This is what I've learned from being a working mom for 4 years

My oldest daughter turned 4 today, 4 YEARS, I'm a working mom for 4 years already(!). 4 years means she is not a little baby anymore, she will go to school this week. So, this is a great moment to reflect on what I've learned from being a (working) mom. And I can tell you, I've learned a lot!

When I went on maternity leave one of my senior managers told me she loves to work with working moms. And although I understood what she meant with it, I fully understand today why she told me this. As a working mom focus and efficacy are your best friend. Since I'm a mom I'm highly productive during working hours. For the simple reason that I want to be able to pick up my kids at 5 PM. So "wasting" time during working hours is not a option anymore. But, it also means I hate meeting at 5 PM. Not because I don't like my job, but because it is affecting the time with my kids. So after finding this out the hard way I decided the communicate very clearly my way of working. 5PM-7PM is family time. If you want to discuss something later in the evening or I have to finish off work, after 7PM it is absolutely fine. And because I have time dedicated to my family I'm more than ok with working after 7PM to make sure my job is done. It's all about balance.

I also learned that kids get sick, and they get sick a lot. And although my employer is very supportive when my kids are sick, the guilt you feel is real. You feel guilt against your kid for not being a 100% available due to work, and you feel guilty against your employer and colleagues for cancelling a meeting or not being very flexible when work needs to be done. After 4 years, I still get stressed when I see daycare is calling me. Stress, because something is going on with my kid and stress because it will effect my work day plans. My biggest lesson here is, this feeling will never change. And the funny thing is, when others cancel or reschedule due to sick kids I don't mind at all, of course. I fully understand!

Another impressive learning? Did you know you can be successful at work with a very small amount of sleep? And you can be productive with broken nights? I experienced a lack of sleep for a good amount of time but when you have a job you really enjoy it brings you energy. Going into the office and meet with people helps a lot as well. Similar to going to bed early. I also know now, kids will go to sleep at some stage, it only gets better ;-)

What I really enjoy is to see how my daughter looks at me as a working mom. For her, my work is something which is part of my life in a very positive way. She knows some of my colleagues from Teams calls, she has visited the office a couple of times and she recognizes the LinkedIn logo every time when she sees it. Mom works at LinkedIn, types on a laptop and needs to do a lot of calls. And when I ask her why I work at LinkedIn, she tells me I work at LinkedIn because I like it. She doesn't care about money or anything else. Mom works at LinkedIn because she likes it. And this is exactly what I want to show her.

Being a mom and work (almost) full time is a lot. It's challenging to manage work and family because you care about both. You want to be successful with both. And sometimes it all works out and everything works well. My kids are happy, sleep ok, my clients are happy and I have enough energy and time to create a lot of content. But sometimes (or often) it doesn't work at all. And when this happens, I learned to be honest and open. People understand. And you know what? It's ok. I put myself and my family first now, because I know when I do, I can be a successful professional and very happy mom!

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