
Your car keys are in the freezer, you can’t remember any of your passwords, and you just came home from a two-hour grocery shopping expedition with nothing more than a bag of rocky road ice cream and three mangoes. Yeah, you have pregnancy brain. And it’s totally normal — heck, even science says it’s a real thing. Knowing that your seemingly sluggish mental prowess is just part of being pregnant won’t help your sudden forgetfulness, but these tips might just do the trick.
1. Write notes, notes, and more notes. Put everything down on paper. Or rather, use one of the gazillion note-making apps to create lists. You know, “just in case” you forget (you totally will). You can also text your S.O. (not only can they remind you, but you’ll have the text you sent to view) or send yourself emails.
2. Work out more than once in a while. While exercise on its own won’t cure pregnancy brain, it does give you time to relax and de-stress. Letting go and getting physical can help to recharge your mental state. Whether you hit the gym, take a walk around the block, or join a prenatal yoga class, you’ll find benefits galore in a daily workout.
3. Get enough sleep. Okay, okay, so it’s not always easy to get a full night’s sleep — especially when your growing baby has their foot pressed up against your bladder. But do what you can to get as much rest as possible. A tired mama-to-be is a forgetful mama-to-be. This might mean changing your dinner plans to a lunch date or waiting until the weekend to catch up on the emails that are littering your inbox.
4. Take pictures of everything. In a few short months, you’ll be snapping away, taking pic after pic of your lovely little newborn. But for right now, use photos as a memory tool. This strategy is helpful if you tend to forget where you parked your car, what you have left in the fridge (and what you need at the store), or people’s names (edit a photo of them to add a caption).
5. Designate organization areas. Everything has a home. That’s it. There’s nothing easier than finding what you’re looking for exactly where it belongs. Create “homes” for important objects, such as your keys or your phone. Keeping your keys in the same basket next to your desk at work every day means that you’ll be less likely to misplace them and freak out at 5pm when you want to go home but can’t get into your car.
6. Set alarms all day long. You were supposed to meet your BFF for lunch at noon. At 12:30 you get a “where r u?” text. Your friend probably understands your new tendency to flake out. But you could have avoided the whole situation if you had set an alarm on your phone to help you remember to head out.
7. Talk it out. Pregnancy isn’t always rainbows, lollipops, and unicorns. Sometimes it’s scary — even when everything is going perfectly fine. The stress you’re feeling is normal, but it’s still weighing on your mind. The more time you spend thinking about the “what ifs,” the less time you can devote to thinking about everything else. Talking to your S.O., a family member, or a friend can help you to better cope with the stress and get some of your pre-pregnancy memory back.
8. Enlist the help you need. Preparing for baby comes with an almost endless list of must-dos. Trying to knock every item off your “get it done ASAP” list by yourself is only adding to the pressure you feel. While you can’t have someone else grow the baby for you, there’s no reason that your other half, family, and friends can’t pitch in and help out. The less you have to think about, the less you’ll forget!
Tweet us your funniest pregnancy brain moment @BritandCo!
(Photos via Getty)
It can be intimidating to step out on your own and build a business from the ground up. As part of our collaboration with Office Depot, we're talking with Selfmade alum and solopreneur Colette Lawrence, the faith-based motivator and relationship builder behind The M.E.E. Movement, about ways in which women in business can find success.
B + C: How did you know M.E.E. Movement was your business to start?
The M.E.E Movement represents motivation, empowerment, and encouragement for women. It is what represents me. I did not know at first that it was my business to start, but then the thought of monetizing what I loved came to me. It scared me, however. I registered the business in July 2020 and have been slowly building my wings since.
B + C: What's one strategy that's helped you start your business?
Thinking through and researching what the requirements are to start my business, and then asking questions of people who are in the business. Not all advice worked; however, it helped me to figure out what I needed to do and not to do.
B + C: Did you always know life coaching would be your entrepreneurial path?
(Smiles) No, I did not. I 'stumbled" on it. I knew that people were always coming to me for advice and I found that I loved having conversations with them, especially with women, young and old.
B + C: What was your most valuable takeaway from Selfmade?
My most valuable takeaway was the first day of training: Get out of your own way. There were a lot of great moments and important takeaways from every presenter. However, getting out of my own way, pushing past doubts, was for me my most valuable takeaway. Doing something that I had never done before took courage. If I do not focus on what is happening with me mentally then I cannot deliver to my clients successfully.
B + C: What's one piece of advice you would give to female entrepreneurs on the brink of starting?
Get out of your head. You have something to offer. You have what you need to succeed so go ahead and do it.
B + C: How do you stay motivated?
I stay motivated by listening to music and listening to motivational speakers, and sometimes someone will just reach out and talk about the impact that I made in their life. That adds the extra juice or sauce I need to pummel through the day.
B + C: What's your best organizational tip?
Keep a diary and journal. It's the best way for me to keep organized and it also provides a source motivation as I record not only my "losses" but my wins as well.
B + C: Who inspires you in the entrepreneurial space?
Shirley Toliver – She motivates and empowers and makes me always want to show up.
B + C: What has receiving the Office Depot scholarship to Selfmade done to help you start or grow your business?
The scholarship was a blessing in that all the areas that were covered offered valuable information that I needed, from social media to HR. As a new business owner, I needed to know this to increase my own personal awareness in what it takes to run a successful business. The candidness of the presenters made it easy to see myself in their shoes and helped me to realize that I can also get there.
Thanks Colette! You can follow The M.E.E. Movement on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
Want to feel motivated to take the next step for your business? Let Office Depot OfficeMax give you the confidence you need with a suite of business services & solutions to help you put your best foot forward. Make a good first impression with business cards & build the business pitch of your dreams with custom presentations. With Office Depot OfficeMax you'll find the tools to reach new customers with confidence.
Head to Office Depot's Selfmade page to check out even more amazing business resources (and discounts!) to help you accomplish more on your entrepreneurial journey. These offers are available for a limited time only, so be sure to take advantage of all this goodness while supplies last. Want to join the next Selfmade cohort this summer? Check out all of the scholarship details right here.