While juggling
the roles of a mother, a wife and an employee do you feel stressed, sleep
deprived and fatigued? Do you feel guilty because of divided attention between
work and home? If yes, read on to put your life back together!
Fulfilling the
role of a mother and also managing your work in office can be a hard task in
hand. However, with a little planning and family support, you can strike a
right balance between profession and parenthood. One can achieve work-life balance
by viewing life at work and that at home as complementary elements rather than competing
priorities.
Here are a few
tips for achieving work life balance:
First of all, let
go of the guilt
Don’t upset
yourself by thinking about how you are not spending enough time with your
child. Instead, think of it this way – you are further financially securing
your child’s future. You working now will enable you to put your child in the
best school and college when time comes. With school tuition fee becoming
expensive year by year, many Indian women work just to pay the school fee. You
can be a successful career oriented working mom efficient in both worlds – and
you can be so by managing your time well.
Manage your time
well
Prioritize,
prioritize, and prioritize! If you want to run your life at home and at work
smoothly you need to make time for them. Time is a valuable resource and while
managing work and home it must be utilized all the more wisely. Limit
distractions and time wasters! Be disciplined by limiting the time you take to
check mails or Facebook, make phone call or casually surf the internet. At
work, of course your need to build a rapport with your co-workers. Utilize your
lunch time or breaks to interact with your co-workers and focus on constructive
work during other times. With such prioritizing, you will surely find extra
time on your hands that you can invest in pursuing your hobbies too.
Plan your days well ahead
Prepare a list of things you need to accomplish
during the day/week. Write them down so that you don’t forget them. Stock up
the kitchen at the start of the month and make only one shopping trip per week
for vegetables and other ingredients. Planning your meals ahead will also help
you save a lot of time.
Raise responsible kids
Do you find a
lot of your time spent in picking up toys, laundry, making beds, stowing shoes?
If yes, stop doing so right now! Teach your kids to clean up after they have
finished playing. Kids as young as three years must be taught to be responsible
for their belongings. Politely ask your children to put away dirty clothes in
the clothes bin and encourage such good responsible behavior with positive
words of encouragement.
Find quality
childcare
It is very important
to have the peace of mind, to know that your child is being well cared for
while you are at work. Don’t feel guilty in putting your child in a playschool
for a few hours. In fact, there's increasing evidence that children benefit a
lot from going to preschool. "Children who attend high-quality preschool
enter kindergarten with better
pre-reading skills, richer vocabularies, and stronger basic math skills than
those who do not," says National Institute for Early Education Research director
W. Steven Barnett, PhD. Talk to your employer about part time or work from home
options. You along with your other parent colleagues can also ask your employer
to provide for a work place nursery which is a very popular concept in countries
like the US and UK.
Make mornings smooth
as butter
Start your day
on a peaceful note by getting organized the night before. Pack the lunches,
backpacks, purse; lay out clothes; decide the next day’s breakfast; you could
teach your kids to get themselves ready. Make sure your keys are in the right
place so that you can simply grab them in the morning and set out for work.
Planning for such mundane tasks will reward you with some extra time to sit
with your family and enjoy the morning breakfast!
Take out ‘Me’
time
It’s a very
common among women to put their wellbeing as the last priority. How will you be
able to look after your child, husband and extended family members in addition
to managing work in office if you are not in top shape? So take care of
yourself: go to the gym, do yoga and other breathing exercises. To be energetic
the whole day you need to maximize the three pillars of health:
Diet: Eat whole, unprocessed “real” food.
Avoid junk food and too much caffeine! It may be easier to grab a burger and
coffee for lunch due to paucity of time but the ill effects will show in the
lax way you manage your chores.
Exercise: Exercising regularly helps you de-stress
and be in shape; keeps you sharp and active throughout the day! Now that’s a no
brainer!!
Mental Well – being: If you are
mentally healthy and strong everything else falls into place. Invest some time
in yourself to unwind. Learn relaxation techniques such as meditation,
pranayama etc, read a book, listen to music or take up a hobby. Make sure you
get adequate sleep of 6-8 hours on a regular basis. A good night’s sleep will
help you handle stress better during the day.
Women in technology need to keep abreast with the
latest technological developments. Take out time to hone your skills to scale
up your career.
Create quality
family time
Strive to have
simple family dinners as frequently as possible. Plan for family outings that
will allow everyone to bond. When out with family, try to avoid talking about
work and checking your phone. Instead, involve yourself in your kid’s
interests, talk about their friends and classes. You could maintain a calendar,
marking a list of school and family events. This way you can avoid surprises in
the middle of the week!
Spend time with your partner
Often is the
case that when you get busy your partner is the first to get neglected. Always
remember to nurture your relationship with your husband as he will be one
person who will always be there by your side. Get support from your family and
go out for a quiet dinner; or better, cook an elegant evening meal for the two
of you (Don’t talk about work or kids!). Take a short holiday; feel rejuvenated
and reconnected to enjoy each other’s company.
Try these out and let us know how these tips have helped you.
