The Month of Mom: Balancing a Career and Children

“If you could see all that is happening in a working mother's head, you would be simply amazed.” Author unknown?

Oftentimes, little girls are given their first doll by the age of 2 and from there they instantly become a mother to their baby doll, mimicking everything they have watched their mother do.?It is typically ingrained that they too will be a mother someday.?While being a mother to my baby dolls, I remember being asked what I wanted to do when I grew up, and I never thought about how I was going to need to balance a demanding career and be a rock star mother at the same time.?

Motherhood is the greatest joy, it is amazing to watch your child learn something new every day and evolve into becoming their own little human with their own thoughts and beliefs, but it is also rewarding to push yourself and accomplish the goals you set for yourself as that little girl!?So how can you balance both??It takes a lot of organization and time management, but it is 100% possible.?Below are some pointers to help you manage your career and your most important job of being a mom to your little’s.????

Set Boundaries?

Before you had kids, it was easy to always be logged on and work long hours, but once you have children it is important to separate your work life and personal life.?It is crucial that you give your children 100% of your time and attention outside of work hours.?They are only little once, and it is important to be present.??This will also help you manage stress and prevent getting burnt out with your job and your motherly duties.?

Create Achievable Goals?

While balancing a full workload, taking care of your responsibilities at home, managing your children’s schedule and needs, taking care of yourself, and any additional tasks you have, it is important to set realistic goals.??It is easy to get overwhelmed with your loaded schedule and responsibilities, so it is imperative to take care of your psyche and to set yourself up for success, versus constantly not achieving your personal or professional goals.?Create weekly, monthly, quarterly, yearly, and 5 or 10-year goals, this will help you break down your goal(s) to make them more manageable and realistic.?One way to stay on track is to write your goals every morning before you start your day, this will keep you focused and will hold you accountable for working towards achieving your goals.??

Write out personal to-dos at the beginning of the week and break them down by day?

With everything on your plate, it is easy to get overwhelmed and feel behind.?Let’s face it, it’s hard to juggle your schedule and children’s (including test preparation), general household responsibilities, staying on top of various to-dos including buying birthday presents for your child’s classmate’s birthday party or finishing a craft for the school’s fundraiser and so on.?It’s easy to let things slip through the cracks.??To keep organized and to allow yourself to focus on your work responsibilities during work hours, try utilizing to-do lists.?At the beginning of the week, write out all your to-dos and then break them down by day.?This will make you feel less overwhelmed and will allow you to easily accomplish all your personal tasks outside of work.??You can also try doing this with your work responsibilities as well.????

Utilize your lunch period for personal time?

The saying, “there is not enough time in a day” can ring true on some days.?The reality is that sometimes it’s hard to accomplish all your to-dos outside of work hours.?So, save some of your to-dos for your lunch hour.?These can be the tasks that can easily be accomplished at your desk.?You can order your groceries, make doctor’s appointments, reach out to friends and family about upcoming events, and catch up on personal emails during this time.????

There is no right or wrong answer on how to juggle your career and children, but the above tips will help you feel more in control, and you can make adjustments along the way.??As mothers and working women, we really do have the best of both worlds, and remember, there isn’t anything we can’t accomplish! You got this mamma!???