As working moms, we tend to wear two different hats, mom at home and mom at work. We might find that combining the two would help us in our quest to achieve a more balanced lifestyle. So how can we make it easier on us by being more organized but incorporating a more businesslike mindset to our parenting skills?
A Family Calendar
One of the simplest things that any business can do to keep everything organized is to have everything in one schedule. It is so important to have this in place, not just so we can keep track of our working day, but also ensure that the essential things are all in one location. Take inspiration from the medical companies that need their patients to turn up for appointments and utilize recurring appointment reminders that make sure everybody knows the dates and times of events and important appointments that cannot be avoided.
As simple as this sounds, sometimes when we are trying to do too much, things will fall through the cracks. As parents that are working in excess of 40 hours a week, we cannot always trust our brains to remember everything. It is about making sure that you reduce decision fatigue, and put appointments in a handy calendar. A central family calendar is crucial because everybody is on the same page.
Additionally, you can use a calendar for more than just important appointments and activities. You can use the calendar as a reminder to check your finances or to schedule self-care time. When we are constantly on the go, we may not necessarily feel we have the opportunity for self-care, but when we schedule it into our day, it makes us realize how much we are doing in other aspects of our lives, and potentially neglect our health in the process!
Outsource Your Grocery Shopping
Outsourcing is a very common practice among big businesses. The great thing about outsourcing is that we are essentially offloading the tasks onto another entity so we can focus on the important things. If there’s anything we’ve learned about running a business, it’s that we’ve got to work smarter instead of working harder. If you ever tried to go grocery shopping with children, it is an operation to get them out of the door, and it can turn into an immense obstacle course. You can make the most of any grocery shopping service that can deliver groceries to your home so you can stick to a budget while saving a lot of time. When you order food online, there is no wiggle room for impulse buying.
Getting Ahead of the Game by Preparing Things in Advance
You’ve got to organize your day and anybody running a business knows that there are curveballs that threaten to derail everything that you worked hard to achieve. It’s important to make sure that everything runs smoothly, and one of the best ways to make life easier is to prepare meals in advance. If you could prepare as much of your breakfast and lunch as possible, it will make everything go smoothly in the morning. There are many ways for you to plan and prepare meals. You can batch cook and freeze them, so after a particularly busy day with meetings, you can just reheat something in the microwave or the oven. But also, remember that you don’t need to beat yourself up if dinner is ordered via a drive thru on your busiest days. It’s a treat for the children, and it makes life a lot easier for you!
Give Your Children Chores for a Salary
When we are so busy working and mommying, sometimes, we can forget that our children have a lot to learn as they grow up. One of the best ways to have them contribute is to do chores and pay them for them. Even if they don’t do it perfectly, this is a lesson in participating in family practices, and they are learning how to do it. When you pay your children for doing extra chores and increase the pay scale based on how much extra work they do they will learn the value of money, and how the income relates to the amount of work done.
Hire a Babysitter
The fact is we can’t do it all. Hiring someone to drive your children to after-school activities or watch the kids while you run errands can be a lifesaver. Do lots of research before hiring a sitter. You can either hire a responsible teenager or someone who is retired. And this is something that can be beneficial in the long run because you are hiring people that you trust with your precious cargo.
Have the Right Morning Routine
You know when you’re at your most productive in the office, and you no need to apply the same approach to your parenting. Arguably, you may find that the mornings are just a blur because you’re trying to get everything and everyone ready, but this is where having a strict to-do list makes everything easier. A morning routine shouldn’t just be for the children, but it should also set you up for the day. If you get up earlier to answer those emails while you have peace and quiet, also think about getting up a little bit earlier so you can have some proper time for yourself. It doesn’t take a lot of effort to get up 10 minutes earlier (as long as you slept properly the night before), but there are many benefits to getting up when the sun rises and having a cup of coffee in peace and quiet to center yourself ready for the day.
Buy Gifts in Advance
One of the best things that we can do, especially when your children go to so many birthday parties and events, is to buy gifts in advance. This is common business sense, and it allows us to make sure that the clients, i.e. your child’s friends and parents aren’t forgotten on their special days. It’s about managing expectations. Buying gifts in advance will save you a lot of money and time. Also, it makes good business sense to purchase several of the same item, especially when it is on sale. Get the toy store to wrap them all in advance, and then when it comes to the party, you can very easily just take one out of storage, write a quick card, and hey presto!
Focus on Work-Life Integration
It is important to remember that you have a life outside of the office. Working full time and being a mom can be exhausting, and it can demand a lot more of you than you realize. But at the same time, there will be times when you don’t have much demand on you professionally, but the children are asking for more. The most important thing for you to remember is to integrate the two effectively. A lot of people talk about work-life balance, but this means you’ve got to keep the two entities separate. However, this can be mentally taxing because you’re trying to not let one interfere with the other.
Instead, find a way to integrate the two. It will help you keep your focus when you are trying to get a lot done, but also it helps your children to understand that this is part of your life as well. Because if you focus on having a 9 to 5 working week, and everything outside of that is for your family and children, you might not be able to keep up with the workload of either component. This is why a business mindset is integral to being an effective parent.
