5 Ways for New Moms to Maintain their Professional Prowess

Balancing work and mom duties can be tricky at times. As your family grows so do your responsibilities and its all but impossible to give your all to everything you have to do.

5 Ways to Help You Be a Successful Momtrepreneur

1. Wake up and get dressed before the kids wake up. This isn’t always possible, but it is a game-changer. If you are able to set an alarm so that you are “together” before everyone is awake, it allows you to feel more confident and capable as you face the day ahead. This also helps you to avoid becoming so involved in household tasks, errands, phone calls, etc. that you wind up in your pajamas at noon.

2. Lay EVERYTHING out the night before. This includes your clothes, children’s clothes, the baby bag, your work materials (if you work from home), your lunch bag (if you work outside of the home); basically, anything you will need to have a successful day. If you drink coffee, prep the coffee maker with water and coffee grounds the night before, and leave your cup washed and on the counter.

3. Get a hands-free pumping system. If you must cut holes in your sports bra to make it happen, there’s no judgment here.

4. Schedule at least 30 minutes each day for thinking and planning. This can be planning dinners for the week, or planning content for your blog. See tip #5 for how to maximize the effectiveness of this 30 min.

5. Practice mindfulness daily. We often feel as though we don’t have enough time, but the truth is, we will never truly have more of it. Learning to purposefully tune in to the present with mindfulness is the closest we can come to stretching time. When you’re juggling all of the responsibilities of motherhood combined with the all-encompassing work of being an entrepreneur, you may find that your days consist of a series of reactions and attempts at multitasking, often with little intentional movement toward what you truly value for your brand and for your family. Mindfulness is paying attention, on purpose, to the present moment without judgment. It is the practice of gaining awareness of the world around and within you so that you can appreciate each moment and can proceed thoughtfully. Mindfulness can be practiced as a formal meditation or can be used informally by attending to all stimuli when engaging in daily activities. It helps to sharpen concentration skills, improve sleep quality, and increase a sense of gratitude. If you’re new to mindfulness, Jon Kabat-Zinn and Russ Harris have many resources available for home-study, or you can seek out a mental health professional with expertise in this area.