Feeling Out of Sync? Reconnect with What Matters as a Single Parent
As a single parent, life can feel non-stop—work, childcare, household tasks, and managing everything solo. With so much to juggle, it’s no surprise that many single parents reach a point where they feel disconnected from themselves, stretched too thin, or just a bit “off.”
If that sounds familiar, this post is your gentle reminder that you don’t need to do more—you just need to reconnect with what matters to you.
One powerful way to do that is by checking in with your core values.
What Core Values Are and Why They Matter
Your core values are the guiding principles that help shape your decisions, priorities, and the way you move through daily life. They reflect what truly matters to you, beyond expectations or routines.
These values might include calm, independence, connection, honesty, financial stability, or simplicity. They are deeply personal and can shift over time depending on your experiences and needs.
When you’re living in line with your values, life doesn’t suddenly become easy, but it starts to feel clearer, more manageable, and more meaningful. When you’re not, that’s often when things start to feel off, even if everything “looks fine” from the outside.
Single parenthood often demands a lot. Between keeping things running, showing up for your children, navigating co-parenting, and handling work, your own needs can end up at the bottom of the list.
Over time, you might find yourself making choices out of habit or guilt, rather than in alignment with what really matters to you. The result is often subtle: you might feel irritable, tired, or like you’re just moving through the motions. That quiet sense of misalignment can leave you feeling emotionally drained and unsure why.
Read my guide to setting boundaries here.
Step One: Identify What Really Matters to You
To reconnect with your values, look back at recent moments where you’ve felt either particularly calm and content—or completely worn out and frustrated.
These emotional signals are often your values showing up.
For example, you may have felt unexpectedly peaceful during a quieter month when you weren’t overloaded with social plans—pointing to rest or simplicity as a key value. Or maybe the stress of overextending yourself financially during the holidays clashed with your deeper desire to live with intention and financial security.
Think about what energises you versus what depletes you. These patterns are often strong clues to what matters most.
Step Two: Check How Aligned You Are
Once you’ve named a few key values, take a step back and look at your daily life. Notice where those values are present—and where they’ve been pushed aside.
You might recognise that connection is important, but you haven’t spent quality time with a friend in months. Or that calm matters to you, but your evenings are filled with noise and constant multitasking.
This isn’t about blaming yourself—it’s about becoming aware of where your current reality might be pulling you away from what you really need.
That awareness can be a turning point.
Step Three: Make Small, Intentional Adjustments
You don’t need to overhaul your life to feel more aligned. Start small. Choose one value that’s felt out of reach lately, and think about one way you could honour it this week.
It could mean switching your phone off earlier in the evening. Blocking out time for a solo coffee. Saying no to one extra commitment without feeling guilty.
Even the smallest shifts can help you feel more in control—because they’re rooted in what actually matters to you, not what others expect or what the calendar demands.
A Note on Values in Conflict
There may be times when your values compete with each other. You might value early mornings to yourself and value getting enough rest—but both can’t always happen at the same time. That’s okay.
What matters most is recognising when it’s happening and making a conscious choice based on what you need right now.
You can always return to the other value when the timing is right. That flexibility is key to living with intention—without the pressure of perfection.
Final Thought
Your values won’t look the same as anyone else’s. And they might not be the same today as they were a year ago.
But regularly checking in with what really matters—and gently bringing your life back into alignment with it—is one of the most empowering tools you can have as a single parent.
You don’t need to do it perfectly. You just need to do it with intention.
Work With Me
Seeking support via a single parent coach can provide you with valuable tools to help you get perspective with what really matters to you, and how to reconnect with those priorities.
I help single parents, co-parents and solo parents to help them find balance in their lives and build a life they love for them and their children.
If you’d like to find out more, book your free, no-obligation consultation call.
Find out more about the services I offer here.