So they say that women have issues with their memory while pregnant (often called mommy brain!). Well, I am fairly convinced that mommy brain continues for months and possibly years postpartum! I used to have an amazing memory (seriously, nearly photographic), which helped me in so many aspects of life including school, work and friendships. So what happened?! I am 10 months postpartum, and I still have days where I cannot remember why I went to the store, or if I brushed my teeth in the morning.
Why? The obvious answer would be fatigue. Combined with increased stress, distraction, number of things to remember (like feed your baby?), your memory center can be overloaded. Here are five tips on how to cope with mommy brain and make it through life as an organized, calm, put together mama!
1) Keep a Planner
Regardless of whether you are a working or stay at home mom, a planner is a necessity. Some people like to keep appointments and notes on their phone; I prefer a paper planner, but I often do both. The benefit of keeping an electronic planner is that I can set alarms to remind me of important events, and I can sync my calendar with my husbands. For me, I like to keep a paper planner because I am a very visual person. I need to see what time my appointments are at which shows me how busy my day is at one glance. I also really love that there is room to write notes and lists. For the record, I have a Plum Paper Planner and love it!
2) Keep Good Lists
I love using my planner as a way to keep ‘to do’ lists all in one place. I have space for a monthly to do list – this is where I write all the things I would LIKE to get done this month. There’s no sense of urgency to this list, but I like to check things off like ‘organize shoe closet’. Next I keep weekly and/or daily lists of things that NEED to get done. These are your typical ‘go to bank’ ‘write blog post’ tasks. Lastly, I always keep a running grocery list on the fridge where I add items that we run out of, and items that we need to make meals planned for the week. Grocery lists are a good one to keep on your phone, so you never forget to take it to the store!
3) Write yourself Notes
I don’t know about you, but I do a lot of thinking while lying in bed. I keep a small notepad on my bedside table where I jot down whatever I am thinking about that I don’t want to forget! When I look at these notes in the morning, I think ‘why the heck was that so important?’ But sometimes I am so grateful that I wrote it down! Note writing also helps me sleep better and fall asleep faster since I can erase those thoughts from my mind and focus on sleeping!
4) Make Priorities
Sometimes we are forgetful because we just simply have too much going on. I am very guilty of this. I often take on many different projects at once (on top of taking care of the baby and the household!) and get easily distracted. Prioritize what is important. Is it important that you make homemade snacks for school? Does baby have to be in swim lessons, music class, and baby yoga? Is it important that you meet deadlines at work? Honestly, this varies from person to person. There is no right or wrong answer as each person sets priorities very differently!
Personally, it is important to me to have time to make healthy dinners that we enjoy as a family, spend time with my husband, and get in my workouts. Unfortunately, I sometimes miss my weekly mom’s club meetings (sorry ladies xo) and haven’t finished reading an entire book in well over a year.
5) Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff
You know that book? The one with all the great advice about not worrying about the things that are not important? Yeah, I didn’t finish that one either but I got the message! I learned a long time ago that worrying about the things that won’t matter, tomorrow, next week or even next year is better for your health. You may find that you are less stressed and overall a more relaxed and pleasant person. Not saying that this is easy to do, but it is something that I am currently working on.
Do you have mommy brain? How’s your memory postpartum? What great tips do you have to keep some calm among the chaos? Comment below!
In fitness and good health,
Natasha
