Working moms have a lot on their plate. Juggling work and family can be difficult, and it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. In this blog post, I will give you some tips to help you feel more calm and in control. Follow these tips, and you will be able to manage your time better and feel more relaxed.

Working mom tips to feel more calm:

1. Use nap-time for the things that cannot get done when your kiddo is up

Sometimes you will use nap-time for rest and other times you will use nap-time for work. I find that when I have full days with Selah and my husband is at work, during the week I intentionally use nap-time for work. I don’t spend ANY time cleaning the house or doing things I can do when Selah is up. I lay Selah down, make a coffee, and head straight to my office. I do the most important items first, then email, answering the most important emails to the least urgent. When she’s up, I’ve done what I can do and I’m back to mom mode. Next nap, I’ll be back at it.

On the weekends or when I’ve already finished work for the day (I really get a lot of my work done during my Miracle Mom Mornings (podcast episode on that here!), I am intentional to use nap-time to rest. Again, no picking up toys or doing things for everyone else. This is a special time for MOM (hello!) to recharge and take care of herself. I will make a coffee, sit in the backyard and listen to the birds, read a book, and let the sun literally nurture me back to vitality. This would also be the time I may choose to do a workout or take a hot shower–whatever feels most refueling. I know I have between 30 minutes and 2 hours and I make the most of that time.

2. Give yourself grace, you’re not a bad mom for needing focused time for work

Some of my clients share with me that if they work from home, they feel guilty for working instead of hanging with their kids. Their kiddo or spouse may give them puppy eyes when they head into their office for work, and guilt floods them, making them think they’re failing as a mom in those moments. This is not true. Remember, part of your purpose in life is to be of service. If you work, part of your being of service is to do your job. Do not feel guilty for this. Instead, do your best to have really solid “containers”. When you’re with your kids, put your phone away and be with your kids. When you’re working, silence all notifications and don’t answer catch-up phone calls. Do not feel guilty about any of this. This is part of you being intentional. If your work is scheduled so that you must be with your kids and work, do your best to create your own “containers” and communicate well, even though the kids are around.

3. Do LESS by practicing great boundaries–set them and then HONOR them

The boundaries part of this has a lot to do with what I mentioned above. But let’s touch on HONORING your boundaries. I talked about this in THIS podcast episode, but in order for you to build your confidence as a working mother it is vital that you are able to have faith that what you say will get done will get done. Whether that’s dedicated play time with your kids, making yourself a healthy lunch, or sending off your next project proposal. You MUST honor what you say you’re going to do. Keeping the commitments you make to yourself and others is essential for your own self-esteem and self-trust. When you know you’re a person of your word, you will feel empowered each time you set a new goal instead of defeated, like you’ve failed before you’ve even started.

4. Take an honest look at the hours in each day and decide how you’ll use them

Which hours are you best suited for work? Do you need creative energy when you work? When do you feel the most creative? When are you the most tired and ready to just snuggle up to a movie with the kids? When are you most willing to cook yourself and your family food? Get really honest with yourself about your energy. For example, I don’t plan to work once Selah goes to bed for the night because I know my energy is shot during those hours. Instead, that’s the time that I love to connect with my husband. I’ll make tea, change into PJ’s, and we’ll either watch a show together or just lay in our dark room and decompress (sometimes we talk and sometimes we literally lay together in complete silence–it’s blissful, haha!).

Which working mom tips will you implement to feel more calm?

I hope this was helpful and gave you some ideas for what you can change to care for yourself as a working mom. You do so much, it’s important you feel cared for and organized too. Which area are you going to practice improving? Let me know in the comments!

If you’d like even more guidance in this area, here are some great additional resources:

1. Miracle Mom Mornings Podcast Episode
2. Confidence Podcast Episode (this goes more deeply into self-trust)
3. Get coaching with Paige by joining Aligned Coaching–for women who want to feel more daily calm and less overwhelm. This is coaching for you. You care for everyone else, it’s time to let yourself be cared for too.