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As a busy mompreneur, sometimes I feel like my brain has turned into mush! There’s so much to think about. And so many balls to keep in the air. Thankfully, I’ve found 10 easy ways to boost your brain power. These tips have been a game changer for me, and I hope they will be for you too!
Ready to harness the amazing power of your brain? Let’s dive in!
1. Make Self-Care a Priority
Your brain cannot function at high power if your body is falling apart. You really do need to take care of yourself.
Even when life is crazy.
You certainly don’t need a day at the spa or a weekend away to take care of yourself.
If you’re waiting for that to happen, you may just fall apart while you wait. So instead, focus on self-care tasks that you can realistically do. Build them into your routines. Make them a priority.
Here are five simple ideas of things you can do to take care of yourself:
- Get outside. Take a walk. Sit on the porch. Lay in the grass. Just get some fresh air every day.
- Exercise. If you’re trying to earn a living from home, chances are pretty good you sit at a computer whenever you can squeeze a few minutes in. That means you need to purposefully build movement into your days!
- Take good supplements. They’re worth the cost! I love Plexus and take several of their products daily including their vitamins and Triplex products. I really feel so much better since I started using them! So much more mental clarity!
- Schedule your dental, vision, and doctor appointments. I skipped this for years. I didn’t think I had time, and definitely didn’t want to drive all the kids with me to go to the doctor. When I finally listened to the people telling me to go, I was shocked to discover how bad of shape my teeth were in. It took tons of visits to the dentist to get them back to a stable place. It would have been so much better just to go occasionally throughout the years than to have skipped it.
- Eat good food. Brain boosting foods don’t often come in a box. Instead, eat real food. Eat more fruits and veggies and high-quality meat. Since we’re going into the ministry and getting rid of our livestock, I’ve been ordering chicken thighs and ground beef from Savory Butcher every other month, and really enjoying it! Use this link to get $5 off your first order!
2. Sleep
Have you ever fallen asleep at the keyboard, only to discover pages and pages of Gs when you startled yourself awake? (Tell me it’s not just me?)
When you’re so tired that your pushing letters with your cheek, your brain has stopped being productive. It makes much more sense to stop working at that point and get some rest than it does to keep pushing through.
Your brain NEEDS rest. It’s when it processes things and reboots for the next day.
Without sleep, your brain is like a computer desperate for a reboot. Your tabs take too long to load, your memory is a bit fuzzy, and the slightest push of a button will send you into panic mode.
Make getting enough sleep a priority. I don’t know how much sleep YOU need, but you do. Experiment with different amounts and see how much leaves you feeling refreshed.
And if you’re a busy mama with a nursing baby, I totally understand. Sleep is not a guarantee during those rough early years. (I have a 12 year old son with a sleeping disorder so it’s been a while since consistent sleep has happened…)
What you can do is prioritize rest. Nurse in a recliner and doze while you do. Crawl into bed with your toddler and both of you get some rest.
It’s not ideal, but it’s better for your brain than grabbing your phone and scrolling through Pinterest in the middle of hte night.
Don’t do something that requires your brain to focus when it’s supposed to be sleeping.
3. Drink Water
Don’t let yourself get dehydrated. In fact, consider this your reminder to go get a nice cool glass of water and give you brain what it needs.
Fuzzy head, slow processing time, and bad memory are all signs of dehydration.
Just drink water and boost your brain power!
Find a water bottle you love, or use a wide-mouth quart jar like I do. Whatever you do, just drink water throughout the day.
Don’t try and get your daily requirement within the first hour of waking. Instead, take it slow and steady throughout the day.
Your body, and your brain will thank you!
And if you’re going to be out of the house – working in a coffee shop, grocery shopping, or traveling — bring water with you! I love my pretty pink Contingo water bottle for days like these. Then we bring along a gallon jug of water to refill.
4. Put Your Smartphone Down
When you’re busy trying to focus on something – be it playing with your kids or writing a blog post – you make it so much harder for yourself each time you pick up your phone.
I know, it’s so tempting to see if everyone liked that cute picture of your little one. Or if your client got back to you with their thoughts on your article.
But, every time you pick up your phone you lose focus. You tune out what you meant to be doing, and send all your brain power over to your little screen instead.
