As a new Mom I didn’t appreciate all the things Moms do until I became one myself. I remember co-workers running out at 5pm to pick up their kids from school/daycare and was baffled when they turned down the company’s happy hour. Being a Mom is hard and balancing the work commitments is just wild, heck planning a maternity leave as a solopreneur is hard too!. While there is no such thing as perfect balance there are some tips for parents to manage their children and their work. As a Mom who works from home, here is how I find some sense of normalcy.
- Work while the baby is sleeping
Schedule your important calls during their sleep schedule. Even if it’s a few hours a day it’s a great way to both get your child on a schedule and to give yourself dedicated time to work and focus.
- Ask for help
Your partner, Mom, sister, friend, neighbor, babysitter– find people that can help you and are excited to help you. Build that community of support so you can lean on them and take time to work and focus.
- Confirm meetings
There is nothing more terrible than getting a babysitter for a meeting to only have it rescheduled or canceled. Confirm your meetings before you schedule and pay for childcare.
- Noise blocking app
The best investment I made in the business was an app called Krisp.ai it’s a plugin that blocks background noise so while I might not feel professional I can still appear professional even if the baby is crying.
- Your work hours will change
I get the majority of my focus work done before my son wakes up and after he goes to sleep. The rest of the work is work I can do while spending time with him.
Also know, it’s ok to re-evaluate your work schedule and there might be moments you ebb and flow in your schedule. While feelings of shame of not being able to do it all might creep up, know that you are doing your best and that there will be some tectonic shifts that might impact the balance you once knew before. As a new Mom, if you need more support grab a time with me here.
