Sorry it’s been so long since my last post! The problem is I still have not perfected the eternal work/life balance and I fear I may never. This is a problem that has plagued mothers since the beginning of time…how to excel in both your personal and professional endeavors. Professionally, things are going well. I am a Licensed Associate at a financial planning firm, and we are growing. I have been focusing on new clients and training. And we just had an epic client event that took months to plan. I am enjoying my job with a fresh, new energy and am working hard to make the business a success, but I am not doing as well in the mom department.
Since the last few weeks at work have been hectic, I have really been slacking when I get home. I am just all out of energy and mind power. That means eating out and skipping baths. After a long, intense day at the office, I just wanna go home and veg, not cook dinner, and entertain my children. And I definitely don’t have the capacity to write my blog, which I really love doing. I end up losing the motivation for my personal goals like family time and working on A Mess of a Mom. The truth is that I really love both aspects of my life and I wish I could be good at both, at the same time. But it feels like if I’m exceling at work, then I am a lazy, tired mommy. And if I am meal planning and making dentist appointments, I get distracted at work. Then comes the guilt for failing either as a mom or as an employee.
Being a mom and having a career is like having 2 full time jobs…exhausting. I am always juggling to keep the proverbially balls in the air. I am multi-tasking all day, every day. Kids in the bath equals me cleaning the bathroom. Kids playing outside equals yard work. Even pooping means checking emails and returning text messages. There is never just time to relax. If I’m not doing something productive, I feel like I should be and so I do. The thing is I work hard when I am at work only to come home to work hard at home. Once the weekend finally arrives, its laundry, cleaning, and running errands and then its Monday again. It’s starting to feel like a work/work balance. I really need time to meet my life goals and work on projects that excite me, like my blog and writing a book.
My boss has a motto with her clients to “Play More”. In her book The Art of the Plan she states, “Success comes with having a financial plan that gives you the confidence and freedom to spend your time with family and friends on things you want to do.” Obviously, her focus is on the financial aspect as a financial planner, but I need to focus on “the things you want to do part.” I need to find that balance where I can be a good mom, employee and still have time to relax and recharge my batteries. I also must understand that a truly perfect work/life balance doesn’t exist and that I need to do the best I can each day in all aspects of my life.
After some research on the work/life balance, I have come to some important conclusions. To be a stellar employee and a super mom, I must unplug. This means that I need to cut down on the social media and tv time. Now I don’t really watch much tv, but I am definitely guilty of scrolling Facebook. Social media has a way of making you feel inferior, and I just don’t have time for that; I have goals to meet. Another conclusion that I came to is, I need to take care of myself. So often I go and go until I physically have a meltdown and my body makes me take time for myself. One suggestion was to get up earlier to get some quiet time with yourself. I think this is a really great idea and I am looking forward to trying it out to take some time for me. Journaling has also been found to be very therapeutic and would be a great way to get my ideas together each morning. I am curious though, what do you do to maintain a work/life balance? What are your tips that you can share to help other moms create their balance?
