Pursuing Work Life BalanceStriving for work life balance is an ongoing process for most moms. Because when you're a mom you're a working mom--whether or not you draw an income! Maybe you work outside the home, maybe you are a work at home mom (WAHM), or maybe you are strictly a stay at home mom (SAHM). No matter how you describe yourself, most moms experience guilt, stress, and anxiety in the pursuit of a work life balance. But this doesn't have to be the case! You are capable of creating the life you desire. You just might need a little extra support to get there. Work Outside the HomeThere are numerous stressors you may deal with if you work outside the home. You may find that your morning and evening family routine is chaotic and hurried. Getting kids ready to go to school/daycare before YOU head to work requires a lot of organization and planning and, as you know, can make for a crazy beginning to your day!Your evenings may be filled hurrying through chores, homework, and supper. With all the things that need to be taken care of after work it can feel like you may not get as much relaxed family time as you’d like. You may feel pressured to make up for lost time on the weekends and in effect run yourself ragged trying to chase down some sort of work life balance.
Maybe, as a working mom, you feel guilty that you don't have as much time as you'd like with your kids. Or maybe you feel guilty that you actually enjoy your time at work. You may find yourself wanting to find a better balance between your work and family life all together. To get some great tips and insight on working moms' family, health, and career issues, check out momsrefuge.com. Work At Home Mother (WAHM)If you are a WAHM, your challenges may be very different. For example, it can be very difficult to get stretches of continuous work time with children at home.How often, would you say, are you interrupted during your work time to take care of child or other household issues? Interruptions like that can really hamper your efforts to be efficient and on task. Do you have your own private workspace or is your work area in the busy living room? If you're having a hard time keeping little hands out of your papers and off your computer, it may feel as if your work is automatically devalued. This doesn't help your motivation, does it? A big challenge for many WAHMs is keeping work and life separate. It's easy to fall into the habit of catching up on work in your “off” hours, or making some extra progress on your project on the weekend, even if you wouldn't be expected to do so if you worked in the office. Many WAHM’s have a difficult time setting appropriate boundaries between their work and the rest of their life. This can make every extra free moment a potential time for more work. Just the opposite can be true as well, making it difficult for a WAHM to stay on task as she may be distracted by more interesting family or household issues. This is one of the times when an unhealthy work life balance is really noticeable! Stay at Home MomIf you’re a stay at home mom you still struggle with work life balance issues. It’s just that your “work” and “life” are so closely tied together that these challenges may be harder to recognize!If you are a stay at home mom, you may often feel that your contribution to the family is taken for granted or minimized. You may worry about this yourself or maybe your spouse has made comments. Stay at home moms often feel like their household chores and child raising tasks go unnoticed and unappreciated. Your own personal ambitions and plans probably got put on hold when you decided to stay home with your children and many women feel a yearning for doing more with their lives, their knowledge, and their gifts. Trying to balance your child rearing "work" with your own personal goals can be a very fulfilling experience.
Or maybe you're feeling overwhelmed because you're just not able to keep up with everything the way you'd like. Maybe the laundry isn't always folded and put away, or the toys aren't picked up, or the dishes haven't been done for several days. Do you feel like a failure, or like you're not even able to keep your head above water some days? Self-imposed expectations that are too high and rigid can make a hard day even more difficult and exhausting for a stay at home working mom. If finances are a worry for your family, you may find yourself asking these questions:
No matter your occupational status, as a working mom striving for a work life balance, you may benefit from re-evaluating your priorities, improving your planning and organizational skills, getting your needs met, and communicating better with your significant other. These are challenging but doable tasks. And, when you discover the core issues and make an action oriented plan towards improving them, you will be amazed at the difference you’ll see!
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