How to Thrive as a Working Mom

I’ve been a working mom, stay at home mom, and a work from home mom. In each and every case, we all have our good days and our bad days. But in the post, I want to help you to have a few more good days than bad days this week. Days where, after you put the kids to bed, you feel like you did get enough done and you really can just take the evening to relax. Currently, I have a full-time remote job working for a NYC based tech startup. On the side, I also blog and I just started writing my first book. Oh, and did I mention I have two kids? Trust me, I’ll be the first person to look at my schedule and call me crazy, but that’s the stage of life we’re in now, and although it’s most-likely temporary, I still want to be my best all the way through it. That said, here’s how I do my best to thrive as a work from home mom:

Get up before the kids

Picture this: A morning where you roll out of bed when your alarm goes off. You get yourself a cup of coffee and proceed to make your way through your morning routine. Once you’re done getting yourself ready, then either you wake up the kids or they get up when you expect them to.

Now, picture this: You might have gotten 30 more minutes of sleep, but the kids come to your bed and wake you up by touching your face or whisper-yelling that they’re hungry. You multitask by making your coffee while their toast is cooking but forget about it while you’re spreading the peanut butter and pouring the orange juice and by the time you remember it needs to be reheated. It’s almost time for you to start work but you haven’t put on a lick of makeup so you’re forced to slap on what you can with one hand because the baby is feeling clingy this morning.

Now. Which sounds better to you? The multitasking morning or the morning where you get your time and the kids get theirs? I thought so.

I know it means getting up earlier than you have to, but I think a smoother start to the day might be worth it, don’t you?

Lists, lists, and more lists

I have a list for everything- a separate list for every area of my life. A grocery list, blog post idea list, “work stuff” list, to-do list, and things to buy online list.

If I lie down to go to bed and I begin to feel stressed thinking of all the things I need to remember to do the next day, I start to make a list of all the things that need to happen that day, or even that week and I’ll organize it by day. This way, I no longer feel stressed about having to remember everything because I know it’ll be right there on my list in the morning when I wake up.

Do something that makes you proud of you every day

Sometimes if we have a goal or dream for our lives that we never end of working towards, it can make us resent our work and/or simply just make us feel bad that we’re not where we want to be. I’ll use fitness as an example but it can be many different things. If I have a day where I work hard at my job, but I don’t workout or eat healthy, I’ll feel down that I’m not meeting my goal of being healthy. However, if I do make the time to even do a short home workout and choose to not break out the cookies, I’ll end up feeling proud of myself and feel more motivated and happy when it comes to my job.

Another example could just be taking the time to take care of myself. Since most of my work is done from a computer, there’s really no need to get dressed, do my hair or makeup, or really brush my teeth for that matter (just kidding, always brush your teeth). But when I don’t do any of those things, my mentality when “going” to work is much different when I’m in my pajamas than when I’m fully dressed and ready for the day.

Of course, being ready for the day will look different for everyone, but whatever makes you feel “put together” do that on days when you know you need to be your best at work.

Collaborate with your husband or support system

I get it. It comes naturally to a mom to feel like she needs to take care of everything herself and asking for help is usually more of an afterthought. Don’t let it be. Part of being successful in any job is learning how to delegate and choose which tasks need to be done by you and which ones can be done by someone else. Be sure to speak openly and often to your husband or those in your support system of busy days or upcoming projects where you may need extra help. You don’t have to do it alone!

Don’t let the little things slow you down

You know what makes women push through the flu better than men? It’s because we don’t have the time for it. The same goes for any other little mishap or wrench in your plans, especially your period. You know, that little monthly wrench in your plans. That’s why I trust Always® Radiant from Walmart to always have the exact pad I need, when I need it. The size selector tool helps me choose what pad I should get based on what I need, when! Find your unique Always® Radiant at Walmart and don’t let the little things get between you and thrive status!

This is a sponsored post for SheSpeaks.