3 Ways Hard Working Moms Can Stay Sane

by Georgette Rowland

Work life balance for entrepreneurial women is a moving target. But don’t despair, finding ways to create mental space to make your life easier on a daily basis, is not.

Modern times have seen the roles of men and women become more aligned. Nevertheless, there is still the underlying belief that the day to day responsibilities of the home and family rests on the shoulders of the woman.

Single moms know it is down to them, but even in a marriage or family situation, this is often still the case.

This is not necessarily because of the expectations of others, or the willingness of a husband or partner to step up to the plate. It is so often the woman who puts pressure on herself to take care of business inside the home. And still be a world-changing entrepreneur.

It is easy to swing from feeling resentful about your situation to feeling guilty about feeling resentful and then back again.

This yo-yoing of emotions can make you feel as if you are losing your mind. I have a whole host of tips and techniques I have learned over the years to cope.

Here are 3 of them that I came to rely on, that made a big difference to my feelings of frustration.

Brain Dump
Get it all out of your head. We say that things are at the back of our mind. But they are actually very much in the front. Odds are you just keeping pushing them to the back while other things of more importance or urgency take their place. This mind juggle is very tiring and the common way to deal with it is to try and do more. Which could work if life stood still; but of course it doesn’t.

To do lists are great but can become unmanageable, so it is a good idea to purge your brain and your list at least once a month. See what you can eliminate completely. Then from what is left, re-visit your to do list and your calendar.

A great tool for doing this is Workflowy. It is an organizing app that looks like a big sheet of blank paper. But you can have sub-items and mark things off when completed. Another great feature is the ability to log into it from your computer, smartphone and tablet to access your notes.

I don’t use it as my main To Do list because I need the discipline of setting dates, times and reminders. For me it is a place to brainstorm. And best of all, it is free.

Meal planning
This one takes commitment, but once you have got the ball rolling it is staggering how much free time you can get back.

I use a meal planning app now, but I used to use sheets of paper with a blank grid of squares. It looked like a monthly calendar just with no text. Each square represented a day of the week and I would put the meal for each day in a square.

From this I would do my weekly shopping list and then I wouldn’t have to think about what to cook each night. And shopping trips went from random trips to once a week.
As time went on I wanted to be able to snip and save recipes from the internet, so I changed to an app.

Escape
Look at your calendar and block off 2 days every 3 months. If you can do 3 days then that is even better. Then go shopping. But not shopping for food, shopping for hotels or retreats. You are going to get away, all by yourself.

What you choose will depend on your budget and your preferences.

Why 3 days?
• Day 1 to just unplug and switch your brain off in a new environment.
• Day 2 to brain dump and plan without responsibilities to distract you.
• Day 3, unplug again, but do something, if possible, like visit a museum. Then go back home refreshed.

If you are a single parent, the idea of escape may seem impossible. Why not just aim for a day, or even half a day and make the time totally about you. Even if it means getting a babysitter, plan for it. You are worth it.

For the ladies that have a partner and don’t think you can trust them to take care of things when you are not there. Give them your menu plan. It’s only for 3 days after all.

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Georgette helps overloaded business men and women streamline their day to day business activities with their finances. So that they can reclaim more time and breathing space to concentrate on building the business, the relationships and lifestyle they yearn for. And at the same time feel more secure about what they are doing on a day to day basis.
She is an author, speaker and host of the Firmer Figures podcast on iTunes. She loves cheesecake and embarrassing her children with old school dance moves.

Discover more about Georgette at http://financialgymforbusiness.com

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