Balancing Your Work with Kids
One thing that is really important to me is being the mum I want to be while coaching other mums to be the mum they want to be.
I have always been career orientated. I see myself as a “make-it-happen-kinda-girl”. I have an idea and if it’s realistic, I will put it into action.
Being this “make-it-happen-kinda-girl” I meet with some challenges when I add two beautiful kids (one school age, one pre-school), an awesome marriage, running a successful business and running an efficient home into the mix; however, somehow I am making it work!
So here’s what I am thinking and doing in order to make things work :
1) “Challenge it is, impossible it is not!” – Thinking this way allows me to see any challenges for what they are and not give up at the first hurdle. This particularly helped me when one of the kids was really sick on the day I had booked to see a client. It also helped after I had booked myself onto a course for 10 days and then found out my childcare arrangements wouldn’t work. What a week! Thinking this way allows me to accept what’s happened and encourages me to find solutions.
2) “Slow and steady wins the race” – Let me tell you, for a “make-it-happen-kinda-girl” this is a tough one to get my head around! This one is really important to me because if I want to connect with my hubby, exercise, spend time with my kids or prepare home cooked healthy meals, I need to carve out time for that during my week. I would love to write more blog posts, do more marketing and connect more with others on social media. I guess the “slow and steady” helps me adjust my expectations. Meeting my wants in this balanced way satisfies me and takes achievement to a whole new level! Slow and steady really does win the race for me.
3) Connect with other parents, parents in business or working parents – Parents love to share therefore I get lots of time saving tips or great activity ideas from other parents. I also get to chat with parents experiencing similar challenges. I am continually gathering awesome hints and tips from other parents as well as each of my clients.
4) LOVE what I do – I LOVE what I do so much that I can always find time to do what must be done! If I want to prepare for clients or study, it is a pleasure for me to do just that. I download podcasts and listen to them while I’m cooking, driving, washing, and shopping – wherever I can! I am mindful that I do it only when the kids do not require my attention. Sometimes when they have just had a big dose of mummy, I can ask them to give me 15-30 minutes to listen to podcasts or write emails. They are usually amenable!
5) Work on me – I am a big believer in personal development and personal empowerment. The truth is that it starts with me. There are times when I react to a situation with the kids in a way I wish I hadn’t, spoken to my husband in a way that I didn’t intend to, or am struggling with a goal I want to reach and just don’t know how I am going to get there. It is for these reasons (and one more very important reason) that I receive regular coaching.
The very important reason to work on myself is that I truly believe the more I break down my own barriers, the more I open up the channels for my children’s personal development. If I want them to express how they are feeling, I need to look at how well I express my own feelings. If I want them to be leaders, I need to look at how well I lead. That’s not to say they won’t have their own natural strengths; they will. The difference is in whether they feel supported in pursuing those strengths. Research shows that children learn from our non-verbal cues and behaviour more than from the words we actually use. What kind of mum would I be if I held expectations of my children over and above those which I would expect of myself?
No one is super-human; we all have stuff we can improve on. Whether it’s coaching, training, mentoring or counselling, I recommend reaching out for support to any parent in any business or a profession, including a professional parent!
What key things do you do that make running a business, pursuing a job or career, nurturing yourself and your relationship, raising happy kids and running a home, work for you?