- Prioritize self-care. Take that time with your husband to figure out schedules, who will pick up/drop off the kids. Schedule in nail appointments, shopping for you time, massages, facials, etc. Take care of you! If you are stressed, everyone else will be as a result.
- Leave work at work. This is sometimes really hard to do. If you have to take work home, schedule a morning on the weekend or a night or two during the week that you are designated to work on things at home while your husband is watching the kids. This way everyone knows this time is for you and it can get done. Doing everything after your children are put to sleep is not realistic.
- Let go of the guilt and find a decent childcare provider. Do not feel bad that you are working! Your child needs to be socialized with other children. It really helps them by the time they get to kindergarten. Also, you are working to provide for your family too. This helps your family be able to do more things together and spend time together that if you were not working, you would not be able to do. Find a trustworthy daycare that you love, even if it is more expensive than the one you are not too keen on, spend the money to know that your child is in the right hands. Lastly, your child gets a lot of time with you. You are the sole provider for them and just because you are working and they are at daycare does not mean you will have less of a relationship.
- Take turns. Make sure that you are not doing everything. With two working parents, there needs to be sharing of responsibility. If you are doing everything and working, it will affect you. Taking turns giving baths, making dinner, driving and picking up from daycare – it may seem so minimal, but it will help with being stressed.
- Schedule in play nights and special family activities. Once a week try to schedule in some family activities, whether it being watching a movie at home or going to the movies, eating dinner at a restaurant, getting pizza, going to a friend’s house, going to the park, museum, etc. This way you are spending quality family time together and it is fun for everyone.
- Sign up for extracurricular sports. This might seem like more on your plate, but as a working mom, this is a great time spend with your child. You could sign up for gymnastics, soccer, music, reading, etc. Check out the local library for events with parents on the weekends. Being able to watch them in a fun, structured environment is spending quality time.
- Organize the night before to make mornings easier. Get lunches ready the night before. Take out your clothes and your children’s clothes before they go to sleep. Put things in the car that you are taking with you the next day. All of these things will save time in the morning so there is no stress trying to leave the house.
- Organize your life monthly. Knowing what your overall plan for the month looks like can save yourself tons of stress. Schedule in activities, visits with friends, shopping, nail care, visits with family, date night, doctors’ appointments, extracurricular activities, late nights at work, etc. This way you know who will be picking up the children and what extra activities you need to be aware of for the month.
- Create time for yourself. Make time to go to the gym and workout. Make tie to get your nails done or hair done or spend time with friends. It is important that you are creating time for yourself in your busy life, this is the part that usually gets forgotten in busy lives, so make sure to put it on your monthly schedule so that it cannot be forgotten.
- Spend time with your partner. Along with needing time for yourself, you also need time for your partner. Schedule in a date night once a month or every two weeks so that you have some dedicated time together. This is really important because spending time alone with each other is not the same as spending time as a family.
Photo by Alberto Casetta on Unsplash