And each time, it’s harder to walk away.
You see, our brains really do respond differently to the stimulation the phone can offer. Those likes send feel good hormones throughout our body. The constant visual stimulation from the videos and perfect pictures draw us in.
They sort of make “real life” look a bit dull in comparison. You’ll start comparing your life to everything you see.
You’ll wonder – why can she look like that every day when I can barely make it out of my pajamas. Or wonder why your kids can’t do art like THAT!
Comparisons will rob you of the life God wants YOU to live. You will no longer be content, but on a constant struggle to do more and be more.
Just stop.
Put the phone down. And do what you’re supposed to be doing. Be fully present with whatever task you are working on. You’ll boost your brain power and be more productive.
Schedule time for you to check all your notifications and everything twice a day or whatever works for you.
But don’t fall into the trap of constantly being on your phone.
5. Do Something You Love
Your brain loves it when you work on something you enjoy. It’s calming and stimulating and fun.
So take time to do something you love. Do it just for fun, or find a way to build a business around it and make a profit.
Enjoy writing? Start a blog or a freelance writing career.
Love drawing? Draw with your kids or offer customized avatars for clients.
Think about what you really love doing, and make it a point to do more of it. This means you’ll need to give up somethings. I recommend ditching things that stress you out!
6. Read a Book
You can boost your brain power so much by simply reading good books. Find out what books people in your niche are reading and get a copy. Then read.
Wondering how to fit reading time into a crazy schedule? My kids and I now sit each morning and have a 10 minute Quiet Reading Time.
10 minutes doesn’t sound like much. But, in the past three months, I’ve managed to finish a book a month in that amount of time. Baby steps, taken consistently, really do lead to progress.
Also, don’t underestimate the power of audiobooks. I’ve started listening to these when I’m cooking dinner or driving. My family has the Audible plan where you get two books each month, and we’ve found some great ones!
Don’t have an Audible account yet? Click on the banner below to start your free trial and get 2 free audiobooks!
7. Minimize Your Decisions
How many decisions are you making on a daily basis? Think about it for a minute.
Every day, you’re could be faced with choices regarding: :
- What to wear
- What to make for dinner
- Who’s turn it is to lick the spoon
- Who is supposed to unload the dishwasher
- What to write about
- What to make for lunch
- Which blog posts to read or emails to open
- How to invest in your blog or business
And many, many more things.
Your brain is constantly making decisions. And while most of these really aren’t that important in the grand scheme of things, they add up and put tremendous strain on your brain.
Stop making so many decisions on the fly!
Each time you have to stop what you’re doing and think about the choices. Then you have to weigh the options and decide. And spend time wondering if you made the right choice…
There is a better way, one that harnesses your brain power instead of taking away from it.
Start pre-making as many decisions as you can. Spend time purposefully thinking about your decisions and making good ones.
Schedule time to make a budget for your business, an annual meal plan, and an annual chore chart.
Give your kids each a day, and let them handle some of the smaller decisions on their day.
Once you have your decisions made, stick with your plan.
You will have more brain power to focus on the decisions that really matter. And your brain won’t feel like an overwhelmed pile of mush as often.
Need help organizing your time and boosting your productivity? Check out my course Balancing Diapers and Deadlines.
How Do You Boost Your Brain Power as a Busy Mom Boss?
I’d love to hear your favorite strategies in the comments below.
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Lisa Tanner is a former teacher turned homeschooling mom with 11 kids. She's also a successful freelance writer. Lisa enjoys helping other busy moms find time to start and grow a side hustle of their own.
Natalie says
Great ideas! I have recently rediscovered the importance of sleep. It’s amazing how much more productive I am when I’ve had a good night’s sleep. Thanks for sharing such awesome ideas!
Lisa says
Thanks Natalie, yes sleep is so important!
Miko says
These 7 points are great tips to boost brain power. I love sleeping and book reading that I’m doing regularly but now I will try more in your points. Thanks for sharing.
Miko recently posted…MASSAGE AWAY FOOT PAIN WITH AT-HOME REMEDIES
Lisa says
Thanks Miko! Sleeping can definitely boost brain power.