Integrating work and life can be a challenge for anyone, and working moms often face unique circumstances and responsibilities.

Being a working mom is tough. Working mothers have to undertake the difficult challenge of being fully engaged with both work and family. Being seen as being less than totally present as a mother or an employee is exhausting. It does not have to be like that.

Although there will never be a balance between work and life, if you can learn to successfully integrate the two, it is possible to have a rewarding full-time career and be a hands-on mother.

These tips will make it a little bit simpler for working moms to integrate the two aspects.

1. Let go of the mom guilt

When mothers return to their full-time jobs, they face criticism for "abandoning" their children, but that is not the case.

Some women prefer to return to the workforce because they do not want to give up their careers, while others do not have the option of being stay-at-home mothers. Whatever the reason, making the decision to work while raising a family is a choice that should be celebrated and admired, not condemned or disgraced. It's time to stop feeling bad if you aren't able to be with your child all the time.

2. Use time-saving hacks

Implement time-saving hacks to complete the most tasks in the least amount of time.

Save time and ensure that you don't forget anything by ordering your groceries online and having them delivered to your work or home. Run small errands during your lunch break. Ensure emails from your children’s school get flagged, and set aside a time to go through them so you don’t miss anything important, like the dress up scheduled for World Book Day.

Prevent running late in the morning by packing school lunches and laying out your clothes the night before. Most important: don’t forget to pack your own nutritious lunch to keep you fueled for the day.

You can find more time-saving hacks here.

3. Outsource household chores

You don’t have to do it all!

Find a meal provider that delivers delicious home cooked meals to your door. You could also look into meal kit solutions like Ucook or Dinner Box, which deliver all the ingredients along with detailed menus. This takes the stress out of “what am I going to make for dinner tonight?”

Use family calendar apps that assist you with where everyone needs to be and when. Track extra-mural activities, play dates, and other family commitments straight from your phone.

Drop your laundry off at the laundromat. Once you have taken into account the cost of water, electricity, and detergent, it comes pretty close, cost wise. And the best part is the hours you will save folding laundry.

4. Maintain open communication with your superior

Being a working mom does NOT mean you will be a less productive employee. However, a level of flexibility will be necessary.

Working moms often require greater flexibility in their schedules because mothers are typically the primary caregivers when a child is ill or has an appointment and are the ones who are responsible for picking up the child after work. But among all employees, working mothers are the most devoted! These women do not use their children as a reason to slack off, whether it be skipping lunch or working on the weekends.

Making sure that your superior is aware of your needs as well as how you intend to carry out your duties effectively is crucial. Your superior will appreciate your transparency.

5. Be mindful of your time

When you are a working mom, time is precious.

Be mindful if your productivity at work is being impacted by the amount of time you spend socialising with coworkers or playing Candy Crush. To make the most of your workday, try to keep social media scrolling and prolonged chats with colleagues to a minimum.

To ensure that the time spent with your partner and children at home is meaningful and intentional, pay more attention to them than to your phone or the TV.

6. Share the chores

You do not need to do it all. Let your children help with age-appropriate chores. Helping with chores not only benefits you as a mother, but it also benefits your children. A quality that kids will carry with them to school and into the workforce later in life is teamwork, which is fostered by tackling the chore list as a family. Your child will grow as a person while helping around the house.

Here is a list of age-appropriate chores:

Credit goes to the OT Toolbox

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