The 5 Habits of Successful Working Moms
Being a working mom can be a trying task indeed. Organizing kids and organizing clients might sometimes feel like they’re one in the same, and on a bad day, either can make you want to flee town, transform yourself, and start a new life as a woman named Thelma (or Louise). So how do the most successful moms do it? It all starts before the family even rises for the day.
They wake up an hour before the family
You might be thinking: are you kidding me? An hour earlier? Like I don’t do enough? You certainly do’and that’s precisely why the hour before the family rises is so crucial to your performance. Call it ‘You Time.’ Blogger Jill Christensen prefers ‘Power Hour’, but it’s the same idea. You can use this hour for exercise, meditation, reading and positive affirmations. It may take an hour of your time, but if it can help you be more effective with the rest of your time, we’re all for it.
They ask for help when they need it
Katz Galatt, CEO and founder of Maternal Science, Inc. (and mommy of two) told Business News Daily her secret to success is letting others ‘fill the gaps.’ The first step, she advises, is admitting you can’t do it all. Okay, so you can return emails, cook dinner, help the kids with homework and change a diaper all at the same time, blindfolded and with one hand tied behind your back. We believe you. You don’t have to prove it over and over again. Ask for help from those around you who are willing to lend their services’you have only to gain from it.
They are visual planners
You might detest the idea of charts and graphs, but give them a try. And by ‘try’, we mean use them everywhere. Put charts up on the fridge of meal plans, chores, schedules’and then align them with charts you post up in your home office. It’s easier to stay on track when you can literally see the week ahead of you.
They follow the 80/20 rule
Nineteenth-century Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto coined the Pareto Principle, proclaiming 80 percent of our success comes from 20 percent of our effort. Effective working moms aim to find and capitalize upon that 20 percentile share of effort’though that’s easier said than done. But, as always, practice (and regular reviews of performance) makes perfect.
They never stop selling
Alec Baldwin may have played a minor character in the 1992 film Glengarry Glen Ross, but he delivered a monologue that would later earn him an award at the Valladolid International Film Festival. The monologue is referenced time and again in popular culture to this day. Its theme: ABC, or Always Be Closing. Much to Baldwin’s approval, successful working moms are always closing. They close dinner deals with the kids, budget deals with the significant other, contract deals with clients, and personal deals with themselves (they call those goals). When we hear them singing the ABCs to their babes, we have to wonder just what they’re really singing about…
Come to mama
For many working moms, the result of utilizing these habits is success. If you find yourself feeling like you need a reboot, try working the above into your daily routine before transitioning into that new life as, you know, Louise.
