Self-heal flowering.
Working Moms Can
Have It All - Here's How
Denise Broady
What do you do with your kids when you travel?
A male executive once asked me, while I was on a business
trip in Europe.
Calmly, I looked him in the eye and responded: What do you do with yours?
As a woman with a job that requires me to travel globally
50% of the time and a mother of two –
I often get asked how I manage to balance it all.
Conversely, my male counterparts
who have similar jobs and children – most likely don’t
get approached in the same way.
As disappointing as it may be, it really shouldn’t be
about gender,
but fundamentally how to integrate work-life balance as
working parents.
Oprah Winfrey has famously said “you can have it all – just not
all at once” and I
have found this
to be true. There is no magic formula on balancing work
especially when both parents work,
kids and marriage. However, in the last six
years, I’ve narrowed it down to 4 tips
on what’s worked for me.
Build a strong infrastructure. I owe
much of my ability to have a demanding job as a mother
to my support system – namely my husband, family and
friends. They say that behind
every successful man is a woman, but it should go both
ways. Your partner should support you
as much as you support him. Build a strong network of
contacts between friends,
neighbors, nannies, et al. so there is a foundation of
support for when things get busy.
We used to alternate baby-sitting for our neighbors’
children every other Saturday
to support “date nights” out with our spouses.
Set your boundaries at work. Since my role requires me to travel
half the time,
I’m transparent with my manager about what matters to me.
I make sure to block at least
two weeks in New York between my work travels to
spend time with my family.
During these two weeks, I maximize my time with my daughters – whether it means
taking them
to class in the morning a couple times a week or attending their school
activities.
That being said, be sure your boundaries are realistic. Since my
position is global,
I often work late to connect with Asia or get up early to communicate with Europe.
It’s all a part of the job –
so you’ve got to find your own rhythm and make it work for you.
Plan, plan, plan. I find that organizing everything on a
busy schedule is really the key
to minimizing stress as a family. At the end of the week,
as a family, we plan everything –
from meals to the girls’ daily outfits! I even color code
my calendar that I share with my husband,
so everyone knows where they need to be.
Personally, I
wake up daily at 6am and use the quiet time to plan out my day.
These 30
minutes in the morning help me keep a clear head while I enjoy my coffee!
Don’t forget to keep your
well-being in check! Health
is truly wealth. That’s why I make it a priority to get my exercise in – rain
or shine, I will always get off a subway stop before my office and walk
to work, then take the same route home. When I’m
travelling, I make sure to hit the hotel gym often, use my 7 Minute Workout App, and schedule work meetings
through walks
so I can get those endorphins going. Lastly, make time
for things that make you happy –
spending time with loved ones, dinner and drinks with
your team or a girls’ night out!
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/working-moms-can-have-all-heres-how-denise-broady
You can TCR music, poetry or self development material for internal knowing.
I can Turbo Charge Read a novel 6-7 times
faster and remember what I’ve read.
I can TCR an instructional/academic book around 20 times faster and remember what I’ve read.
Perhaps you’d like to check out my sister blogs:
All aspects of regular, each-word down-each-line
reading and education.
Turbo Charged Reading uses these skills
significantly faster
www.innermindworking.blogspot.com gives
many ways for you to work with the stresses of life
www.happyartaccidents.blogspot.com just for fun.
To quote the Dr Seuss himself, “The more that you read, the more
things you will know.
The more that you learn; the more places you'll go.”
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