How to Strike a Balance between Business and Being a Mom*

As if motherhood itself weren’t demanding enough, being an entrepreneur while fulfilling the responsibilities of being a mom has got to be one of the hardest jobs on the planet.

Raising children is not just something you can take on fifty-fifty. It requires your full attention and most of your energy. However, the demands of life leave a lot of moms with no choice but to weave their careers into an already-hectic mommy schedule.

How are these moms managing the pressure? What practical tips can you adopt to ensure balance between business and motherhood?

Delegate Tasks

Here’s one good advice: you don’t always have to do it on your own.

One of the most helpful tips you can follow as an entrepreneur mom is to learn to entrust some of your tasks with other people. You will be surprised how one good assistant can save you so much time and effort.

List down your tasks, and categorize them according to difficulty and priority. You may find that a lot of the things you do are repetitive or do not really require decision-making. For these tasks, it’s best to hire help.

Find someone who is good at managing and organizing things. This person should be able to help you with the little tasks like scheduling meetings, writing updates on your website, following up with collaborators, etc. After all, managing a business with someone you can trust makes some of its many daunting aspects way more manageable.

At home, you can engage the help of the kids. You can turn simple household chores into a team effort so they get done faster and with less effort. You save energy while teaching your kids independence and developing their self-worth in the process.

Plan, Plan, Plan

There’s one rule every entrepreneur lives by, and that is always setting SMART goals. SMART means “specific, measureable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound.” Setting SMART goals as your first step allows you to be clear about what you want. This makes future decision-making events easy when you always have a goal you can measure a decision against.

Planning eliminates distraction. Planning allows you to use your time well. Planning saves people’s time, and when you’re a career woman who’s always managing three kids at home, a saved time is gold found.

Invest in Automation Tools

It’s the digital age, and there’s no reason you should not use technology to your advantage. There are plenty of automation tools and softwares today that can help you zip through a lot of your day-to-day mundane tasks. Here are some examples:

• Email scheduling extensions like GMass
• Time-tracking softwares like Toggl
• Newsletter builders like SendInBlue
• List-making applications like Trello
• Full cloud-based productivity tools like G Suite

If you’re in the business of selling products online, using a reliable platform with integrated tools can help you do your e-commerce and marketing tasks altogether without switching from one software to another.

Tools are friends! And even though some of these kinds of software may not exactly be cheap, they will contribute to a positive return on investment in the long run.

Make Time for Growth

Although being organized and being conscientious are important entrepreneurial qualities, creativity is still what keeps it barreling forward. So don’t let your creative reserves run out!

Allot time for learning new business rules, reading about your industry, and learning from what others are doing. Make growing a part of your process.

Have Someone You Can Confide In

Tough is too kind a word for being a mom and an entrepreneur at the same time. There will be times that it can feel punishing. You may feel like you’re lacking in one area or both.

In times like these, you need a reliable support system that can help you navigate the emotional complexity of your situation. It may be your spouse, your best friend, or a respected colleague. You need someone who will be able to listen without judgment and who can tell you what they think with genuine honesty and a willingness to help.

Having someone to confide in can help you stay sane, when the going gets tough. Don’t isolate. Make it a point to reach out and ask for help when you need to.