It’s not easy to be a working mom. During the months of May-June I am over-booked with work and work-related travel.
I am feeling on my own skin the challenges involved in being a working mother.
The constant juggling of priorities creates stress, strains relationships, can lead to work performance problems and, most importantly, can erode one’s sense of meaning and purpose in life.
Here are some simple and solid suggestions for navigating this complex terrain:
1. Commit to your compass. Sit down with a pen and paper and ask yourself: On my 80th birthday party, what would I want my children to say about me? What would I want a cherished colleague to say about me? Once you come up with a list of things that would represent your legacy, consider this as your compass begin making that vision come alive in a small ways in your daily actions.
2. Address your problematic self-expectations. When you find yourself wanting to do something `perfectly, `now’ or `yourself’, ask yourself if this expectation makes sense given the circumstances of the moment. If not, then ignore those internal voices and move on.
3. strong>Learn to delegate. Give up the false notion that ‘it’s easier to do it myself than to delegate’. Teach yourself to delegate properly – it’s an art worth learning. Or pay someone to do some of the things that you are currently doing yourself. The relief you will feel will be worth every penny.
4. Say `no’. Resist the tendency to take on extra tasks and responsibilities that tip your already over-crowded balance scale. Remind yourself that you are saying `yes’ to a balanced, sane life and teach your lips to say a friendly, matte-of-fact `no thanks’.
5. Reduce multi-tasking. When we perform two or more tasks at the same time, our level of performance of each task is reduced by 25-35%. It also leaves us feeling scattered and unsatisfied.
6. Develop mindfulness. Mindfulness is the art of focusing 100% of our attention on what we are doing at any given moment and experiencing that moment fully. Mindfulness helps us be present’ in our lives, and it is one of the most effective, cheapest ways of gaining balance.
7. Ask for help. Asking for help from those in your personal life who care about you, or from those at work whose job it is to work with you might seem difficult, but consider the price you are paying by not doing so. It’s your choice, so choose wisely.
Being a working mom is an ongoing and challenging journey. If you take one small baby step at a time, your life will feel more meaningful, purposeful and calm.
