Everywhere you look, there is an article about the Great Resignation. First off, let’s call it what it really is. It’s a Great Realignment, where employees are ensuring their employers give them the time and space to focus on the things they really care about. If you want to take advantage of this moment, where do you start? One place to start is to know your why as a working parent. Understand your motivation to see how you can find the right opportunity and role to fit your needs.
Why do you want this change?
Yep, it starts with asking yourself why you want this change. It seems simple, but it doesn’t end there. You want to know what’s behind that why. Ask why a few times to dig deeper into your actual reasoning. When you focus more energy to know your why as a working parent, you’ll likely say you want to spend more time with your kids. OK, but what is driving that? Why now? Has something recently happened? Are you afraid you’ll miss something? Eventually, you’ll get to the root of why you want this change.
What do you want to change?
Now that you’ve gotten to the heart of the changes you’re looking for, consider what you want to change. Be specific with this. Visualize what you want your life to look like. And consider what you want to change versus what you want to keep (i.e., your non-negotiables).
There are a few things that it might help you to think through. Is it when or how you work? Is it about changing your approach to productivity? Do you want to start coaching your child’s soccer team or be more present at home with your teenager?
How will you start spending your time?
You are moving towards being more intentional with how you spend your time. Or you might be focusing on being more intentional with how you spend your free time specifically. Either way, you want to look at your schedule. You want your schedule to align with all the pieces you’re looking at.
And know that it all starts with your morning routine. The start of your day either sets you up for success each day or it becomes a daily obstacle you must overcome.
Who can help you?
The conversations about who can help you should start with your significant other. You want to be better partners at home so you’re able to share the mental load. When you want to make a change professionally, it’s a great moment to see what other changes you might want to make. It’s a great time to balance the childcare and household duties between the two of you. Not sure how to have this conversation or even where to start? I’ve got you covered. Download my Becoming Better Partners At Home Discussion Guide to get you started and help you have the sometimes difficult conversation.
Look at who you can partner with outside of your home. Is it time to carpool with someone in the neighborhood for school drop-off and/or pick-up? Does someone in your neighborhood have kids in similar after-school or weekend activities? Again, it’s a great opportunity to partner. Can you switch up childcare days if kids are at home with a fellow entrepreneur so you each have dedicated time throughout the week to get things done and switch off caring for both sets of kids? Could you do a working playdate?
Consider what things you can outsource. Is this the moment to hire the housekeeper however many times a month you can afford? Can you shift to having groceries delivered, whether it’s a meal delivery service or something like Instacart? Have you considered paying for a meal planning service? I mention the meal planning and grocery shopping because meal planning and prep were mentioned again and again in the 110+ interviews I did for my books as an area that took up so much time. Getting this under control opened up time for many working moms I interviewed.
I have written countless posts and even multiple chapters in my books about networking. It’s that important. In fact, networking was the #1 tip from working moms I interviewed on how to create more of the balance you crave. If you want to dig in more to networking, check out this previous post on the Mompowerment blog. Think of it this way. Networking allows you to find mentors who can be a guide to help you make better decisions that allow you to create balance. It gives you access to allies who can recommend you. And you might connect with sponsors who can open doors to new opportunities.
How will you make these changes?
It’s not enough to do the analysis. Now you need to make the plan and then start taking action. You know what you need to do, so how will you do it? Where will you start? Think through the steps that get you where you want to go. If it helps, reverse engineer since you know where you want to go. And then you can think through how you can get here.
Final thoughts
As you take the time and energy to dig in to know your why as a working parent, let me leave you with a few final thoughts.
Take your time. This is not something you do in an hour. You want this to be thoughtful and thorough. Be intentional with asking questions and creating the plan. Take time to figure out or find the right people to help you take action.
Be flexible. Some days you’ll tackle this with all your energy and other days you’ll want to take a nap. You’re not equally productive every day so why would you expect to be equally as energized to do this each day. Give yourself the flexibility. You can have deadlines but realize that life can get in the way. You might have sick kids or seasons where work picks up. Life happens. Be flexible and don’t stress if you’re not progressing every single day.
Give yourself space and grace. While this is related to being flexible, it’s not quite the same so I want to mention it separately. You must give yourself the space to uncover things and the time to process new information and ideas. Some things you uncover will take you out of your comfort zone which can be scary. Some things will feel like they’ve been staring you in the face. Be gentle with yourself through this process and don’t beat yourself up. The idea is to find the right fit for the next step(s) in your journey. Keep your eyes on that end goal. You can do this. Yes, it will be hard but you can do hard things!
What did you uncover as you did this? What questions do you have? How can I help you as you start this journey to know your why as a working parent? Already making changes, but feel stuck? What questions can I answer?
If you want to explore more of knowing your why as a working parent, download the Mompowerment Know Your Why Guide. And sign up for the Mompowerment newsletter to get additional nuggets to help you on this journey to creating the balance you crave as a working parent.
