Lifestyle List: 25 Ways to Win as a Working Mom
All great trips require preparation. Your adventure as a working mom is no different. You can be the best parent in fewer hours per week; it isn’t about how many hours you spend at home, it is about how you use them. Here goes:
- Be unapologetic about your lifestyle. Making excuses for working is like wearing a short skirt and constantly pulling on it.
- Have a school network – two moms you can count on in each child’s grade. If you help them when you can, it will be easier to ask for help when you need it.
- Spend a night out each week – a date night or an evening with friends. This is your fuel; don’t let your tank run dry.
- Disconnect to Connect. Turn off the technology for a set time each day so that you are present when you are with your family.
- Do all of your errands within the Golden Triangle – home, office and school. From the dentist to the hair salon, make no exceptions.
- Treat your arrivals and departures like a train schedule. Predictability makes you more successful at home and at work.
- Beware of the “Flextime Fantasy.” If you have a flexible career, establish set daily hours so that you don’t lose time reinventing your schedule each day.
- As soon as the school calendar arrives, add it to yours. This way you can plan around the school play and the parent teacher conference.
- Sundays are big for you. Plan every detail of the week’s schedule down to the meals and who’s making them. This will reduce conflict, ease stress and save time.
- Don’t get so attached to your sitter that you can’t see her faults. Spot-check by arriving home unexpectedly to see what happens when you are not there.
- Help your spouse to be a partner. Praise more than criticize and create opportunities for him to do every task you do.
- Divide and conquer. Being partners means sharing the responsibilities, divided by your strengths, and pitching in on any as needed.
- Write it all down. From the grocery list to the lunchbox ingredients, you can’t delegate unless you get it out of your head and on paper.
- Nurture your marriage with daily 20-minute check-ins. Keeping in touch with your own partner is vital to a strong bond.
- Synchronize your sleep schedules. Going to bed at the same time together leads to a healthy sex life.
- You can never show your kids too much affection. Shower them in it and watch them thrive.
- Triathletes win or lose races based on transitions. Keep all supplies in their place (cubbies for each family member) and pick clothing the night before.
- Foster a strong family culture by celebrating occasions big and small – birthdays, new seasons. Create rituals e.g. Friday night family movies.
- Expect stress and roller coasters but remember that bad moments are not “bad days” or “bad weeks.” They are moments. Make this a family philosophy.
- Aim to have at least one focused meal a day with your children no matter how crazy work can get.
- If you can’t host play dates during the week, do it on the weekends so that you get to know your child’s friends and their families.
- Personal maintenance is not discretionary. Incorporate exercise into the “train schedule” and if you feel best with a weekly manicure, add it too.
- Keep a positive connection with your kids all week long by planning a weekend event for them to look forward to. Start talking about it on Monday; anticipation is half the fun.
- Identify kid-friendly errands and make a habit of bringing them along. From the supermarket to the car wash, no need to spend this time away from them.
- Be proactive about what you can do. If you aren’t available for weekday opportunities, volunteer to coach the soccer team on Saturdays.
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