Nanny to Mommy

Whether you are working from home or working back in the office, balancing life as a working mom can be a struggle. You wear so many hats and juggle so many balls, it can seem overwhelming at times. Here are some ways you can find some balance to make life a little simpler.

If you are working at the office, then this step is probably already done. At a regular job, you have a designated workspace that is yours. You should make sure that you have an organizational system in place so you know where everything is when you need it.

You also want to make sure that it is a place where you want to be. You can put up pictures or notes or things that are meaningful to you. You may also want to consider a plant or something else to help you feel at home in your space.

If you are working from home, this step becomes very important. Our brains are trained to go into different modes in different spaces. It is going to be very hard for you to try to work in a place where you normally relax or vice versa. Creating a designated workspace helps you to separate your work life from your home life, even if they are happening in the same building.

It would be ideal to create this workspace somewhere quiet with a door so you can shut out all the noise of the rest of the house. It is also useful to shut out the visual pull of other household tasks you need to do. If you don’t have room to turn into an office, you can still create a functional workspace by putting a desk somewhere in your home where you can work.

It is important that you not get so caught up in trying to balance everything in your life that you forget to be ambitious. It can be easy to push off furthering your education or career for a time when life is not as hectic. The truth is that life is always going to be busy and you need to make time for the things that are important to you.

You may want to consider asking for additional training through your job to help you perform better or work towards a promotion. You may want to start on a new career path by looking into Medical Assistant programs or other training programs. You may also want to finish a degree or get additional education to help you in your current career or assist in transitioning to a new career. The possibilities are endless.

You juggle a lot of things around the house, but it might be time to delegate some of that out to other family members. Ask your children and spouse to help you manage the normal daily tasks that it takes to run a household.

Even small children can learn to help in some ways. They can learn to pick up toys before going to bed at night and put their coats and shoes in their proper place when they come into the house. They can also put dirty clothes in the hamper and help set the table at mealtimes. It will probably not be perfect at first, but they will learn and it will take some pressure off your shoulders.

Older kids can also help with more chores like clearing the table and doing the dishes after mealtimes. They should also learn how to do laundry, vacuum, and sweep the floors. They can take out the trash and put clean clothes away.

There are many ways you can delegate chores. It might work for some families to have some people in charge of specific chores every day. In other families, it might make more sense to set it up on a rotating basis so everyone takes turns doing all the chores. No matter what system you adopt, make sure that you are not doing everything on your own.

Mornings can be one of the most stressful times of the day. Everyone is trying to get ready for their various activities and schedules. You are also trying to make sure everyone has what they need to be successful that day and have eaten breakfast and have lunch.

You can help make mornings a little smoother by preparing the night before. You can pack lunches before people go to bed (bonus points if you have your children pack their own lunches).

You can also layout clothes for the next day, check homework, and go over afternoon and evening obligations as a family before going to sleep. If everyone is on the same page, then the morning is going to go a lot smoother.

You want to make sure that you are getting all the necessary things done for work, but it is also important to not let that creep into your personal and family time. Especially if you are working from home, you need to set clear hours for when you will be working and when you will not be available to answer emails or phone calls for work-related issues. If you don’t set clear boundaries, you will find yourself working nonstop.

When you create your work schedule, you also need to create time for your family to spend together. It is important that there is a time where you can bond and form those lasting relationships as a family. This could be at dinner time where everyone is supposed to sit down without technology to catch up. You may also want to schedule a family night each week where you go on a walk or play games or watch a movie together.

You can't forget to schedule time for yourself. You are doing so much, and you need time to recharge. Scheduling a little time for you to be alone and do something that is important to you outside of work and your family will help you feel ready to take on the next day.