Globally, women workforce are increasing with long working hours. hence the demand of both work and parenting are rising. At the same time there is constant guilt of not spending quality time with your child.
Our promotion as “parent” was with new set of responsibilities, our new ‘bundle of happiness’ was a wriggly, noisy joy ride as many of us say…
So 6months maternity leave went in a roller coaster ride.. full of colours, new adventures every day.
The time I joined back my work after a long break i was full of mixed feelings – anxiety, fear, happy, confused so on and so forth. Initially i was not sure of taking up opportunities, as I was conservative. My biggest barrier was fear – fear that I didn’t know it all, fear that I wouldn’t be enough, fear that people will judge that I didn’t have the same energies, capabilities, knowledge to lead or take challenging roles.
I’ve always looked for role models and inspirations in my journey of life. Different people and events, small or bigger have inspired me (both online and offline). Soon I started pushing myself and slowly overcame my fears, started welcoming challenges, more responsibilities. with a strong belief any knowledge I gained would be with me forever and make me a better and a stronger person, sharing my newly gained knowledge with peers, constantly working to improve processes and procedures to improve gaps and improve inefficiencies in me. And now I am managing both the fronts (Career and being a parent) with head high.
“How do we manage our careers and parenting responsibility parallely?”
a commonly asked question
Few things to adapt to, as a ‘new’ parent
1. Learn to let go things
While it’s a demanding world, we have to be realistic that no one is going to be perfect. As parents we will goof up and make mistakes, but that’s how we learn along the way. So it’s important to let it go and not keep beating yourself up over it.
2. Equal parenting
As Sheryl Sandberg says, “A truly equal world would be when women ran half of our countries and companies and men ran half of our households”. If only one parent ends up managing a career, kids and running of all other chores, it’s bound to be exhausting.
3. Set realistic expectations for yourself
You do it for your projects at work, so why not here too? Be realistic in the goals you set for yourself. This was the best advice I got. Have clear targets and priorities.
4. Be prepared to be overwhelmed
Unlike promotions at work, where you land a role with tested skill sets, parenting is very different. You get ‘promoted’ as parent first and then start acquiring the required skills on the go
5. The myth of the 50-50 split
It’s not true that you need to split your work and parenting 50-50 to be good at both. You can’t have an equal split.
While wearing multiple hats at both the fronts we end up compromising on our health, few things that I have been following to navigate through high-powered career so it doesn’t overpower your life and you can stop SACRIFICING your personal time without disrupting your career at all…
DISCONNECT from the stress and pressure that naturally occurs at this level so you can be 100% present and available to your family, your friends, and yourself…
Reclaim 5-10 hours each week so you can put these hours into
SELF-CARE such as overdue doctor appointments, working out, and losing those extra pounds…buy sometime for yourself.
PRIORITIZE yourself, so you have time to THINK and get your own work done instead of being triple booked all day long in meetings…
Finally being a parent is probably life’s most cherished experience, at the same time changes in a meaningful way and gives you the best leadership lessons. I feel women are just passionate explorers in pursuit of excellence. They are always in urge to make things better and act as leaders in all facets of life.
Belief. Motivate. Inspire.Persuade. Communicate.
There is power in bringing your message to life.
Excuse my typo…
