The alarm goes on at 5 am, Sonia wakes up and gets to the kitchen and starts preparing meals for the family for the day. She gets her children dressed and is out of her house at 6:45 am, braving past the traffic and drops her kids to school. She’s in the office by 7:45 am and goes on with the day attending internal and client meetings. Sonia started her own IT company 10 years ago, in order to ensure she spends more time with her family, as the idea was to have freedom while she raises her two kids and looks after her family.
Fast-forward 10 years, Sonia finds herself working 18 hours a day. She’s exhausted and stressed most days. On the weekends, she transforms into a home-maker and ensures everything is in place for the coming week. There are no real holidays as she works for herself and hence, she truly believes that the day she is not invested in the business, it will all come to a stand-still.
She walks out of her home with guilt everyday of not spending enough time with her family and she walks out of her office with guilt as she truly believes she can do better. Although, Sonia loves what she does both at home and at work, she’s never completely satisfied with herself, guilt and regrets have engulfed her life.
This is the truth that most working woman live everyday as they juggle their careers and nurture and raise a family.
As a mother, a wife, a daughter and today a grand mom, my advice to the younger women out there is “Look after yourself as you look after everyone else around”.
Moreover, a flexible mindspace is essential because it allows you to have greater control over your life and achieve a more substantial work-life balance. Here are my five quick tips to ensure you are making the most of your days:
1. Calendarize:
Time management is key. One of the most important time-management tools, yet extremely underutilized by most women. Be it a sports day at your daughters’ school or a pitch meeting at a client’s office, it needs to be in your calendar. The idea of scheduling ensures you are free from all the additional commitments one tends to make during the day. The good part is you are able to accomplish more and feel a sense of accomplishment once you tick off all your tasks for a day.
Tip – Color code your personal and professional tasks, the mind starts making sub-conscious notes eventually.
2. Define your Priorities:
There may be days where you need to take decisions that involve either /or on a certain task. Always make a mental note – family over work. Once you are clear on your priorities, decision-making becomes easy, and overtime tends to become guilt-free as well.
3. Be fully present in the moment:
At work or at home, if you commit to spend an hour with someone on a certain task, ensure you give them your 100% attention and time. This is not the time to be distracted with another task. A good everyday scenario is – when you drop your kids to school, the radio is on and your favorite song is playing, and your son is talking about his football match in school. Here is a decision to be made, and if your priority is family-first, then the turn off the radio and pay attention to your son, and ensure that school drop-off time is dedicated to your children always, with no exceptions!
4. Exhaustion equates frustration:
Me-time every day, this maybe a workout, a coffee with a friend, a Netflix series, reading or swimming. Once you decide what your activity of choice is, ensure you allocate one hour per day to invest that time with yourself. This ensures you’re not missing out on your own time as you fulfil all your commitments. Always remember, if you’re happy, everyone around you is happy!
5. Live life without guilt or regrets:
Go easy on yourself. Try to avoid criticizing yourself, as you are doing your best in all areas of life. It is challenging to balance work and a family, however, we all do our best in our own capacity. Do pat yourself on the back and appreciate all that you do, you are special and deserve only the best.
If you struggle with any of the above, book in a free exploratory call with me. I would love to partake you on your journey to help you reach your full potential. In the interim I might also have some life tips here that will help you as you progress on your journey to deal with the game of change.