Finding my work-life balance has been an elusive goal since becoming a parent ten years ago. My world revolved around my career for a decade, and I always told myself that if I ever became a mother I would not let that change my course. Uh... that was one of many things that my 20-something self falsely predicted (staying in NYC to raise my family was yet another one).
I continued working in the corporate world of Fortune 500s throughout my pregnancy and early years of my first child. I felt apologetic every morning when I handed my baby girl over to her sitter. I headed home each night with guilt hanging over me for leaving the office when there was still so much work to be done. And I was overcome with remorse when I reunited with my baby after not playing with her all day. Despite this lack of balance, I still enjoyed my career and couldn't imagine my life without it. That feeling changed though once my second daughter was born, and I had two babies under the age of two with a husband working overnights in the ER. I also knew something had to change when my 1 year old added "Blackberry" into her limited 10 word vocabulary.
So just like that I went from being a full-time working mom to a full-time stay at home mommy, in a desperate attempt to find a better balance in my life. My world became absorbed with baby classes, play dates, and long walks with my double stroller. The chaos of around the clock kiddie care was exhausting and loud, yet still full of blissful moments that I cherished. My life had certainly become less stressful than working full-time while parenting babies, but something felt missing...I had lost myself.
After a couple of years as a "SAHM," I found myself once again seeking a better life balance and transitioned back into the working world as a self-employed entrepreneur. Starting a business and working alone proved to be an exciting and rewarding experience, but I found myself struggling with managing all of the necessary day-to-day tasks as a one-woman operation. So I made a few practical changes, which finally led to the discovery of my own work-life balance.
4) I replaced post-it notes and never ending to-do lists, which continually rolled over into the next day's tasks, with dry erase white boards in my office.