I’ve created something that I think you’ll like…
It’s a sunny Saturday afternoon here in Cardiff when I’m writing this, my son is napping across from me and I’m sneaking some time to write this post while my eldest two kids are downstairs with my husband. Just having time to sit and gather my thoughts in what has been a busy Saturday feels like one big long exhale.
Earlier this week, in another nap-time working session, I recorded this video at the top of this post for you, all about my new 12 week Bespoke Self-Care Plan for Mums.
I talk about how my own mental health struggles as a mum back in 2017/18 and having to get creative with the type of self-care I did (because I was always with my kids) was the seed for creating this Bespoke Self-Care Plan.
I ended up creating the plan for my 1 to 1 clients in 2020/21, and have been using it ever since with them, with amazing results.
I’m now offering this plan as a stand alone service, because I just know it will help so many mums who are feeling totally overwhelmed. The Bespoke Self-Care Plan is perfect for you if:
You are a super busy mum who has no time for herself right now.
You are a mum with young kids and you’ve no idea how you are going to fit self-care into yourself (I’ll show you how!)
You want to take a realistic and slow approach to building a new habit (because everything already feels pretty overwhelming atm)
You are a mum who wants to work with someone who totally gets it and has struggled with motherhood herself (that’s me btw!)
You want to feel like a happier, calmer and an overall less stressed human!
If the Bespoke Self-Care Plan sounds like something you’d like, feel free to comment below for more info, DM me here on Substack or email me on jennafolarin@gmail.com.
Imperfect action always
In my typical ‘taking imperfect action’ way, I recorded this video sitting on my kid’s bedroom floor, with my laptop balanced on a tiny chair - the glamour!! But as
reminds us in this post, trying and failing is better than not trying at all:“I’ve realised after years of experience in the field (and this somehow got enhanced with motherhood), that it’s MUCH QUICKER to make something, fail and then do again as opposed to try and figure out the one and only way to do something to supposedly save yourself time.”
The power of one Note
Well it’s been an exciting week here behind the scenes - on 6th June, I posted this note asking for collaborators for my Motherhood and Creativity interview series:
I then re-stacked it 2 days later and it was re-stacked by some lovely mums.
So far, I’ve had interest from over 20 mums, who want to take part in these interviews, which is just incredible! After thinking that I’d have enough interviews to keep me going until the end of the year, I will have enough to last me into next year I think.
It got me thinking how much this topic resonates with so many mums, and the power of the Substack community here. Just one note sent had the power to reach and resonate with so many mums. I’m so happy to have made so many new connections with like-minded mums and I can’t wait to share more of their words with you all across the next few months.
A completely unintended consequence of this note is that I’ve gained lots of new subscribers - it took me a year to get to 100 subscribers, so to have a flurry of new subscribers lately feels really good - thank you to everyone who has subscribed in the last week or so, it’s lovely to have you in this wonderful community of mums!
Substack posts I’ve loved lately
I’m going to be trying out these really helpful tips from
on encouraging readers from Instagram to Substack (btw you can find me here on Insta).Loved this post from
all about having the courage to pause, especially this part:
“What I’m learning to do now is to give myself permission to do the non-productive things, the lazy things, the nourishing things without the guilt. It’s uncomfortable at times, and I can’t always manage it because I get stuck in my head over-analysing or second-guessing myself. But I’m slowly getting comfortable with not focusing on getting stuff done, not having to have any ‘results’ to show for my day, every day. I’m allowing myself to stop and pause and just be.”
And finally, a really brave and vulnerable post from
where she delves into how anger manifests for her in motherhood. I am so glad that being angry as a mum is being talked about more, because this really helps remove the shame that is around it.I talked more about how anger comes up for me as a mum in this post in
‘s Unspoken Words series, and in this post which I published last August and it explores how closely connected anger and overwhelm are for me.
Well, as I finish this post, I’m firmly in the danger nap territory now, with my youngest still being asleep at nearly 4:15pm…pray for me as it’ll no doubt be a late bedtime for him! But I did get to write this post at least!
Thank you so much for reading! I’d love for you to join me in the comments and let me know:
What stops you from doing self-care as a busy mum?
What’s been your most popular note here on Substack/or a note that resonated the most with others?
What have been your favourite Substack posts lately?
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