Excluding my husband, I have three babies: my daughter Kaia, my Frenchie Hector, and my luxury pet accessories brand, Pagerie. Each of them are all so important to me in their own way, and it is also crucial that I am the best wife, mother, and business owner I can possibly be. However, without careful planning, it can be easy to feel like on is spinning many plates at once, with the danger of them all crashing down. That is why I wanted to share my tips on how to balance work and motherhood.
Each of them are all so important to me in their own way, and it is also crucial that I am the best wife, mother, and business owner I can possibly be.
The most important part of this equation is self care. I often say “you can’t pour from an empty cup,” and it’s true! If we as women wear ourselves into the ground and are exhausted and don’t have our needs met, we are not going to be able to be at our best to provide for those in our care, and won’t be able to be our best selves at work, either.
It can feel selfish to take a nap, go for a walk, set aside time to read or exercise, or my favorite – to devote time to my skincare routine as a form of self care. However, if you remember that this is what fuels you to be able to perform your work and home duties, it is for the greater good as well. It’s also possible, at times, to incorporate self care into your responsibilities. Kaia and I love our bath time skin rituals, and I think most would agree that going for a walk benefits the human just as much as it does the dog!
Another key element to balancing responsibilities is discipline. I’ve written many times about how impactful consistency and discipline are to our skin’s health, and it is the same with prioritizing our schedules and commitments.
While many may feel that a strict schedule takes away freedom, I would argue that it does the exact opposite. Following my agenda and tackling my to-do list on schedule enables me to do the things I enjoy guilt free – like eating dinner with my family, reading, listening to records, lighting a scented candle, and lying in bed conversing with my husband. If I were to allow myself to get sucked into scrolling on social media, or decided to just “wing it” with my day-to-day priorities, I would be much more likely to be scrambling to accomplish important things at the end of the day in a stressful fashion, or feeling guilty during my leisure time because I hadn’t first fulfilled my necessary obligations.
While many may feel that a strict schedule takes away freedom, I would argue that it does the exact opposite.
I have confessed on.a couple recent interviews that at times, while establishing Pagerie, I burned the proverbial candle at both ends. Staying up late to FaceTime my factory in Spain is certainly not the ideal self-care practice for most. However, there will be seasons in life where balance gets tipped in one direction or another temporarily – like nurturing a colicky newborn or fledgling business. In these times, ll we can do is our best. We make some sacrifices temporarily, with the commitment to self-care and balance when it is more possible. We fit it in small moments and little indulgences so we don’t reach exhaustion, and we get back to our routines as soon as we can afterward.
Do you have plans in place to make sure that you’re balancing work and motherhood to avoid burnout or being less than your best in either role? I’d love to learn your best practices in the comments below.
