You will never truly understand the struggles of a working mom until you find yourself trudging to get into the car with a toddler wrapped around your leg begging you to stay home (all while you’re already 30 minutes late for an important meeting) or trying to catch a deadline with a baby beside you desperately wanting to breastfeed.
Read: 7 Breastfeeding Tips for the Working Filipino Mom
Being a mom is the toughest job in the world, and being a working mom could be twice as challenging.
Some days are better than others. And for those days when you feel like throwing in the towel, we’ve gathered some sage advice and words of wisdom from working moms who are juggling work and family life like pros.
1."Learn the art of delegation,” says Nathalie, 46, who currently works as a Director for Asia Pacific GBS. This means “studying the strength and weaknesses of those you work with so you’ll know whom you can rely on for every situation”. With a bazillion things to do both at home and in the office, it's good to let go of certain tasks and trust that others can do them properly.
2. “Train the people both at work and at home.” Nathalie who is a mom of three also believes in investing time in teaching the people she works with in the office and at home to do certain tasks. She spends a lot of time training her household help for instance, on how she wants things done around the house.
She prepares the weekly menu every Saturday (with all the ingredients) which the helpers are trained to follow while she’s in the office.
3. “Use technology in organizing your professional and personal lives.” Like Nathalie you can use an online calendar to manage meetings, business travel , family events, etc. Then color code them “to make it easier to identify each item’s importance”.
Read more tips and advice from other working moms on the next page.
4. “Pray for good household help!” Marie, who has been working for a major television network for decades, feels that getting quality help is key to maintaining your sanity while you’re juggling obligations at home and in the office.
You will depend on ate, manang, and most especially yaya to keep the household organized and your children fed and safe while you’re away so you better strive to get someone you can trust.
5. “When the work hours end, leave all work-related responsibilities in the office and focus on spending time with your kids,” says Aida who worked as a bank executive for 27 years while taking care of three kids.
You’ll have to eventually learn the art of protecting precious family time from outside distractions. “Work never ends, so learn how to leave pending matters to tomorrow,” she says.
Yes mom, this means putting the phone down and resisting the urge to check your email while you’re building a lego car with the little one.
6, “It may seem counterintuitive, but the busier you get, the more you need to set aside time for yourself,” says Isabella who works as a magazine editor. She believes it’s very important to shut off the mommy guilt every once in a while and do something for yourself. “A happy mom is a better mom,” she declares.
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