It is not easy to be a working mum because motherhood itself is like a fulltime job. Having to juggle work assignments and the daunting task of child care can be really exhausting.

In today’s world, mothers cannot afford to sit back and just focus on being housewives when there are bills to pay. It can be truly exhausting to juggle the two but there are some things you can do to make it less strenuous.

It is really important to find a way of balancing motherhood and work to ensure that you don’t experience burnout. However, above everything, you need to work towards a certain goal, to make it worth the effort. Below are some tips to follow;

Have a target and work smart

It is important to have a vision and target when you set out to become a working mum. It should never be about money alone. Yes, you need the money but you need a career too. Have motivation and work towards achieving your target. With all the pressure of being a working mum, find a way of working smart by relying on technology to do tasks. This will help you use less energy on work assignments. A good example, if meetings can be done virtually or a certain issue solved over the phone, do it. You don’t have to drive all the way for physical meetings. This will help you to save time and make work less exhausting.

Prioritise your health

They often say working mums don’t pay much attention to their own lives. They put themselves last in everything they do. From the runs of picking children in between work, they don’t even find time to have a proper meal. However, experts say for one to have a proper work-motherhood balance, one needs to take care of their physical health. Have some ‘you’ time, work out, eat healthy, drink a lot of water and have enough sleep time, you will be able to juggle the tasks well.

Have a schedule

As a working mum, you need to have a well-articulated schedule. Think and plan ahead with your partner, if any, or on your own. Develop a schedule, preferably for a week ahead and don’t allow random programs to interrupt it. This means all days have plans allocated to them. Come up with a calendar for the week ahead. This is important because as a working mum, there will be many distractions along the way but if you have a schedule, it will help you to manoeuvre them.

The beauty of the schedule is that it helps you prioritize the most important things and knock off what is not worth your time. Include some social aspects in your schedule, meeting your girls, attending a dinner, a birthday etc. The schedule helps you to meet work targets and to prioritise tasks you can take care of instead of exhausting yourself on unnecessary things.

Learn to say no

As you go about your daily work, there will be many things and people seeking your attention. At work, they know you as the person who gets things done and at home, nothing works without you. Don’t believe this. There are other people too who can do things, whether it is at home or at work.

You are not ‘Superwoman’. Learn to say no to certain things and delegate or outsource other people. This will help you not to overload your schedule and ensure that you are less exhausted. Feel free to tell people ‘so and so can do this’.

At home, if you have the luxury of having a nanny or older kids, direct them to do certain things as you also pay attention to yourself. Working mums turn into ‘directors’ at home. Watch your favourite series as you direct others to do some chores.

Be present

Most working mums will struggle with striking a balance between working and being a mother. Sometimes you are at work but your mind is at home because you left a child sick with a cold or you need to find a window and run to take a baby for immunisation.

Sometimes it becomes tricky and you go through a phase known as ‘parental preoccupation’, where you are at work but actually not at work. You are in a meeting but you are busy scrolling through the phone dealing with a problem back home, wondering whether the baby was fed, chatting up a doctor etc.

Time will come and your boss or employees (if you are the boss) will realise that you are not present. Once they realise you are not focussed, it will have implications at work. If you are the boss, employees will exploit your lack of presence and not deliver as expected. If you are an employee, the boss might decide not to entrust you with responsibilities because ‘you are not there’.

But also, this works both ways, even at home you have to be present. We know you are busy and exhausted and you have to work but when you get home, put work aside and be present. Don’t switch on your computer at home. This is the only time the little ones have to see you, give them your full attention. It is important to strike a healthy work and life balance for your own good. Good luck!