Everyone says that becoming a parent will change your life. But you can’t really understand what that means until you have crossed the threshold into parenthood yourself.
Things that seemed so simple or routine before like keeping a tidy house or a quick trip to the grocery store can become challenging tasks with kids in tow.
These tasks and others are exponentially more difficult when you are balancing work and parenting.
I am no expert, but I have a very active toddler, another baby due in a couple of months, and have owned my own business for the past few years.
Through a series of trial and error and tears, I have come up with the following 6 tips for balancing life as a working parent.
1) Get Help
I am not saying you need to book an appointment with the nearest psychologist, although there were days when I probably could have used one!
What I mean is, get help with your kids. The day I hired a nanny a couple of days a week my life shifted exponentially.
Lucky for you (and me!), gone are the days of pouring over nanny applications and conducting endless interviews for the best fit.
All you need to do to find a top-quality nanny in Melbourne is going through an agency.
Background checks and initial assessments are done for you and your journey from scattered overworked mum to organized and efficient mum officially begins.
2) Veg Out
I often compare grocery shopping with a small child to raking leaves in the wind.
It is an impossible task where your patience is tested to the limit and both you and your child may leave the store in tears.
What if I told you there is a way to have a fridge stocked with fresh, local produce every day without having to step foot in a store?
Food delivery is the answer, and it is not just for families with money to burn.
The food delivery options in Melbourne are amazing and without our weekly delivery, we would probably be eating Thai takeout three times a week
3) Drop the Mop
After having children it seemed impossible to keep the house to a level of cleanliness that my husband and I were both accustomed to, and I felt like it was my responsibility and my fault.
When my husband suggested we hire a house cleaner I was overjoyed. And let me tell you when I come to a sparkling clean house every Wednesday evening I feel like it is the best money I have ever spent.
4) Play Nice
If there is one thing that has consistently taken me down in my quest to conquer the delicate balance of working and parenting it is negative self-talk.
My inability to be satisfied with either role has prohibited me from being truly successful at either.
My biggest tip for finding balance is to be kind to yourself.
Like, really kind.
Make time for a yoga class or a nice walk and schedule it into your day.
This 2018 diary by Saint Belford actually includes space for you to schedule a “wellness activity” so take a page out of their book!
Don’t let the guilt of sneaking away to take a bubble bath or read your book get in the way.
The more you take care of yourself the more your family will benefit from it.
Everyone says that becoming a parent will change your life.
Rarely do people define what that change will be, because it really is impossible to describe until you are knee-deep in the beautiful mess of parenthood.
Trying to do it all, striving for perfection, or being afraid to ask for help with making that life changes pretty difficult to navigate and incorporate into your life.
The four tips I suggested above will individually and collectively create a far more peaceful and productive life of work and parenting.
So what are you waiting for? Hire that nanny, order that veggie box, schedule that cleaner then soak in a nice hot tub in celebration.