I had a boss who would bring her kids to work…every week. Friday’s were all about ordering pizza, kids running around the hallways screaming and interrupted/canceled meetings. Sounds like fun, right? I’m a mom who loves my child, but I never thought it was a good idea to bring my daughter to that office beyond maybe a five minute visit. My boss didn’t exactly have it figured out, but there’s a way to balance family and business. So, with the help of Katherine Reynolds Lewis, the founder of CurrentMom.com, here are some tips.
1. Set aside some time for yourself. It’s easy to forget about taking care of you. So try to take one day off every week; on that day, don’t answer the phone, don’t do work, and I try not to worry about things that usually bother you.
2. Learn to say no. You say no to your kids all the time but you find it harder to say no when it comes to your business. It’s mandatory to say no. If you said yes to every request or opportunity or avenue of work you would be busy 24-7 with no time for your family. No doesn’t always mean no. No could mean not today or not this week but some other time that works for everyone.
3. Get help around the house. If you can afford it, outsource as much of the household work as possible so you can spend your home and family time focusing on your children and spouse or significant other, or dating life and activities that relax you and enrich your non-worklife.
4. Be present. It’s pretty straight-forward: when you are working you give your entire focus to your business, and when you are with your children your entire focus is them. I know my daughter knows when I am checking my iPhone while in the parking lot at her school…and she’s never thrilled.
5. Divvy up the duties. Do you delegate at work but find it hard to delegate at home? If you have a spouse or significant other talk to them about how to divide the load for household needs and child-caring. Also, try and save certain tasks for the baby-sitter or other help you use.
6. Get a network of other working Moms. You can meet and bond with other Moms through your child’s day care or play group. Every little bit of communication with women who have common lives will help you maintain a work/life balance.
7. Stay healthy. Moms have to be ready for anything, and you can’t take care of your family if you don’t take care of yourself. Regular exercise routines are a lifesaver and guaranteed stress reliever.
8. Treat your home office like a corporate office. When you have to go in to an office every day you have specific goals and come up with a plan to meet those goals. The same rule applies when you work at home. Set a schedule and goals, and write everything down that you plan to do, even errands.
9. Expect the unexpected. Kids gets sick unexpectedly but you can plan for when they do. “Each morning I write down the top three things I must accomplish that day,” said Lewis. “I tackle them first, because you never know when a call to pick up a sick child might quash the rest of the day’s work.”
10. Let go of the guilt. Working Moms, myself included, deal with various types of guilt; the guilt of having to work to feeling guilty for taking some time out for themselves and everything in between. But remember, a rested parent is more effective than an overwhelmed parent.
