#tbt to my first week of maternity leave.
A few weeks ago, I went back to work after 7 months on maternity leave, leaving my husband to look after the girls for the next 5 months.
I wasn’t really looking forward to going back to work but also had spent enough time at home with 2 babies in 2 years so it was time to go back!
I’ve enjoyed listening to podcasts on my way to work, drinking hot coffee, peeing without interruption, and talking to adults about adult stuff. But it’s also been challenging, I’ve scratched my car a couple of times (guess I got used to parents & child spaces 🤦🏻♀️), had to work from home and help with the kids when my husband hurt his back (showing off his 💪🏻 in mummy groups carrying both kids), worried about my eldest coping with chicken pox without me around…
Returning to work early and sharing my maternity leave was a big decision and although I was bit gutted to give some of my leave away and have massive FOMO about all the fun they’re having without me, I’m also glad to get a bit of me back. The girls are happy to see me when I come back from work and I’m a lot more relaxed and fun to be around now that I don’t have to be with them 24/7.
It will take some time to adjust to my new routine but hopefully now I’ll finally find the time to write a bit more and finally launch my #luvyourjob programme.
Wish me luck!
#mama #workingmum #sharedparentalleave #returntowork #pregnantbelly #maternityleave
As a mum, you’ve gained a new superskill: multitasking. But something had to give & you can barely focus on a single task for 5mins (feeding baby while checking random IG stories, while watching Hey Duggee on repeat & telling your toddler not to write on the floor). So yeah, when you’re off on mat leave or a SAHM, finding time to apply for a job, do some work or even post on IG (not just a cute photo of your kid and a 💔) is bloody hard.
Here are a few tips on how I (sometimes) manage to get (a little) work done:
1. Find some uninterrupted ‘me time’: at least 1h when the kids are sleeping or someone can look after them
2. Switch off the mum brain: get your chores done earlier (prep snacks, clean baby’s bottles, eat something - when did that become a chore?) or skip them altogether (laundry can wait)
3. Turn on your work brain: make yourself a coffee, turn off CBeebies, sit down, breathe & FOCUS! Your brain is like an old computer, the 1st few times it will spend the best part of an hour downloading the latest update, overheating & turning itself off. Seriously, before writing this, I tidied up my notes, saw an old one about a job at Disney, realised it had closed so looked for other jobs, started an application, gave up as I can’t really move everyone to Florida, felt guilty about procrastinating, started writing, daughter woke up… GREAT!
4. When you finally focus, take 5mins to write down what you want to achieve in this session & how long everything should take. Break down big tasks into small achievable ones
5. Leave yourself 15mins at the end in case something overruns/to review your achievements/to chill for a bit before supermum returns
6. Give yourself a break: don’t feel like you have to spend all your free time working, you won’t achieve anything if you’re not in the right mindset. Last night, the girls were in bed, the husband at football, perfect time to work! But after a trip to soft play running after a toddler with a baby in a sling I ended up watching Netflix in bed for 2 hours. And that’s fine! I wouldn’t have been very inspired anyway
Ok I’m gonna leave it there as i’m now on borrowed time. How do you find time to do anything?
