It happened one night at 3am. My toddler was wide awake again, and as I sat there in the dark, I realised something important: I can’t keep waiting for things to change before I start looking after myself. With sleep school, sleep coaches, even a sleep study in hospital, nothing has worked. The truth is, my toddler may never sleep through the night. And if I keep waiting for rest to arrive before I take care of me, I’ll keep running on empty. That was my lightbulb moment. Motherhood has a way of making us believe “things will get easier.” We hear it all the time, but after three years, I’ve realised that sometimes they don’t. And just like in they said it would get easier but does it, I had to face the hard truth: waiting wasn’t helping. What I needed was to act. Not in big overwhelming ways, but with three simple rules to change my life—rules that would give me back some control and start guiding me toward the version of me I want to be: my dream future self.
Rule 1 | Skincare is non-negotiable
I decided that skincare is no longer optional. Twice a day would be lovely, but I gave myself one rule: at least once a day I must take those five minutes for my skin. Cleanser, moisturiser, serum if I can. It sounds small, but it’s not just about skin—it’s about stopping to care for myself. In teaching, we talk about “predictable routines” helping children feel safe and grounded. This daily skincare ritual does the same for me. It’s a predictable pause, a moment that says “I matter.” And as I learned while writing how to rebuild confidence after motherhood changes everything, those tiny commitments add up and become proof that I can trust myself again.
Rule 2 | Start the morning with me in mind
Every morning I drink my collagen and glow mix. It takes two minutes, but the shift it brings is bigger than that. It’s not just nutrition—it’s the reminder that I began the day doing something for me. When the day is long and loud, I can think back and know: I started right. In education, we see how small morning rituals set the tone for children’s days, and the same applies to us. This is my anchor. It’s my way of sparking that inner fire. It doesn’t fix the exhaustion, but it gives me energy and confidence to move through the day with more intention.
Rule 3 | Food logging for awareness, not pressure
This was the confronting one. I started logging my food each day. Some nights I would look back and see that I’d barely eaten, too busy chasing a toddler to even think about my own meals. Other times I noticed the crash that came after skipping protein. This gentle reflection helped me see patterns I couldn’t before. Instead of judgement, I treated myself like I would a child in my class—observe, reflect, and adjust. The mindset was key. It wasn’t about dieting or guilt; it was about awareness. I needed to motivate myself as I was feeling stuck and this tiny action gave me momentum I didn’t expect. More energy. A clearer head. A reminder that the way I fuel myself matters.
Why these simple rules to change your life work
I couldn’t have done this a few weeks earlier. Sometimes change can’t be forced—it arrives when we’re ready. These rules aren’t glamorous. They’re not the 5am workouts or the picture-perfect routines you see online. They’re simple, practical, doable. But they are also powerful, because they’re proof that I can live more like the woman I want to become. They are stepping stones between the exhausted present me and the future me who feels capable, strong, and confident. That’s what the From Dreaming to Doing | How to Start Becoming Your Dream Future Self worksheet is all about—making small steps that bring you closer to the life you imagine, without waiting for perfect circumstances to arrive.
Becoming more me
Motherhood changes everything. My goals, my energy, my time—it all looks different now. And while I wrote before about how motherhood has changed my goals for the better, the reality is that I had to grieve the idea that life would ever go back to how it was. Once I stopped waiting and started creating, I began to feel more like me again. Not in huge, life-shaking ways, but in tiny, repeatable ones. That’s why I believe so deeply in making your own rules, this is about claiming your power back, piece by piece. What this taught me is that consistency matters far more than perfection. Predictable routines ground us, whether we’re toddlers or adults, and small steps are enough to create real momentum.
Why small rules aren’t selfish
At first, I felt selfish carving out these rules for me. But I realised this isn’t selfish—it’s survival. These rules don’t take away from my family, they give me back enough energy to show up better for them. Looking after myself makes me a better mama. And while these are my rules, yours might look different. Maybe it’s stretching in the morning, drinking more water, or putting your phone away earlier at night. What matters isn’t the rule itself but the message behind it: I am worth the effort. Even when the nights are broken or the mornings begin with tantrums before dawn, these rules hold me steady. They remind me that even when I’m stretched thin, I can still take steps toward the life I want. That’s what simple rules to change your life look like—not grand gestures, but consistent choices that build you up over time.
If you’ve been waiting for the perfect time to begin, maybe this can be your lightbulb too. Your dream future self isn’t waiting for silence or rest—she’s waiting for you to take one small step in her direction. So what’s one simple rule you could begin today that would remind you, every day, that you matter? Sometimes it really is the simple rules to change your life that make the biggest difference. So, if you’re ready to take the next step, the From Dreaming to Doing | How to Start Becoming Your Dream Future Self worksheet can help you turn your own rules into real action.
Change doesn’t wait for perfect conditions—it begins with simple rules that remind you, every day, that you matter.
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