to be going through that mentalload of decision making and
figuring out, okay, but it's somuch to manage. Sometimes I just
feel so overwhelmed with theanxiety of trying to manage all
the schedules and all the needsof every different person in my
family. But if this how and whenis at least written out, you'll

(12:43):
have a guide to get you there.And then the last box in the
self care guide is forreflection. Once a day in the
evening or the next morning oreven once a week, just reflect
on what worked and what didn'twork while you were trying to
practice your self care tasks.
Do you need to rearrange yourhow and when to make it more

(13:05):
realistic for you? And alsomaybe reflect on, did you notice
any shifts in your day or yourenergy, or even just your
ability to be present with yourkids because of the practice?
Maybe you realize that you wereactually drawn a lot more to the
play and creativity than youthought you would be. And now

(13:25):
you know you wanna explore moreideas in that category. It's so
beneficial to take time toreflect so that we can make sure
our path is the most alignedwith what is of most value to
our soul and most actionable,right?
Most reasonably going to be ableto be implemented day to day on

(13:48):
an ongoing basis. Because youmight be able to get through
some of these self carepractices for a few days and
then the habit falls apartbecause it's just not realistic.
But as we're reflecting andadjusting and making the tweaks
so that it really works for yourlife, that's when it will really
be able to become a habit and atrue lifelong practice. So like

(14:11):
I said, I hope that this guide,whether you're just listening to
it or whether you've got thepaper in front of you, will
really help you. If you wouldlike to have this guide sent
directly to your email, go grabit off of my bio on Instagram at
creating.
Intentional. Mothers, or fromthe show notes below so that you

(14:33):
can get the most out of thisepisode. I want to just end a
little differently than weusually do. I want to end with
just two minutes of a little bitof a meditation so that you can
really get a sense of how simplethis can be. I feel like I've
talked a lot about mindfulnessand taking a few breaths and,

(14:54):
you know, just clearing yourmind and saying these things in
your mind on so many of theseepisodes.
And I'm worried that it's nottranslating. It's not actually
getting put into practicebecause you're like, it's not
coming really naturally to meand I don't really know what to
do. So I wanna end with justsome breathing and some
meditation, and then we'll pickit up next time. So if you're in

(15:17):
a place where you can sit or layand put your feet on the ground
and close your eyes, I encourageyou to do that. If you're
walking or you're driving, feelfree to just go into as relaxed
of a state as you can while wetake a few deep breaths.

(15:38):
Breathe in and breathe out.Breathe in this next time and
hold your inhale on the top. Andexhale. We'll do another deep

(16:00):
inhale in and hold. And sigh itout.
Let's do one more just likethat. Hold your inhale. And

(16:21):
exhale, sigh it out. Great job,last one. Inhale.
Hold. And sigh it out. Now allowyour breathing to just return to

(16:42):
a natural rhythm. But this timeI just want you to imagine that
every time you breathe in,you're breathing in bright white
light. And every time youexhale, you're just breathing
out anything that's not servingyou.

(17:06):
Inhale white light. Exhalestress and tension and anything
that's not serving you. Let's doa few more breaths just like
this. That white light I love tothink of as God's pure love.

(17:40):
Inhale God's love.
Exhale anything that's notserving you. And start to just

(18:07):
return to your normal rhythm.Continuing to just focus on your
breath throughout the day.That's all I'm talking about
when I tell you just take a fewbreaths. That's what I'm talking
about.
Sometimes it's breathing in thewhite light and breathing out
whatever's not serving you.Other times you might just be

(18:29):
listening to your breath andbreathing in, breathing out.
Just being aware of that breathis already a huge step in the
right direction. I hope you wereable to get an idea of how
simple a two minute breathexercise or meditation can be.
And I hope that you notice thateven just after that short of a

(18:51):
practice, that our bodies feelso much more relaxed.
Our nervous system has calmed.Our emotions are a little more
regulated and we are using thepower of our parasympathetic
nervous system to regulate ourmind and our emotions and our
bodies. I hope that this episodehas given you some practical

(19:15):
tools for implementing selfcare. Don't forget to grab the
planner to help guide youthrough the process and feel
free to re listen to the twominute meditation as often as
you need or just startpracticing that on your own a
couple times a day. I will seeyou next time on Intentional
Motherhood.