The kids are running around your legs, work starts in 40 minutes and you’ve still not found the time to put a wash on. How are you expected to look anything but frazzled under these conditions?

Indeed, it’s a problem faced by a huge number of working mothers. Lack of sleep, partners not pulling their weight, poor work/child-raising balance and about as much “me time” as a serial extrovert.

And it shouldn’t be this way. In an ideal world, you’d have time to put your feet up, have a mug of Horlicks and watch an episode of Corrie without some little sprog nipping your head.

But this is no perfect world, and you’re always fighting the clock just to get your chores finished before bedtime.

So we’ve come up with a few ways to help you relax in bite-sized chunks. We’ve called them micro-relaxation tips, and you’ll be guaranteed to chill out if you try a few.

Mask to relax

You’ve got wrinkles to match your heightened blood pressure. Your face is beginning to look like thunder, and not just metaphorically. But a simple moisturiser won’t do the job when stress is showing on your face.

What you need is a high-quality face mask, one that can soothe your face and hold back the years (as Simply Red might say).

For our money, a Proactiv Mask is one of the best products on the market. This deep-cleansing formula will decrease the likelihood of wrinkles, and it costs less than £20. Place it on your face regularly (say, once a week) and your skin will be stronger, smoother and more relaxed.

YOUR space

It’s such an easy trap to fall into when you’ve got kids – every section of your house becomes theirs. Their LEGO bricks are in the lobby, their Action Men are in the living room and their favourite cuddly toys have found their way into your bedroom.

But without a space that’s just yours, you’ll seldom enjoy peace and quiet. Find a room that you can call your own in your home (although that’s easier said than done) and fill it with your favourite hobbies.

Make your partner look after the kids for a while and retreat to your room for suitable “me time”. Whether it’s picking up a skill you’ve always wanted to learn, reading a good book or devouring a few episodes of I’m a Celebrity…, your room is for you and you alone to enjoy.

If you’re feeling really fancy, invest in a massage table and persuade your partner to give you a relaxing rubdown. You’ll enjoy some relaxation and reconnect with the love in your life.

Mum’s Two Cents

It definitely is very tricky to find opportunities for micro-relaxation or what I fondly call pocket “me times” if you are living with children, but it is something that we ought to take once in a while, if only for our sanity. I would absolutely love to have my own space in our home and am planning to scout for a table/drawer, which can be my designated workspace and fill it up with a number of things that I love like photos, postcards, notebooks, pens, and books. There is a furniture shop near our place and I am looking forward to go there and see if I can find a desk or a shelf that would fit this lovely plan.

Where do you retreat to enjoy those micro-relaxation and what activities do you enjoy?