The Elusive Work-Life Balance: A Mom’s Perspective

In honor of Women’s History Month, I’d like to give a shout-out to all the working moms out there and especially to the amazing and diverse women whose achievements throughout history have paved the way toward gender equality.?

It takes a village to raise a child (I should know, I have triplets!) but it takes an army to create effective change. I feel blessed to have a village help me and to benefit from the struggles of countless women before me who believed in opportunities and equity. These are the things that allow me to lead a fulfilling life as a mom and a successful female professional.

Being a mom is an integral part of who I am as a person at this point in my life, but when my triplets arrived three years ago, I also didn’t want to give up my day job. Bonus: We were in a global pandemic, and so working from home — an ideal situation for parents and caregivers of all stripes — was the norm.

One of the things I sincerely value is working for a company like Exertis Almo, which prioritizes family as one of its four foundational company values: family, innovation, integrity and teamwork (FIIT). I never feel like I have to hide who I am. I even share stories about my kids in meetings and recently used potty training as an analogy while coaching reps at our Team Leads Summit! I’m fortunate to work in an environment where family is seen as a key component of life and for a company that supports people like me succeeding.?

Exertis Almo has a fully remote or hybrid work policy, which is great for me as I live in Dallas, Texas, far from the company headquarters in Philly. As Director of Sales, National Business Team, I oversee a large team of inside sales account managers across the country, and this also involves at least one trip a month as well as participation at many trade shows in our industry and internally. I miss my kids when I travel, but it’s also good to have these small breaks. I think it makes me a stronger parent.

I won’t pretend that it’s all a bed of roses. Being a working mom has some immense challenges, among them sleep deprivation and brain fog in the early years and dealing with school runs and teacher workdays as the kids reach their school-age years, not to mention sick kids, doctor and dentist visits, endless birthday parties or the lengthy night-time chats I’m told is de rigueur in the teenage years.?

So, what’s the key to finding a work-life balance when you’re trying to work and raise a family and maintain some semblance of sanity? Here are some of my top tips. I hope you find some of them useful if, like me, you’re trying to keep your career moving forward while achieving quality time with the family.?

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• Incorporate life into work. Don’t try to hide who you are. My kids love to be on Zoom and say hi to my boss and my team manager when we’re chatting. It’s not always appropriate, but post-pandemic, I think everyone has a little leeway here.
• ?Learn how to multitask. What parent doesn’t do this to some extent? I’ve worked hard on learning how to zone in and focus, even with commotion around me. And I save the tasks for which I know I need quiet for when the kids are asleep or out of the house.?
• Use time wisely. There are ways to get in some daytime kids time, even if it’s in short chunks and especially if you’re not on a tight work deadline. I often circle back to the computer once they’re in bed and the house is quiet, and work on anything I wasn’t able to during the 9-5 hours.
• Always say yes when help is offered. I know this can be difficult, but it’s so important! I learned super early on to just say yes ANYTIME someone offers to help in some way. It can be instinctual to not want to bother people or have them go out of their way for you, but if you take the help when it’s offered, you can find more time.
• Take “me time” away from work and the kids. For me, it’s a trip to the neighborhood spa for a massage, or dinner out with a girlfriend. I’m lucky to have my parents live nearby and they will sometimes babysit so my husband and I can enjoy a night out at the movies.
• Hold on to your sense of humor. This one is key when you’re sleep deprived, surrounded by cranky toddlers and maybe have some complex personnel issues at work. I am a people manager all day long. You can let it get to you or you can just laugh. Most of the time it’s funny.?

Take baby steps, or toddler steps, when there’s a big task. It’s easy to get overwhelmed when there’s a project or larger-than-usual work task to complete, especially when your day involves countless interruptions from the little people in your life. At times like this, I try to step back and start with the first thing I have to do and take it one small bit at a time. I make a lot of lists and live for crossing things off!