Being a woman is hard enough as it is, but once you become a mother you’re forced to face even more expectations, unwanted judgement, a whole lot of new responsibilities and a choice between staying at home with your kids or becoming a working mom. If you’re reading these it’s probably safe to assume you either are a working mom or are leaning towards becoming one. It won’t be easy, but you can do it. You just need to have the right attitude and mindset. And there are a couple of life skills you should probably master in order to navigate this path in life.
1. Learn To Ask For Help
This is the very first skill you need. It really does take a village to raise a child and you shouldn’t do it alone. Trying to both work and take care of a kid on your own will be incredibly exhausting and nearly impossible. So learn to ask for help and surround yourself with people who will gladly offer help. Friends, family, your partner, they can all play their part and help you out on days you feel overwhelmed or just need a break.
2. Learn To Forgive Yourself
Lots of working mothers feel guilty for not spending enough time with their kids. You have to learn to forgive yourself. You’re doing your best and it’s absolutely normal to not spend every waking hour glued to your baby. You need distractions and some adult company so you don’t go crazy.
3. Learn To Schedule
Scheduling your life as an adult is already hard enough, but once you introduce kids into the mix it becomes even harder. You can no longer just wing it. So in order to avoid running around in panic, you have to carefully plan your days and even weeks ahead of time, it’ll make everything run much smoother.
4. Learn To Delegate Tasks
You might think you have time for everything and you can do everything yourself, and we’re not saying you can’t. There just isn’t enough hours in the day. Learn to delegate tasks that are way too time consuming or just not that important. Make your partner responsible for breakfasts, if you have older kids – make them do the laundry. Sign up for grocery deliveries or do your shopping online – no one has the time to go into the shop and spend hours there.
5. Find Family Friendly Work
If you plan to work in the office, make sure the company is family friendly and has good policies in place, so that if you need to take a day off to take care of your kids – it won’t be a problem. Consider freelance or working from home – those are very good options for the first couple of years.
6. Learn To Carve Out Me Time
While scheduling is important you also have to be able to find some time just for yourself. Make sure to schedule some days off and use them to chill, relax, do some yoga, meditate or have a glass of wine while watching Netflix. You need it. It’s what keeps all working moms sane.
7. Learn To Say No
Learning to say “no” is actually a very underrated skill. Not only is it helpful when dealing with your kids, but also when you become overwhelmed with plans and responsibilities. So when you have an important deadline and work, your kid has the case of the sniffles and your cousin is asking to come help her shop – you just have to learn to take a step back, assess your priorities and say no.
8. Have A Good Sense Of Humor
Listen, sometimes things don’t work out as planned. Your kids might break some valuable things, or stain your favorite dress, you might come to work one day wearing your jumper inside out because you got dressed in a rush and didn’t have time to look in the mirror before you left. You have to be able to laugh about it and not take life too seriously. It’s the only way.
