Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

If you suffer from fatigue, what do you do to motivate yourself to work through it?

7 replies

GrouchyKiwi · 15/10/2019 12:51

I have a chronic health condition with fatigue as one of the symptoms. And right now it's really impacting on my life. I've got loads to do and no energy to do it.

I'm a SAHM with three children (3, 5 and 7) and we home educate so I know I'm going to have a lot of tiredness anyway. I use what energy I have to look after them and their learning. And I generally get the laundry done (if not put away...)

But the house is a so messy, and getting it cleaned just isn't happening. I need to set up the garden for the year ahead and that's not happening either.

What techniques do you use to get more energy or to ignore the tiredness and just push through it? I used to be really good at that but just can't bring myself to do things right now.

OP posts:
Dowser · 15/10/2019 13:03

I up my magnesium intake

DreamingofSunshine · 15/10/2019 13:42

I have fatigue from a couple of chronic conditions. I'm on amlytripine to help me sleep, and gentle exercise and eating plenty of veg helps - I have a sweet tooth but it makes me feel worse.

milliefiori · 15/10/2019 14:07

Hi OP, I suffered severe fatigue for about 5 years. I tried so many things. the most helpful were:
Vitamin D spray
Feroglobin or Floradix liquid iron
L-Tyrosine
Vit B supplements
Drink 2 litres of water every day.

In terms of keeping up with housework - the 5-minute 'room rescue' from Flylady's cleaning system is wonderful.

Set a timer for 5 minutes. In that time, do as much as you can to make a room look presentable. Do big, visibly ugly stuff first, like empty overflowing bins, hanging up coats and bags, pairing shoes, chucking newspapers and junk mail.

If it's the kitchen, empty and reload dishwasher and wipe down surfaces.

If the living room, plump up cushions, clear away dirty mugs and stray clothes etc.

If the bathroom, wipe mirrors and taps, hang up or change towels and bathmats and clean the loo.

The uplift you get from how much better the house looks after just 5 minutes' effort is a real incentive.

I used 5 minute sessions to:
put on a laundry load
take one out and dry it
fold it
unload and reload the dishwasher
tidy a room
clear and lay the kitchen table
clean kitchen surfaces and sink
declutter the hall

It all adds up but it's never overwhelming.

As you home-ed, you have extra clutter and mess as you are all in the house all day long. But you also have extra helpers. Getting DC into the habit of picking up after themselves is really important.

Get your DC to do room rescues too. Count how many toys you can put away in 5 minutes. Get them to do one job at a time; put books away or check with floordrobe clothes are clean and which are dirty Wink. Sort washing piles into whites, lights and darks. Etc.

I made cleaning fun. We'd put on a loud pop song and one would have a feather duster, another would have a cloth and spray and they would do what they could in 5 mins. You can get rid of a lot of dust and cobwebs with two energetic DC in 5 mins. Same with vacuuming. Get DC to do 5 mins - main traffic areas of living room (not a deep clean under furniture) or half way up the stairs. Then the other Dc can do half way down the stairs (if they are old enough and strong enough.)

You get the picture. Do nothing for more than 5 mins. You get loads done in 5 mins. Get DC to help. Make it fun.

keep cooking easy. Tray bakes or single pot recipes. Have a couple of nights a week of ready meals or straight from freezer to oven stuff.

Book a cleaner to do deep cleaning a few times a year.

milliefiori · 15/10/2019 14:10

Another good flylady tip is clean the bath with showergel. Don;t use aggressive chemicals you need to rinse off. Just have your bath or shower and at the end of it, stay in the bath as it drains, and use a net scrub with a bit of gel on to gently rub away any soap scum or grit. Rinse with the shower head then the bath or shower get cleaned when you do. Takes a minute.

Oddsocks2 · 15/10/2019 16:14

I have had fatigue since my 3 children were 6, 4 & 2 so I feel your pain.
VitD is good. Also vitB12
Pacing - this is very important. Routine is your friend. Have set times in the day when you will rest. This will help you keep your energy levels constant, rather than dropping into terrible lows. I always rest for an hour after lunch & allow the children to watch tv. When they were small I would crash on the sofa and they would cuddle round me. When I’m not feeling good I try to rest 15 mins after breakfast & before doing the bedtime routine too. Do you have a partner who could take responsibility of the children for a set 15/20mins while you rest at that time?
As you are home schooling, could you work a little tidying into their daily routine? So that they come to expect little jobs at certain points in the day?
Of course it’s whatever works for you.

GrouchyKiwi · 15/10/2019 18:26

Thank you for the tips and suggestions. We are rubbish with routine but I'd really like to make a vague one. It will probably help.

OP posts:
milliefiori · 15/10/2019 22:47

Grouchy - it really does help. It lightens yoru load and your stress level. I always put a washload on first thing when I feed the cat. Then by the time everyone has had breakfast and got dressed etc it's time to hang it out or stick it in the drier Then I forget about it until evening when I fold it while DC do homework or watch TV.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page
Swipe left for the next trending thread