6 Tips for Working Moms: Balancing Motherhood and a Career

Balancing Motherhood and a Career: 6 Tips for Working Moms

Being a successful working mom isn’t an easy feat. While it can be one of the most rewarding and precious experience of one’s life, balancing the demands of a career and the responsibilities of motherhood can be overwhelming.

Juggling between a demanding career, a happy family, creative hobbies and side hustles can leave working mothers tired, drained, and frustrated at times as they struggle to manage everything all at once.

Suneeta Pathak wrote to us a few months back saying, “If you came to my house at 7 in the morning, you’ll see me running around with a spoonful of mashed veggies in my hands trying to feed my toddler, tidying up my house before I left for work, cooking for the day and trying with all my might to not miss breakfast with my husband in the middle of all of this. My husband helps around occasionally but I am still the primary manager of the house.”

So how do working moms manage? It is challenging, but it certainly isn’t impossible. Millions of working mothers do it every day after all!

A tired Suneeta very kindly helped us with this list and if you’re a working mom struggling to find the balance, then this blog is for you.

1. Make a routine and prioritize your tasks

Easier said than done, but waking up with a clear understanding of how your morning will unfold can help relieve a lot of stress. Observe how your days go, and tweak things here and there to make it easier. If prepping things the night before, such as ironing your clothes, can make your mornings easier, then go ahead and do it. This helps prioritize tasks and makes sure that less time is spent worrying about “What to do?” and more time is dedicated to figuring out “How do I get this done?”

2. Work efficiently

Sometimes, it might seem like there simply aren’t enough hours in a day. Putting together a work schedule and sticking to it can help you spend your hours efficiently. Say “NO” to any activities and commitments that simply aren’t important and focus on the ones that are.

Also, do focus on activities and commitments that fill you up with energy, rather than the ones that drain you. It can be tempting to zone out on social media and spend your hours mindlessly scrolling, do your best to resist it and instead try to put in hours in building stronger bonds with your partner, friends and family.

3. Be present, wherever you are

If you’re at home, be present at home; close the office laptop and spend quality time with your kids or partner. If you struggle with switching from work-mode to mommy-mode, here’s a simple trick that we recommend to every working mother: After work, on your way home, release the events of your workday and start looking forward to your evening. It’s really that simple!

Close your eyes wherever you can find a moment of peace and take 5 deep, long breaths. Reflect on your day at work and everything you accomplished. Acknowledge it, be thankful for it, and let it all fade away. Then shift your focus to looking forward to your evening and visualize how it’s going to go. Think about your child(ren), your partner, the evening you’re going to spend with them, and be thankful for it too. By the time you reach home and pick up your child, you’ll be in mom-mode and free from stress-mode.

4. Stay connected with your kids

Whether you’re checking in on them through WhatsApp or using the morning walk to school as an opportunity to interact with them, it’s essential to maintain a strong connection and open communication with your children. If you’re on a break at work, give them a call. They’ll appreciate you reaching out in the middle of your day and maybe even find comfort in being able to hear your voice during the day. And when you’re at home, we don’t have to tell you, you know what to do.

5. Make time for family activities

An obvious point, but an extremely important one. Using the time in the evenings and weekends for family activities with your kids will help create a healthy and trusting environment. Meeting the emotional needs of your kids is just as important as meeting their physical and material needs. Arrange for movie and game nights, karaoke sessions, cook meals together, anything that brings you closer together as a family.

6. Don’t forget your own self-care

Your kids are important, your career is important, but it can be easy to forget that you are important too. When you’re on a plane, during the safety drills the flight attendants advice that before helping anyone else in emergencies, you need to put on your own oxygen mask first. If you yourself can’t breathe properly, then there’s no way you’ll be strong enough to help the people around you.

Get sufficient sleep, make time for yourself, and learn to say “no” when you need to. Don’t run yourself ragged taking care of everything and everyone aside from yourself. Make conscious effort to do something for yourself every day – even if it’s just a 20-minute yoga session or reading time before bed.

Also get help from your partner, share with them your working mom struggles, and divide responsibilities between you two.

And finally, we understand we asked you to follow a schedule and set a routine but, don’t try to be perfect. The last thing you want is your life becoming one long to-do list. Be forgiving of your mistakes and shortcomings, you are also human after all. Remember that it’s okay to have moments of imperfection and flexibility. Embrace self-compassion and allow yourself the freedom to make adjustments when needed. See you in another blog!