Financial Blog

If you’re not a working mom, you probably know one. With the increase in the number of highly educated women and the continual rise in living costs, dual-income households are now more commonplace than they were a generation ago.  More and more mothers choose to remain in the workforce.  If you’ve seen a working mom in action, we know this choice doesn’t come without a cost.

According to Pew Research, 40% of working mothers always feel rushed – a result of simultaneously balancing responsibilities at home and in the office.  In contrast, only 25% of working dads always feel rushed, and 26% of stay-at-home moms say the same.  How can a working mom avoid feeling pressed for time?

Here are some tips to help manage the pressure.

Moms are usually the first ones up and the last ones to bed.  Those waking hours are usually spent efficiently addressing everyone else’s needs.  Though it may mean a bit of sleep sacrifice, waking up earlier is a good way to make sure you have some “me” time.  Not a morning person?  Stretch your evening a little and use the time to unwind.  Use the time to do something you’ve been meaning to tackle – reading a chapter of the book you bought months ago, or pampering yourself with a facemask.

Benjamin Franklin was quoted to have said, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.”  Planning a day ahead helps you to not only manage your time, but also your expectations.  The less last-minute decision-making you have to face, the less stressed you will be.  It is also estimated that every minute of planning time saves around three minutes of execution time.  Planning ahead earns you extra time during your most productive hours.

Much of feeling stressed comes from being interrupted in your important tasks – and not completing them in the time you expect, or with the quality you want.  Finding yourself “in the zone” requires you to be intentional.  Block off all forms of interruptions, such as emails, mobile phones, and uninvited guests, for an hour or two.  Lock yourself into a small meeting room if you have to.  Schedule your most important tasks within this two-hour window, and start ticking off things on your to-do list.

It’s not easy for mothers to thrive in the workplace, but with a plan in place, it is not impossible.  Superpowers are not required (usually).