Three years ago, when I initially returned to work after the birth of my first daughter, I made myself a list of Working Moms Resolutions to help me transition back from full-time mummy to working mummy. Next week I will once again be returning to work, more or less full-time, after nearly 9 months of maternity leave since giving birth to my second daughter.
This year my working mum resolutions essentially boil down to one thing… finding a work-life balance that benefits both my family and my career. It isn’t easy. Working full-time has very different demands on the mind and body. Each evening, when I pick my two smiling bundles of loveliness up from their nursery, I will need to switch from manager-mode to mummy-mode.
In general I’ve resolved to stick to my 9-5.30 hours as close as possible, something I actually found quite easy to do after baby number one. However, something that isn’t quite so easy is to leave work behind that minute that I step out of the office. I work with my husband and it can be very tempting to ‘talk shop’ together at home.
For me, work-life balance is about making quality time to spend with my family. We’ve promised to get out into the fresh air at least once a week together but finding the time to do this could be tricky. I’m also keen to ensure that we still get to eat our meals together around the dining table but once again, finding the time to cook once I get home from work can be a challenge… it will require some careful planning.
As part of my plan to
make the most of the time I have together with my girls I have decided to take one day a week off work so that I can take them to swimming lessons and to visit friends and family. Saying that, I’m a bit afraid of squashing too many things into our week together and sometimes we may just want to collapse on the sofa together and wash Cbeebies!
What other tips do you have for finding the time as a working parent or for making the most of the time we have together? And… among the office hours and the nursery runs do you ever find even the tiniest moment to pamper yourself?
