Moms have it tough, but this is nothing new as moms have always had it tough. These days, moms are not only the primary caregivers at home, but more and more moms are also looking after their aging parents while trying to have a rewarding career. With that in mind, here is the ultimate mom’s guide to a rewarding career.
Don’t Fall for the Traps
Let’s face it: you are driven, this is why you were successful in your career, and it is what makes you a great mom. However, the complexities of motherhood do change a few things – for example, you can’t solely focus on your career.
As such, life goes from something which is easy to navigate to a patchwork of pitfalls. These include being a great mother to your kids, being the same high performing person you were at work before kids, to being active in the relationship with your significant other. While this isn’t exactly fair, it does mean that you have a lot of balls in the air.
To make matters worse, it can seem like sometimes you are being pulled in some many different directions that you have almost no time for yourself. As such, life is full of traps and here are a few that you will need to avoid:
Trap 1: Thinking the Grass is Greener
It can be hard to get back on the career track when you have kids at home. However, one of the worst things you can do is start to think that the grass is greener on the other side – in this case, stay-at-home moms.
As the saying goes, ‘be careful what you wish for,’ the reality is that both working and stay-at-home moms face tremendous challenges. This means the glossy picture of an easier life is not exactly true, and as such you want to stop focusing on what the grass looks like on the other side.
Trap 2: Using Work as a Place to Hide
This can be extremely dangerous as you had to fight to get through the door after taking time off to be with your kids. However, far too many working moms see work as an opportunity to get some respite from the chaos at home.
While there is something to be said for this, you don’t want to make hiding out a habit. As such, you want to use your time at work for forwarding your career – that means getting involved in projects and other activities. When done right this can help you to contribute while giving you the chance to get earn some praise.
Though you do want to be mindful of scheduling – especially in terms of having some semblance of a work-life balance. This means that you will need to set and manage expectations every step of the way. Doing so will help you to meet the constant demands you face without risking burnout and will give you a great story to tell them next time you need to use a Resume Builder to find a new job.
Trap 3: Succumbing to the Guilt
For most working moms it is natural that they will feel a certain amount of guilt when they first reenter the workforce – after all, you have just left your kids under the supervision of a stranger.
It could also be a feeling that you are not living up to what is expected of you, or that you are a bad mom. No matter what the voice in your head is saying, it is wrong. You are a good mom, and the reason that you have gone back to work has to do with providing a better life for your family as well as seeing if you can really do it all.
What can you do? Dissect your guilt to understand the real causes and then talk about with your spouse as this the only way you can get rid of that nagging feeling. Then start to prioritize, prioritize, prioritize. Doing so will give you a north star to guide you along your journey. Also, learn how to say no as you don’t need to be ‘super mom.’ Lastly, forgive yourself as you don’t need to be perfect.
Appreciate the Little Things
Too often we get caught up in the stress and the grind and for working moms, this can lead to a feeling of being overwhelmed. Instead, you want to take time to stop and smell the roses. Not only will this make you happier but it will help you in your quest to building a rewarding career.
