Remember the post about the working mom survey results? Well that survey also included open-ended questions about several topics.
One question asked what tips and tricks each of you implement to help balance all of your daily demands. While one person wishes she could work less, play more and still pay for everything… that’s probably not a viable scenario for the vast majority of us. So what can we to help keep our sanity during the limited free time we do have? Here are some tips!
1. Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff (or a Perfect House)
Life is full of so many competing activities and demands. Why waste time worrying about the things you can’t control—or about the things that don’t matter in the grand scheme of things? This includes a clean house. As one working mom shared, “You only have your kids for a short period of time. Enjoy them before they are gone. You can clean later!”
Now I don’t know about you, but clutter certainly can get under my skin. Having a clean house helps me relax. But when life is particularly busy, we have to set priorities. Sometimes, that means minimizing the effort made in cleaning your home. And that’s okay.
2. Communicate with Your Partner
If you’re married or simply in a relationship, you and your hubby are in this busy life together. Especially if you both are working full-time jobs. The traditional roles of marriage have changed drastically over the last few decades and it’s time we all start embracing it. We must start sharing the household responsibilities (and when the kids are old enough, start spreading the workload even more!). The key here is to communicate with your partner. Consistently review who is doing what each week so that minimal balls are dropped.
Along these same lines, it’s crucial to not carry the emotional/mental burden alone. Be sure to spend quality time with your partner—without the kids. This will help keep you both connected to each other and help keep you on the same page in life. This will help keep your own “love meter” full (a phrase used by author Gary Chapman). All of that will make the day-to-day life demands far easier to handle. So ladies, that means making more time than we have been making to spend time with our life partner.
3. Take It One Day at a Time
We all know that life can get crazy. Sometimes if we look at EVERYTHING that needs done, we can get overwhelmed… and that leads to not knowing where to start or simply feeling unmotivated to do anything. So it is important to take it one day at a time—or better yet, one task at a time. By tackling life one piece at a time, we can accomplish incredible things!
4. Take a Deep Breath
This coincides with the last item of taking it one day at a time, but it’s still an important tip to remember. Again, we can easily get overwhelmed with everything life throws at us. By taking a deep breath, we’re making our minds take pause. Deep breaths help us to relax our minds and muscles. We’re moving oxygen to our brains, which helps us think more clearly. And when we’re thinking more clearly, we can devise creative solutions to the situations at hand—and that includes completing said task more efficiently, thus freeing up more time for the things that matter most.
Until we all can be independently wealthy, the struggles of a working mom will continue for generations. But we are women! We will find ways to make it work. That’s what we do.
BONUS TIP: No Phones after Dinner
Because there are so few hours in a day spent as a family, it’s important we make the most of that time—and to make sure that time and attention is not divided. Instead, try finding activities that the whole family can enjoy. It not only will help all of you bond together as a family, but also will provide the much needed mental break from your work lives.
Do you have any more tips to share? I’d love to hear from you!
