Most working professionals complain that their job is too tough. But what if you also had to take care of your family while fulfilling your professional roles? It may seem impossible but working moms have been doing this for a long time. It may seem exhausting and thankless at times, but if you know how to do it, you can excel at being an excellent parent and a successful working professional.
Here are some steps that can help any working mom achieve work-life balance.
1. Let Go of The Guilt
Due to the several stereotypes prevailing in our society, women often feel guilty while returning to work after attaining motherhood. While fathers are considered family providers and expected to return to work, women are judged because they are not supposed to abandon their children.
Suppose a woman chooses to resume her career after becoming a mother. In that case, she probably knows how to balance work and family, and therefore, instead of feeling guilty, women must look at it with immense pride and admiration.
Working moms should look at the brighter side and consider all the positive aspects their work life will contribute to their family. If she is confident about her decision, then her family, including her child, will feel the extent of her love and understand her sacrifice.
2. Use Shortcuts to Save Time
Working moms might find it difficult to achieve work-life balance initially. Hence, they can use specific time-saving hacks to help them achieve more in the least amount of time. You must have a strategic approach toward your work and family life.
For example, instead of personally shopping for groceries, order them online and ask them to deliver them directly to your home. If you have to run certain errands, you can do them during lunchtime. If you have an early morning flight to catch, have your outfit ready by the night before. Planning your work and using such shortcuts allows you to quickly balance your work life and fulfill your family responsibilities.
Read Also: Five Steps to Prepare Your Business Growth
3. Find Trustworthy Childcare Providers
Working moms, mainly the new ones, often fail to concentrate at work because they remain worried about leaving their children at home. In such a scenario, you can hire a nanny or a daycare center where you can go your child.
However, try to find a reliable one; otherwise, you may still be constantly worried about your child's well-being. Try to find a nanny who has extensive experience. In the case of daycare, find a licensed one with flexible hours and a clean, spacious environment.
4. Have Open Conversations with Your Manager
Since working moms must juggle work and family, they need a certain amount of flexibility in their schedules. Therefore, they must always try to communicate with their managers about their needs. Studies suggest that working moms are exceptionally committed employees who do not use their children as an excuse and can go to any extent to get the job done.
However, it would help if you were open with your managers. In most cases, the managers understand your situation, and some may also appreciate your dedication toward your family and your job.
5. Avoid Distractions
Time becomes your most precious commodity once you become a working mom. Therefore, you cannot afford to waste time on those aspects of your life that might affect your productivity. Instead of taking long lunch breaks or surfing the internet for no reason, try to utilize the time to get things done.
Spending time socializing with your coworkers can also affect your productivity. At home, instead of wasting time in front of a television or with your phone, try to focus on your child or spend some quality time with your partner.
6. Make Time for Your Partner
To keep your home happy and prosperous, you must focus equally on your marriage. If you prioritize your relationship, it can have a ripple-like effect on everything else. Even after becoming parents try to do those things that you enjoyed doing before. Try to discuss something that does not involve your work or kids. While it is essential to have some me time amid everything, it is equally necessary to make time for your partner.
7. Stay Organized
Working moms are responsible for many things at work and at home. Apart from doing all the household chores, they must attend to their child's needs, maintain a healthy social life, and fulfill all those roles their company asks them to. Hence, to stay organized, they must seek additional assistance in the form of apps, planners, and other such resources to keep track of things she needs to do. To stay organized, you must also have a certain amount of foresight and plan as much as possible to avoid the last-minute struggle.
8. Share Your Housework
As discussed earlier, working moms have a lot of responsibilities to fulfill, and therefore, they desperately require additional help so that at least the housework can be shared. While you can always hire people to take care of your household duties, this is an excellent opportunity for your partner to step in and help you.
Many couples spend quality time doing household work together. Once your children grow older, you can also involve them by delegating simple tasks. This helps in building good habits early on and can also play an active role in contributing to the family.
9. Have Low Expectations
Several working moms feel overburdened because they have very high expectations of themselves. They think that they need to be the perfect parent. From preparing healthy and delicious meals to maintaining a clean house, they demand too much from themselves. Therefore, to eliminate unnecessary stress, you must keep your expectations low.
10. Always Have Some Me Time
You may have a lot of responsibilities to fulfill but in the middle of everything, try to have some time for yourself to avoid burnout. Having some me time is necessary to maintain inner peace. Most working moms keep others' needs first while hardly caring for themselves.
You must realize that if you are not taking care of yourself well, you will not be able to take care of others properly. Try to find some time to relax and recharge yourself. Pamper yourself with things you enjoy doing, like reading, writing, or catching up with an old friend. You will realize its importance in the long run.
These are some ways through which working moms can find work-life balance.
Leave a comment
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *