Today, mothers can have it all—wonderful kids, a supportive partner, a great career and plenty of time to enjoy all three. However, achieving this balance is not easy. If you need a few tips on how to manage your work and family life, here are habits you can adopt:
Set priorities
You can’t be everything to everyone at all times. Every mother usually has to juggle different roles in order to achieve success at work, keep her partner happy and be a present parent. You also might have other goals like going back to school, starting a business, getting fit, saving money for retirement, etc. Since your day has only 24 hours, you need to set priorities. If your main goal is to be a good mother, schedule every day some time to play with kids and be there to read them a bedtime story—kids will have priority over staying late at work.
Divide responsibilities
If you have a partner, they shouldn’t get a free pass when it comes to raising kids. Divide your responsibilities and be there to support each other along the way. Maybe your partner is good at feeding the kids, so why not make that task their responsibility? Also, when you have an important task at work, maybe you can rely more on their help when it comes to drop-offs and pick-ups, middle-of-the-night feedings, cleaning the house, etc. Remember, you and your partner are co-parents and both of you have responsibilities of caring for the kids and your home, especially when both of you are working.
Don’t divide your attention
Work has one bad habit—it often spills into your family hours. In order to prevent that, your best chance is to develop routines and habits that ensure your efficiency while you’re at the office, so you don’t have to carry your work into your home. Similarly, when you arrive at home, turn off your phone and devote all your time to your kids and your partner. This way, you won’t feel guilty about kids at work or feel guilty about work at home.
Share your problems
You probably have neighbors and friends who are more-or-less in the same situation as you, being forced to balance work and home life. Share your problems with them, and you can both benefit from mutual support and help. In many cases, you can share responsibilities and take turns driving kids to school, getting them home from practice, babysitting, organizing playdates, grabbing groceries, etc. And just sharing problems verbally can help a lot. If you don’t have such neighbors or friends, you can always look to vent online thanks to the practical Mumli baby development app made to connect mothers all over the world so they can share tips, learn tricks and be there to offer support to each other. It’s a great tool for every mom that can make juggling motherhood and career a piece of cake.
Consider flex time
If your workplace is ready to provide you with flexible work hours, this can reduce a lot of stress in your life. Even part-time is not a bad idea if you can carry it financially. Part-time might limit your financial freedom, but it might bring more free time to your life. After you sort out your priorities, it might be smart to check with your employer for flex hours or part-time work that might be more practical for balancing your work and life.
Plan things in advance
Most mothers are the busiest during the workweek, but if you just prepare a little for Monday, you can greatly reduce the stress of the week. On Sunday, you can check out the family calendar and manage your week. If you really want to prepare, make a few dinners in advance, put them in the freezer and just reheat once you get home from work. Meal prepping is fun for the entire family and your kids can be involved as well.
Have a babysitter (and a backup one)
Sometimes, no matter how much you plan, things will go the other way. Having a sitter to take over in case you have a work emergency is crucial. Having a backup option is an even better idea, since getting someone on short notice is hard. In case your backup sitter doesn’t respond, make a deal with neighbors or relatives who live nearby. If that doesn’t work you can always search for a babysitter online. There are job sites like Jobstoday.world (and similar pages) that help to find nannies for anyone in your local area for anyone located in the USA or outside.
With some practice and careful planning, you can learn how to juggle your motherhood and your career and be successful in both. If this is what you want, it’s more than possible to be a successful, happy and loved working mom. Remember, the most important thing is to set your priorities. Besides that, dividing responsibilities with your partner will make everything much easier and manageable. Don’t be afraid to ask for help from other moms as well.
