How to Find a Balance Between Work and Mom Life

Anyone who’s a mom knows that motherhood is an amazing journey filled with ups and downs, a lifelong commitment to putting your children ahead of yourself and taking care of others before you do your own needs. However, you have surely also heard the saying that you can’t fill the cup of others if yours is empty. It’s important for you as a mother to fill your glass with water, wine, tea, or whatever else you require and allow yourself to find a balance between work and motherhood. It’s a challenge, that’s true, but there’s nothing more beautiful than your children seeing you happy and thriving. This article will shed some light on how to best juggle your professional responsibilities with your parenting duties, as well as all the other things that make life so worth living.

Set Realistic Goals

The keyword in this heading is ‘realistic.’ As much as we’d all love to have everything figured out and for every day to run seamlessly, that’s not reality. Thinking that everybody else is living their lives better than you are is a huge pitfall of modern-day society. With such easy access to social media and the like, it’s normal for you to feel a little inadequate at times. But it’s important for you to know how well you’re doing. Setting realistic goals can really help here because they allow you to manage expectations and reduce stress. At work and at home, acknowledge that perfection is not the end goal; it’s no goal at all. Look for achievable goals in your field of interest. For example, if you’d like to increase your income or have a side hustle and you’ve been looking into crypto or other forms of investing, set yourself the goal of checking the Bitcoin price exchange rate every week and dedicate one hour to researching possible avenues for added income. Start small and go from there. When you manage to attain a small goal, this will boost both your confidence and trust in yourself, in turn giving you the motivation to keep taking steps forward.

Prioritize and Plan

Prioritization should be written with a capital P here. Look at your life and assess what really matters: the people you love and the things that bring you the most joy. Of course, there are going to be some items that you don’t love doing but that are part of life, so start off by identifying your core responsibilities at work and at home. Make an actual list with a pen and paper and put it on your fridge to keep an eye on. Make one column for work and one for your personal life, then determine which tasks are most critical and focus on those. When you use a pen and paper, you see that things aren’t actually as bad as they seem in your mind.

The second P is for planning, which is equally important. Create a weekly schedule that includes your work commitments and family activities, but also your ‘me time’, which is the space in your calendar that’s only for you. This time can be used for absolutely anything you like. People, especially working moms, put so much pressure on themselves to stay fit and active, pay bills, feed their families, and generally make the world go round that they sometimes forget that small breaks can make an immense difference to their mood and well-being. There are no rules here; you can go walking in your me time, read your favorite book, browse online or check your investments. You are a mom, yes, but you are also more than welcome and allowed to have other outlets.

Establish Boundaries

Boundaries: a word that’s been used a lot lately, and for good reason. Any mother’s dream is simply for her family to be happy and have healthy habits, which is where boundaries also come in. Boundaries mean setting limits that others shouldn’t cross at any cost. From setting limits on your working hours to setting boundaries on personal space and time, anything goes. It’s your life, and you’re allowed to live it exactly how you want to. As with the work stuff above, of course there are certain things that you may not be able to say no to, and that’s part of life, but you are allowed to say ‘no, you cannot cross my boundaries and I won’t let you make me feel bad about it’. Try saying that sometimes, it makes a world of difference.

Utilize Support Systems

When you’re in your daily routine and doing your mom things, you may sometimes forget that there is help at your disposal. But you need to ask for it. Don’t hesitate to lean on your support systems if you feel like you need a break or want some time to tend to your much-loved hobbies – an essential part of a balanced life. People are usually more than happy to help. You could even think about getting some of the moms you know together and working out a schedule for each mom to have all the kids over once a week, giving the other moms some time off. Having a reliable support network can ease the burden of balancing work and family.

Practice Self-Care

Last, but most certainly not least, is self-care, an often overlooked but essential part of maintaining balance. Taking time for yourself isn’t selfish, even if you may at first feel that dreaded mom guilt; it’s necessary for your mental and physical health. Find activities that help you recharge, whether it’s taking doing some yoga, reading or simply taking a relaxing bath. Studies show that a short walk can significantly improve your overall health and happiness, which is all your family wants for you. Take care of yourself because, as the very true saying goes, “There is no role in life that is more essential than that of motherhood”.