A working mom means handling a child and a paying job.
How then do you get the most out of your time?
A little patience, an organised approach and these time saving strategies will help you sail through for sure.
Plan, Plan, Plan
A working mom needs super-efficient planning skills.
For example: on the weekend, discuss with the kids about what they want for lunch for the next five days, make a lunch chart and stick it up on the fridge.
Complete the required shopping for the week to avoid impromptu runs to the grocer or changing the lunch chart. Kids can get cranky if you change such decisions last minute.
If you have the luxury of a maid, make sure all the preparation work is done before she leaves for the day.
Try to train the kids to eat cereal, eggs, toast, fruits, and milk or juice, for breakfast. If you pick the right cereal and juice, you will have a healthy breakfast in no time.
Discipline
This is not just for the kids but for you too.
Disable the snooze button on your alarm. Even the extra five minutes you have before the kids wake up is important. Use it to have your morning cup of coffee in peace instead.
Finish your morning chores or bath etc before the kids wake up.
Make rules for both your kids and yourself and do not bend them.
For example: if bedtime is 8:00 or 9:00 pm, do not under any circumstances push it. A well-rested child is a less cranky one in the morning. Further, that gives you a good two hours for finishing your work before you get to bed. Packing up school bags, laying out clothes for everyone including you can all be done at night.
To make up for it, weekends can be fun time for eating out, staying up for an extra hour etc.
Take Family Help
If your in-laws or parents live with you, include them in your kids’ lives. If you can enlist their help for at least one activity a day, they feel important and you can use their experience.
Daddy and Kids Time
Discuss with your spouse and enrol the kids for some hobby or sports class on the weekend which he will take the kids for.
Don’t push the kids to excel in it. Let them just do it for fun. Make that daddy’s time with them. This will give you enough time to get your chores done, cook a weekend lunch, or maybe just put your legs up, and do nothing for a few hours! (Oh! how we all wish!)
Get Guilt Free
Say this aloud ‘I love my kids and I know it.’ Repeat it.
Remember that you don’t have to prove it to the whole world or even to yourself. It is perfectly acceptable to want some time away from them, whether it is for yourself, your friends or to be intimate with your husband. You aren’t a bad mom for thinking so.
So, go on phenomenal women, good luck!