As A Working Mother, Is Professional Coaching Right For You?

When you are working through college or in the early years of your career, your life can feel pressure packed and often a little overwhelming. Fast forward through maternity and you’ll have a good idea of what “overwhelming” really feels like, as you try to balance motherhood with your career aspirations. Working mums have incredible challenges, as they have to work toward efficiencies in so many different aspects of their daily lives. They have to find ways and means of balancing their career with what their clients, bosses and fellow workers expect of them, in addition to the ongoing struggle of caring for a happy family. It’s no surprise that so many working mums in this situation sign up for online life coaching to help them put things into perspective!

There are several specific traits that the vast majority of highly effective working mums have in common. They have taken time to analyse their position, understood the challenges that they face and put in place a plan to get them through it, plain and simple. Here, we have listed seven common habits that all of these highly effective mothers seem to have in common. As coaching for women is now widely recognised as a very valuable service, the working mum no longer has to feel alone and overwhelmed in this day and age.

Habit 1.

Learn new time management techniques – and practice them. In each day there are only 24 hours, but it always seems like we need so much more time. Unless you know of any plan to change this soon, you’re going to have to make do with the 24, like everybody else! During professional coaching sessions, many of us hear that one of the primary habits of highly effective individuals is excellent time management, and this should be the main aspiration for the working mum too. Sit down in a quiet room with several sheets of paper and analyse all your responsibilities. This means all of it! Make a note of how long every task or role takes you to complete, and when you’ve written down everything you can think of, tally it up. Your next job is to realistically condense it all into a manageable time-frame, giving you adequate time for each. Once you’ve set up your time management schedule, you’ve got to stick to it like glue.

Habit 2.

Set a routine. As an extension of time management, it is important to get into a routine. Some of us don’t like to be structured in this way, but if you are to become a highly efficient working mum you must do so. If you take one step at a time, complex tasks often feel a lot easier and this is definitely the case here. Turn away from that feeling of being overwhelmed and put one foot in front of the other. Establish a routine, which may take a couple of weeks to do, but once you have done so, your day should be a whole lot easier.

Habit 3.

Focus! Know that procrastination can be the enemy of efficiency. You have to avoid distractions. Hopefully, as part of your time management plan, you will have allocated a small amount of time per day or per week for things that you could classify as “other.” Don’t expand this time unnecessarily and don’t be tempted to run off for a quick cup of coffee with a colleague/friend/neighbour, unless it has already been built into your time management schedule, of course!

Habit 4.

Develop your productive space. Whilst you may be quite productive if you work away from home or at the office, if you are a work from home mum you had better ensure that your working space is very productive, comfortable and remote. Try your best to utilise a room which is not used for any other purpose, which can be closed off if needed, and try not to use your work computer for any leisure purposes. If you work from home you will have to be even more focused on time management, as there will be a whole host of other distractions to worry about.

Habit 5.

Don’t forget your fitness. All the planning in the world is no good if you find that you’re getting more and more “rundown”, and you find that you don’t have the energy necessary to undertake your daily life. When you’re planning your time management, allow for daily exercise routines. Maybe you have a treadmill at home or your membership to the local gym; either way this time cannot be compromised. Look at it as “fuel” for all the rest of your day.

Habit 6.

Maintain a support group. While you may know who to turn to at work for help should you need it, sometimes you just need support and help in the act of life itself. If you know someone else who is in a similar position, then you can support each other. Gather together as many trusted friends and/or relatives as you can, and don’t be afraid to lean on them during the times when it can all seem to get too much. Professional coaching may also provide the support you really need in this time of your life.

Habit 7.

Reward yourself. Remember that you need to look after number one, and while you’re doing a great job of balancing your career with motherhood, there must be some time for yourself. What is it that you particularly like to do? Whatever it is, plan “golden time” for yourself in your schedule. In this way, if things get particularly challenging for some reason, you will have something to look forward to. It is so important to acknowledge yourself – you’re not an automaton – even working mums need a reward!

Amanda Alexander is the Managing Director of Coaching Mums. She is a celebrated ICF accredited coach, who for over six years, has been helping thousands of working mums from around the World bring balance back into their lives, lose their guilt, find the time to explore their passions, and generally, to have a lot more fun! For fantastic articles and hot professional coaching tips, sign up to receive “Inspire”, our famous free newsletter today!