Geraldine is a first time mother to X’mas eve baby Little Chuck, and wife to Big Daddy Chuck. She loves to take photos and documents her family’s adventures through her blog, where she pens her daily musings and frames favourite pictures of her family, food and fun!
Check out her 8 ways to simplify life for working parents!
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Working moms face the daily challenge of prioritizing our time. It is critical to manage our time properly because after devoting 40 hours a week to our jobs, we are only left with a little time to spend with our children!
My 10 month old baby’s main caregiver is my mom. Every morning, we bring Little Chuck to my mom’s place about 15 minutes drive away. In the evenings, we will have our meals together at my mom’s place before heading home together.
Other than spending time with my family, I have these things to get accomplished in the week as well: Do laundry, shop for groceries, run errands like paying bills and handling our family’s accounts, spend time with the husband, spend time with friends, blog, hit the gym, and maybe – just maybe – sneak in an hour to go for that well-deserved Javanese massage. No wonder they say motherhood is tiring!
Here are 8 ways we try to simplify our lives, hoping that whatever time we save means quality time to spend with our child.
(1) Stay close to your children’s caretakers
Whether you are putting your children at infant care or with the grandparents, it is best that travelling time to and fro is minimized. Spending hours on the jammed roads every morning before arriving at your office tired and weary is no fun!
Mornings are especially rough for many working moms. It is hard enough getting ourselves ready (I’m NOT a morning person), now I have to wake, feed, clothe, pack and transport a small human being in addition to myself!
So, I do as much as I can the night before. Set out clothes for the next day – for both myself and the baby, and make sure diaper bags and work bags are packed and ready to go.
(3) Create a bedtime ritual
I believe in making bedtime as pleasant as possible by putting my child in a quiet, relaxed mood. A warm bath, a bottle of milk, bedtime stories and tucking in can take place in a regular and consistent fashion. Little Chuck gets to bed in a timely fashion and that means more time for me.
(4) Don’t come home angry
We often return home with a big to-do list in our heads. Rushed and frantic, we walk through the door issuing orders and distributing criticism for what has not been done. Our babies can feel our frustration.
Our first priority when we see our baby after work is to enjoy some down-time, put aside work concerns, relax, chat and have fun together as a family!
(5) Avoid overscheduling yourself or your children
Parents need to learn to say no and to scheduling more than two extracurricular activities for their kids. Living a hectic, frantic life is no fun for parents or children. We want the best for our young ones. To enrich their world and give them a solid start. The pendulum can easily swing too far the wrong way.
(6) No parent is an island – delegate
One of the secrets to success as a working parent is learning how to delegate – to your partner or your family etc. When I am feeling overwhelmed or need to take a break from night duty, I ask for help from my hubby. Take a look at your to-do list, what do you need to do right now? What can you postpone, delegate or say “no” to?
(7) Plan to arrive everywhere 30 minutes early
The truth is, you’ll probably never arrive anywhere 30 minutes early, especially if you have kids. This mindset of arriving early will give you a much better shot at showing up where you are supposed to be on time.
Make arrangements for a date night. Ours happens every Friday when Little Chuck stays over at his grandma’s. We will check out a new restaurant or visit that old pub we used to frequent. If date nights are a challenge, then make it a point to give yourselves some down time to talk, laugh and preserve the relationship.
I hope these 8 strategies will help working moms simplify their lives. Find the extra time you need and deserve!
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Do you have tips you’d like to share? If you have, link up here for this series of Tips for Moms – by Moms, and stay tuned for more tips from other Singapore Mom Bloggers!
Tomorrow, we have Dominique who will share her tips on juggling a tight schedule as a work-at-home-mum.
Check out the tips work-from-home-mom Rachel shared with us yesterday!