How To Balance Motherhood With A Busy Professional Career
Mothers are often forced to choose between two factors in their lives: their family and their career. Though both are very important, the U.S. Census Bureau revealed that 3.5 million mothers have taken a break from work in the past few years because they found it difficult to juggle work and childcare. The bureau pointed out that the V-shaped employment pattern is not new for mothers, though. Many mothers take leaves or even stop working during the summer months to take care of their children at home, which compromises their chances to increase their earnings and advance their careers.
The good news is that there are strategies that can help you with your career and home life. So if you’re trying to seek some balance between family and professional goals, try these tips:
Prioritize your mental well-being
It’s tempting to push yourself to the limits to get everything done. However, compromising your well-being will only set you back and force you to take a pause.
As a certified professional midwife and naturopathic doctor, Dr. Doni Wilson emphasizes that people must address their entire body’s needs to overcome their health challenges. Dr. Wilson states that it’s possible to recover from burnout and become resilient to stress, but you’ll have to identify the underlying cause of your distress and take care of yourself in the process. By working on yourself, you can ensure that you can dedicate more time and energy to your loved ones and your profession.
Learn how to manage your schedule
Self-care is crucial for working moms because you’ll be overwhelmed with urgent tasks once you start your day.
South Florida attorneys Mara Geronemus and Lisa Jerles work in aggressive practice areas, which is why they strive to support working moms through their networking group All Before Dinner. These successful working moms have years of experience, which is why they recommend learning to prioritize one’s schedules. Attorney Jerles even suggests that you have to decide which tasks you’ll do, delegate, or cancel to be able to make time for your career and your family. Overall, prioritization is the key to maintaining a sane schedule.
Seek more flexible work opportunities
If schedule management isn’t enough, you may want to look for remote work opportunities.
Mothers who are physicians can take advantage of the job opportunities for remote physicians in Georgia, which have opened up due to the massive doctor shortage in the state. These opportunities allow you to pursue specialty areas like pediatric or urgent care while being free to design your own work schedule. Likewise, lawyers can juggle their home life and career by registering on online lawyer consultation platforms. These platforms support consultations through chat, audio, and video calls, and allow you to conduct your practice in your own schedule.
Know when to ask for help
It can be difficult to accept that you can’t do everything yourself. Your career and your children will pull you in various directions, so it’s critical to know when to ask for help.
Verywell Family states that the first step here is the acceptance that you can’t do everything on your own. Once you’ve internalized this truth, try to think of the people that you can approach for help. Your husband should be a given when it comes to childcare duties, but you both could also reach out to your in-laws for babysitting every weekend morning. Likewise, you’ll need to reach out to your boss for work support or delegate tasks to your subordinates when times get tough.
You can't be in two places at once. However, you can become a competent worker and a present mom with a few adjustments. These internal and external changes won't be easy, but they'll free up your time and help you enjoy your career and your loved ones.