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Women as individuals inspire people of all age groups. From being a daughter to becoming a wife and then a mother, roles change, but their lives often revolve around the people they love. I myself am trying to find a balance between work life and raising a family. I am a mother to a 17-month-old son and at the same time I’m a social media account executive.
Working full-time and being a mom is no walk in the park. With only 24 hours in the day, how do I do it all? Here are my pillars for ensuring it all makes sense.
A) Take time to accept the fact that you have a new life to take care of. Ensure there is some flexibility with work schedules, days off, and morning times. Lower your expectations – perfecting every little detail will prevent you from being present.
B) Work because you love it and utilise your abilities. Kudos to every working mom out there who has been nailing it and making it look effortless. None of us are doing it exactly right, but every mom I know is doing her best.
C) If you have a genuine passion for solving the types of problems that come at the workplace you are definitely in the right place. Even if there were no financial necessities, I would feel the need to work, especially where I do.
D) Compartmentalizing your work. Don’t overburden yourself with work responsibilities, or family ones. Keep it balanced. Be at a single place at a time. For instance, when I am with my son, I put my cell phone in the other room and step away from the computer.
E) Stop glorifying being a martyr for the family. Take care of yourself in order to do the very best for the family. You can juggle being a mother and employee, and still have a happy life.
I’m very privileged to be able to choose whether or not I work. Some women work because they have to and others can’t. When you have a supportive husband and family around, it can work and really well.
In Part Two, I’ll have some more tips.
As a working mom, sometimes it gets difficult to take care of the home and juggle everything. A little cooperation with my family and flexible office hours where I work in social media marketing has made it easier for me.
I have some quick tips that have helped me reduce everyone’s stress level while handling day-to-day activities.
A) Resist the urge to fix and fold every little corner of the house. Let everyone pitch in and applaud their efforts.
B) If you’re the one with house management capabilities, start by delegating chores. Make sure everyone is doing something. Start your morning by checking the calendar, keeping a grocery list, and tracking medical appointments, and also planning work meetings as precisely as possible.
C) Schedule quiet time for yourself. Keeping aware of the latest updates, trends and content is a requirement for my work. My team are a great help with this. Have each family member spend a few minutes alone at their respective home times. This gives you all time to calm down and regroup before gathering together.
D) Don’t let work pressures eat into your family time. Coordinate with your husband and family so everyone can have time for themselves. Working moms tend to put themselves last on the list, but regenerating your own inner strength and peace can ensure better productivity.
E) Make only one food shopping trip per week. Have one home-cooked meal a day with your family. Plan something like a family movie night once a week and a group outing for the weekend.
F) Raising a child should be a partnership. Get a babysitter once every two weeks. Go out with your partner for a dinner date. It will help the two of you remember what it’s like to be together. In my case, I have my in-laws helping me out all the time.
G) Working moms pull double duty on a daily basis. While I work as a social media executive, I have to juggle multiple schedules while keeping track of my son’s schedule. It is tricky to keep it together. Plan, execute, and schedule your work to take breaks at intervals.
Let me know if these tips could help you in any way. I would love to read further thoughts or alternative approaches.
Rashmi Shah is Senior Account Executive at Cicero & Bernay Communication Consultancy, an independent PR agency headquartered in Dubai offering new-age public relations consultancy to the UAE and across the MENA region. | www.cbpr.me