Every mum tries their best, but sometimes circumstances can seem to take over our lives and then caps sets in.
Here are five red flags to watch out for, and tips to change their impact on your life:
1. Keeping it all to yourself
Being a working mum means you will need some help along the way from someone – be it help with childcare, chores or just someone to talk to you will need help!
Many working mums try to do it all and only realise they need help when meltdown sets in, but it doesn’t (and shouldn’t) have to be that way. Learn to accept and ask for help and make your working life as stress free as possible.
2. Not sharing the load
Similar to keeping it all to yourself, not sharing the load means that you’ll often physically run yourself to the ground doing everything for everyone.
Chores, for example, are a shared problem – you don’t make the mess all by yourself, so it shouldn’t be just you cleaning up.
Train your family to take ownership of things – young children can do their toys, older children can help with chores around the house and the man of the house can help make sure things tick along when you’re not at home.
If you don’t share the load, it probably won’t get done and you’ll start to feel demotivated if, after a long day’s work, you come home to a bomb site despite cleaning it to perfection the night before.
3. Not following through on promises
If you say you’ll only need half an hour to answer some emails quickly before spending time with the family, honour it! Don’t take the time as an opportunity to start another day’s work – while your family may leave you to it for a couple of hours, resentment can start to creep in if this becomes the norm.
If you promise your children some quality time, try to honour your promise, so you don’t become one of those mums who are labelled for caring more about work than your children.
Yes, sometimes meetings are rescheduled, and deadlines move, but your family don’t always have to come second. Learn to say no in the workplace, too, to get that all important work-life balance and everyone’s happy.
4. Taking on too much
Being motivated and passionate about what you do is a great trait to have. But not knowing how to say no can also cause you to become overloaded with things you elbowed to do for work, yourself and your family and friends.
Learn to say no when you know you really can’t take any more and do it guilt free so you don’t get left feeling like you’ve let other people down.
5. Not being organised enough
Every working mum has the same 168 hours a week, so why do some mums seem to achieve so much more than others?
The trick is being organised. This doesn’t mean you have to turn into a Stepford Wife or anything, it just means planning and organising the time you do have to maximum effect. Get yourself into the habit of writing things down and sharing important information and dates, early on, with key people in your life and you’ll start to see the benefits.
