Can Career Divas also be Moms…
How the heck do you balance a career and motherhood? It’s definitely doable, but everyone needs a bit of help now and then.
That’s why I’m soliciting tips from all of you out there..moms and dads… I want to know how you guys are able to balance work and family.
Did you change your career to find something more flexible? How do you prepare healthy meals for the kids? How do you keep the magic going in your marriage when you’re juggling work and kids? How do you get your boss to give you the flexibility you need? When do you help with homework?
These are just a few questions I have. Being a Career Diva Mom myself I have a bunch of tips I use everyday. But I want to hear from you all. Come on. Something small you do might help women across the country.
What I find here will possibly become part of my Your Career column on MSNBC.com.
June 12th, 2007 at 11:24 am
I happen to work in a profession (public relations) that lends itself to working virtually and so that’s what I do. I work from home, which allows me to be around my two young children, have lunch with them, go to sports practices, exercise and still put healthy home-cooked dinners on the table.
In addition to working virtually with my colleagues and clients, our family hosts an au pair which provides me the flexibility I need to do all these things. My two children are at very different stages (16 months and 6 years) and it would be hard to juggle all these things on my own all day - even with daycare.
I also plan my meals each week so that I don’t have to cook every night. Eating healthy is extremely important to us as a family and I won’t comprominse our health for convenience. I plan our meals so that we have leftovers and I only end cooking every other night. It makes life much simpler.
June 12th, 2007 at 11:36 am
Great info Michelle.
When you say your family hosts an au pair, what does that mean exactly?
And I love that you plan meals each week. I need to do that.
June 12th, 2007 at 11:38 am
I certainly don’t have it all figured out, but I have some general principles that seem to work. I put limits on what I try to tackle, and give myself a break when I can’t “do it all.” I don’t stay super-late at the office anymore (though sometimes I have to work at home after baby goes to bed). I say no to weeknight outings for the most part. I preserve my weekends to be with my family. I’ve pared down my daily life to the absolute essentials: my husband, my daughter, my job, and a few close friends and family members. Plus a little housework to keep the house sort of decent. Everything else is optional and less important.
Susan at Working Moms Against Guilt
http://www.workingmomsagainstguilt.com
June 12th, 2007 at 12:33 pm
My advise is:
- Dare to be your own boss and start your own company. That way you can set your own hours and pace, even though you work nights and early mornings. I have promised myself to get better and better at it for each year that passes.
- Get in touch with your values, mission and what makes you happy. Be open to others, but keep focused on what you can bring to this world.
- Celebrate everything you can celebrate.
- Commit to your children a certain time everyday . We always eat dinner together and yes… we try to eat greens. Planning is booooooring! Do what makes you feel good that day!
- Keep great friends, they will lift you up and support you when you need it. Loose the ones that makes you feel bad.
- Get a great husband, commit, give, forgive, love, and have sex often. Keep memories alive.
More than anything, think about what really is your way and dare to choose it.
June 12th, 2007 at 3:58 pm
RE: telleve’s question, an au pair is a young person from another country who is screened by an agency and you choose to come and live with your family and provide 45 hours per week of childcare. Au pairs typically come for one year and their work is regulated by the state department. It’s worked out very well for us - we don’t have to put our youngest in daycare and for the older one in the summer and after school he’s home and I can oversee both of them to a certain extent.
June 12th, 2007 at 4:12 pm
Eve my career Diva, “All you need is love”.
After the spark of romance lead to our family of four we found that keeping a work life balance takes more than two. Don’t forget the kids can help a lot too. As they get older chores are a great way of teaching responsibility. Working from home about 30% of the time helps me be here for my family helping with things like homework, sports and music lessons. You find that when you get control of the schedules you can also make time for socializing and romance. Let’s face it if you have to put dinner and an evening for two on your calendar to make it happen, then just do it. Seeing that date approach has it’s own aphrodisiatic effect and will make it even more special!
June 12th, 2007 at 4:47 pm
I love the idea of kids helping out too. We have to realize we have a valuable resource in the little buggers.
June 14th, 2007 at 2:58 pm
So…I think it is critical to recognize that the longrun is what matters. If you are constantly chasing your career…it will fare well likely but you may not do as well as you wanted creating those bonds with family members. We need to feel comfortable with the status quo of our careers, even with a lack of upward mobility, while we are focusing on the kids/family. Trust me, the time will come again when you can shift that extra energy towrads your career once again. This goes for husbands as well…
June 14th, 2007 at 3:01 pm
Working parents should choose their employer carefully…it will make all the difference in the world.
June 18th, 2007 at 8:51 am
this is all great stuff. i plan to do a whole column on tips for careerdivas from careerdivas.
thanks to all of you! and special thanks to the husband who steps up to the plate and doesn’t think it’s anything out of the ordinary.