Balancing Life 101 Part 2
By Camille of www.makeitworkmom.com
The most important thing to remember as you try to balance a career and motherhood is that you’re not in this alone. You have to depend on other players to help you get through your day, and retain your sanity. Depending on your situation, your “teammates” may be different people.
If you’re married, you’re working as a team with your husband in raising your children, so it’s very important to keep the lines of communication open in order to decide which role you will each play.
- Negotiate the workload. At a time when stress levels are low, and both of you are able to focus on the conversation, determine who will be responsible for which chores around the house. If kids needs to be taken to extracurricular activities after school or in the evenings, decide who will be the chauffeur and when. You don’t have to be expected to do everything by yourself.
- Go on date nights. Of course, it’s important to build that partnership/relationship with your husband. So, take time away from being “parents” to focus on your relationship as husband and wife, even if it’s ordering dinner in, and talking, after the kids go to sleep.
If you’re a single mom, it may be easier to feel alone in your quest because you’re the sole provider and the sole parent at home. However, you must realize that there are other people on whom you can depend.
- Recognize your daycare provider. It’s important to feel comfortable with your child’s daycare provider so you can focus at work and not worry about your child’s safety or happiness. Take some time to do something nice for this special person who cares for your offspring every day. Make a treat, give a gift, offer a monetary “tip” every once in a while with a card to thank them for making your life more manageable during the day.
- Network with other working moms. For some reason, it feels better to know we’re not the only ones in a certain situation. Collaborate with friends or co-workers who are in your similar circumstance for tips or suggestions on how they handle things. Also, there are many networking websites for working moms like www.workingmother.com.
- Keep close ties with your family members. Your children’s success and happiness in life comes largely from their associations with exemplary people. Assuming your family fits this description, your kids will definitely benefit from spending time with them. Besides, your family knows your particular situation. They love you and they love your children and are willing to help out in any way. So, ask for help if you feel overwhelmed. If anything, I’m sure your mother wouldn’t mind a phone call every once in a while, asking for advice.
About the Author: Camille is a thirty-something mommy with two beautiful daughters, Ad and C8, living in two worlds. By day, she works full-time as an employment recruiter/ staffing supervisor, with a 100-mile daily commute, living in a world governed by policies and professionalism. And by night, she transforms into a mother, living in a world where everything is governed by “Eenie-Meenie-Miney-Moe” and fun. Like so many other moms, she wishes she could stay at home with them, but certain situations require her to work full-time. To learn more about Camille visit www.makeitworkmom.comor contact her via twitter @makeitworkmom.
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3 Responses to “Balancing Life 101 Part 2”
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Kimberly@PrettyPinkMomma on January 26, 2010 1:01 am
Those are great tips!
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totalwellness on January 27, 2010 12:12 am
Those are great tips but Mom’s can save money on Daycare costs by working from home. Many moms already know. Learn about business opportunities with residual income.