Why only for working women you may ask – well, I feel working women have to manage more stress – be it meeting deadlines at work when you have a sick child at home, managing kids vacation time when they have none of their own or just day to day juggle in being a better performer at work, maintaining healthy relationship with spouse and managing household chores. This is all in addition to being a chauffeur to your kids for the soccer and dance practice and being the family’s PR and party planner.
Are we yet again talking about life-work balance issues or is this something different? (OK this question I asked myself when writing this post).
Yes, it does relate to efficient life-work management but emphasis here would be on stress management, the post is not discussing how to be great at achieving the balance but assuming that you are stuck (or satisfied with) the situation; but when you feel stressed what to do about it?
Manage your Finances and Treat Yourself
Or at least have some control on what is the take home and what you can have as “spend-it-on-yourself”. See if you can afford half a day at a spa or just treating yourself the best at home, treat yourself to relaxation and doing the same in a routine will help you rewind better.
Fragrance, sound or sensation whatever soothes you the best, just use it in everyday life and watch the stress melt away.
Get House-Help
Don’t think about the extra 100 -200 dollars you would be shelving off every month or two for the house help, think of that as an investment to your time. The invaluable time that gets released to you to spend with you family -to go to the soccer game with your kids and not feel guilty of not cleaning the bathroom this weekend. Or just watching a late night movie with your spouse and not worrying about scrubbing the stains off the counter and cabinets in the kitchen. If some help gets the tension and stress off you, it’s worth it.
On Cooking
Work on quick healthy meals for the family, though you may be tempted to take-out or do a pizza night here and then, some quick easy healthy meals are just few minutes away (thanks to Rachael Ray, we get to see these most often on the TV or just perhaps grab her books).
Prepare some basic stuff during the weekend or use the crock-pot in the morning to have a delicious soup or chicken ready when you come back home.
Dropping / Picking Up Kids from School
Explore carpool options, use your spouse’s help when you are tied up at work, just don’t be in frenzy and in a rush around, note that stress and speed together could result in a negative outcome far worse than not being there to pick up the kids on time.
Prioritizing and Learning to say NO
Women are born multitaskers and we often bask in the glory of being efficient multitaskers. But often the toll is heavy on us on agreeing to many different tasks at the same time and our natural nature of accommodating the many requests. When stressed learn to say “No” and learn to prioritize time and tasks.
Sparkling House – Grumpy Mom Vs Messier House – Happy Mom
Women tend to stress a lot on getting the house mess and dust free. When stressed at work for deadlines or otherwise, give priority to your “me” time first and cleaning comes second. Doing it all will only increase stress, just learn to relax and for the time being ignore the mess if you can. When you find some free time tackle the mess.
The bottom line is — to manage it all stress-free is not possible at all times, but some efforts on a regular basis can help the working mother be happier at work and efficient at managing family demands.
This article on Working Women and Stress By Naomi G. Swanson provides a brief overview of occupational stress as it affects working women and presents research on approaches for reducing the negative effects of job stress.
How do you feel about stress management in a day to day life as a working mother? Pls share tips by adding to the comments.