If there’s one thing military families are used to, it’s moving around from place to place depending on the job requirements of the enlisted or commissioned personnel. This commonly affects whole families, and while it’s true that you can become very good and even comfortable at and with continual change, it still requires some preparation to get right.

As moving house takes up so much time (as does its planning and management), you might wonder if you have time for anything else. The truth is that yes, you do, but you have to prioritize and consider which outcomes are most important to you. In that respect, military family life isn’t necessarily different from the challenges and pleasures other families have.

One question remains – when you’re trying to spin all of these plates, sometimes in new surroundings you’re unfamiliar with, how can you have time for self-care? Well, this question is very important to ask and answer, because it’s easy to burn out should you ignore it.

Let’s consider, then, some vital tips for practicing self-care, even when you’re moving so often:

Keep A Steady Routine

A routine helps to ground us correctly. It allows us the freedom of predictability, as paradoxical as that sounds. When you have a routine, you can more easily plan the tasks of your day, conserve your energy in the healthiest manner possible, and move forward knowing exactly what you have to do and when you have to do it.

Utilizing the momentum of a routine can also help you feel more integrated into your daily life, especially as you move somewhere new and need that stability to feel at home. You can start as simply as going to bed at the same time each night, and waking up in the same area each morning. This keeps you grounded, and it helps the unpredictability of the years feel much more manageable. It can also help you keep to appointments, or manage self-care, such as by committing to teeth whitening while waiting to register with a new dentist. Every little approach helps.

Portable Exercise 

Maintaining a consistent exercise routine while constantly on the move is challenging but entirely possible to do. Go for workouts that require minimal equipment, such as bodyweight exercises, yoga, or high-intensity interval training (HIIT). These can be done with minimal setup and also a quick warmup, while also feeling great.

You could also consider investing in resistance bands or a compact travel yoga mat to give yourself a little more flexibility depending on the space you’re in. If you stay active, stay energized, and make movement a non-negotiable part of your on-the-go moving lifestyle, the constant stress of change actually becomes much easier and more comfortable to deal with. We believe it’s because you physically express the stress building up psychologically, and so you can look at your focus much clearer from then on.

Balance Your Comforts Wisely

It’s nice to have some consistency in life, but we must also be careful not to cling too tightly to the past when trying to embrace a new adventure. While it’s comforting to carry pieces of home with you, be mindful not to resist the opportunities that change brings. If you do, it may cause you to miss the beauty in front of you, and that ultimately makes you feel less happy than you would otherwise.

A good way to create a healthy balance here is by integrating familiar comforts into your routine. For example, perhaps you have a cookbook from your previous home that reminds you of the old space with its flavors and scents, but you’ll design your new dining area in a different tone. This lets you enjoy the old and the new together. Of course , this is just one example, you may be surprised just how much a little careful forethought can help you feel both inspired by the future, and comforted by where you’ve been.

It’s Good To Build A Network

One of the downsides of moving often is that you miss connections made. That’s not to say you lose touch with everyone, but by and large, your friendship group will renew itself. Cultivating connections in each place you call home provides a support system that transcends geographical boundaries, and so it’s good to push yourself and at least meet your neighbors or others in your shoes. If you’re a military spouse, odds are you’ll get to meet other military partners (though of course you’re never limited to just this).

If you attend local events, join online communities in your area, and engage with like-minded individuals to build a diverse and reliable network, you may be surprised just how connected and settled you feel. It takes just one good friend to feel inspired. And, as friends do, they can offer you support during the high and low times, helping you withstand the rigors of continual movement.

Gather Gratitude Because Of (Not Despite) Your Unique Lifestyle

It’s important to remember that while your lifestyle may be unique compared to some of those you grew up with, it’s not “bad.” Being a military spouse is actually quite exciting, although of course this is just one example. You get to meet new people, see and live in cultures you may not have otherwise, and there’s hardly a more stable job for your family to be connected to than this.

What’s more is that all of your hard work (and the hard work of your spouse) builds up over time and grants you the kind of stability that others will admire as you reach retirement, with many adventures under your belt.

Thanks to all of this experience you’ll have, you realize that you’ve become a very dynamic, interested and worldly person over the years. For many people, this kind of lifestyle beats sitting in the same office for forty years and never moving out from their hometown. That’s not to disparage people who live that life, only you chose something different, and that’s totally great too. Gathering gratitude helps you see the silver lining even when the moves might be challenging.

With this advice, you’ll be certain to practice self-care despite moving so often. We wish you all the best in your efforts.