With our two jobs as a career woman and being a mother, getting everything done that we want gets tricky. As career women, we go to work and we want to be the best that we can. We are fighting for a promotion or a raise, creating new ideas and new projects, or dealing with clients of all attitudes and behaviors. We are bombarded with work stress, appointments, and expectations. It is exhausting.
Then we come home and we do it all over again. There is dinner, laundry, cleaning, not to mention our own new ideas and projects we make up for ourselves to make our house, nursery, or life more fun and exciting. It can be overwhelming, exhausting and defeating. And if there is some miracle of a day that we actually get everything done that we want to, we are feeling like Superwoman. But let’s be honest, that day is very rare.
So, in an effort to make myself, (and hopefully someone else who has the same feelings of defeat), feel a little better, I’ve come up with a few tricks to battle the impossible.
1. Be content with good enough.
If things are picked up but not perfect, pat yourself on the back! At least it’s picked up. Your family will appreciate the decrease in clutter.
2. Enjoy your time with your kids without stressing over how messy the house is and what’s not getting done.
The time with our kids is so precious and fleeting. Say a prayer that God eliminates your anxiety and then play and love on those kiddos while you can.
3. Schedule time when the kids are in bed or out of the house to catch up
I believe 100% in #2 above but I also believe that a house in chaos can spill over into your life and your kid’s lives. Therefore, do your best to make time to catch up during the week. These are just a few ideas to attempt to stay caught up without sacrificing precious time with the kids.
With all of that being said…Refer to #1. Some days a clean house and finished laundry isn’t reality. We just have to be content with good enough. Our kids will see our hard work even if it doesn’t seem like it. They will grow up knowing that we tried our best.
4. Delegate
5. Relax
This list is something I’m continually working on and will always have room for improvement. In the mean time, I’m saving money for the future when I can clone myself or buy a robotic housemaid like on the Jetson’s.
If you have any better ideas on how to keep up, let me know! I’d love to hear how you super women do it.
Then we come home and we do it all over again. There is dinner, laundry, cleaning, not to mention our own new ideas and projects we make up for ourselves to make our house, nursery, or life more fun and exciting. It can be overwhelming, exhausting and defeating. And if there is some miracle of a day that we actually get everything done that we want to, we are feeling like Superwoman. But let’s be honest, that day is very rare.
So, in an effort to make myself, (and hopefully someone else who has the same feelings of defeat), feel a little better, I’ve come up with a few tricks to battle the impossible.
1. Be content with good enough.
If things are picked up but not perfect, pat yourself on the back! At least it’s picked up. Your family will appreciate the decrease in clutter.
2. Enjoy your time with your kids without stressing over how messy the house is and what’s not getting done.
The time with our kids is so precious and fleeting. Say a prayer that God eliminates your anxiety and then play and love on those kiddos while you can.
3. Schedule time when the kids are in bed or out of the house to catch up
I believe 100% in #2 above but I also believe that a house in chaos can spill over into your life and your kid’s lives. Therefore, do your best to make time to catch up during the week. These are just a few ideas to attempt to stay caught up without sacrificing precious time with the kids.
- Utilize naptime. When the kids are asleep catch up on laundry or dishes.
- If you beat your kids home from the babysitter, use that time to vacuum or dust.
- Take 30 minutes before you go to bed each night and pick up the clutter. This way you can wake up to a clean house and start the day fresh. It will also keep the clutter from getting out of control.
With all of that being said…Refer to #1. Some days a clean house and finished laundry isn’t reality. We just have to be content with good enough. Our kids will see our hard work even if it doesn’t seem like it. They will grow up knowing that we tried our best.
4. Delegate
- Recruit your husband to split the jobs at home to lessen the load. A lot of husbands are willing to help but need to be given specific jobs for what to do. If you just say HELP! They’re lost. When I look at the house and my husband looks at the house we see two totally different things. He might not notice the chaos as much as I do. Communicating to him what jobs would help decrease the stress really helps get through the week.
- If you don’t have a husband or you still need help, recruit family members. I’ve been blessed to have my mother and mother-in-law help with housework or laundry at times.
- If this is not a reality, save money for a cleaning lady to come once a month. There is no shame in asking for help
- Once the kids are old enough, delegate jobs to them. All kids need to learn responsibility and how to take care of their things.
- If only I could teach my cat to clean…
5. Relax
- Whether you choose to or not, you will have days where you don’t have the energy, time, or desire to do anything at all. Let yourself relax on those days, messy house and all, and try again the next day.
This list is something I’m continually working on and will always have room for improvement. In the mean time, I’m saving money for the future when I can clone myself or buy a robotic housemaid like on the Jetson’s.
If you have any better ideas on how to keep up, let me know! I’d love to hear how you super women do it.