Tips for Working Moms Juggling Motherhood + Career

There are a lot of things I love about my job and one of them is the flexibility I have to be the kind of mom I want to be. When I pictured what I wanted motherhood to look like for me, it wasn’t being a stay at home mom, but it wasn’t working a corporate 9-5 either.  I love my career and want to keep it and I love my daughter and want to spend a lot of time with her.  When we had Lyla we made the decision that we did not want to put her in daycare until she was at least two years old.  She turned 2 in September and we planned to put her in a mothers day out program, but 2020.  I know this year has changed what careers and motherhood looks like for so many people.  While I’m certainly no expert, I’ve learned a few things along the way and thought I’d share!

Outsource: You don’t have to be a business owner to outsource.  I will be the first to admit that it’s truly impossible to “do it all.”  Find a way in your budget to outsource tasks that you don’t like and that don’t bring you joy.  The goal with outsourcing is to free up your time doing unimportant tasks so you can focus on things that are bigger priorities for you (family time, working, etc).  You can outsource grocery shopping, housekeeping, landscaping, and laundry to name a few.  We also outsource taxes and a few personal items like shopping and running errands.  If you own a business, you can outsource accounting, taxes, social media, administrative tasks to name a few!

Focus on one task at a time: One of the things I learned early on in motherhood is that it’s next to impossible to “mom” and work at the same time.  Lyla will literally close my laptop or try to push my phone out of my hand!  It’s less stressful for me to focus on her when she’s awake, and focus on work when she’s asleep.  I hustle HARD during nap time!

Creative business hours: It’s no secret that I love a plan and a schedule.  Before Lyla I LOVED having set office hours. It made me feel like I could keep my home and work life separate for the most part.  But now that I’m a mom it’s pretty impossible most of the time.  You’ll often find me working later at night after bedtime or sometimes when I’m really busy early in the mornings before she wakes up.  And that’s totally okay for this season of my life!

Adjust your expectations: Prior to being a mom, I’d take 30 plus weddings a year because I had the time to work 50-60 hours a week.  Once Lyla came into the picture, I knew that wasn’t a possibility anymore.  My expectations for what I could successfully do had to change. Now we take (as a team) approximately 20 weddings a year.  That’s a 1/3 less than what I used to do – but it’s what my reality looks like in this season of life.  And I’m totally okay with that!

Grace: Lots and lots of grace.  It feels like there are always a million things I want to do but just can’t get done.  But I just give myself plenty of grace and know that the most important things are always taken care of.

Being a working mom is stressful.  Being a working mom during a global pandemic is next level!  But what an amazing gift it is to be able to do what we love and raise children. I hope I always remember what a blessing it is to be a working mom…even when it’s stressful!