Written by: Gayle Terzis, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
The long-awaited summer holidays are finally here!
While it might be fun for everyone else, for working mothers, it can signify an added layer of pressure and extra responsibilities.
Trying to manage your work along with planning a fun summer for your children is not easy, and can make you sometimes feel like you are not doing a good job in any area of your life!
First, it is important to understand that although this feeling is normal, it is not true; you are doing your best and that’s what counts.
Second, realizing that many mothers are in the same boat can remove some of the pressure you are feeling.
Plus, knowing that with a lot of planning and some creativity, you can make sure that you and your children spend a fun summer, is such a reliever!
And because here at Boost up, we care about you and want you to spend a memorable summer, we are sharing with you 8 suggestions to easily juggle work and kids this summer:
1. Manage Everyone’s Expectations: yours, your children, and the people around you. Understanding that you have a limited amount of time and that you are doing your best to help them have fun during your free time will help them have realistic ideas as to what they can expect from you. Maybe their weekdays are going to be slow and centered around resting and learning new things, while their weekends will be packed with fun activities and trips to the beach. It is up to each family member to come up with reasonable suggestions and feasible activities. Then create a realistic plan that will help you meet the needs of everyone involved, as much as possible. Managing your children’s expectations, as well as the people around you, will help them understand that making concessions is part of life.
2. Enlist the help of everyone around you: your partner, their grandparents, trusted neighbors, and other parents. Many people will be willing to help. Maybe the kids’ grandparents or some aunts and uncles can take care of them one day per week. Maybe other mothers can take them for a day in exchange for you taking them on another day. Creating a strong community around you will make you feel less alone and less overwhelmed. It will also expose children to new activities and broaden their horizons.
3. Plan ahead: Write down all feasible activities in your area and your surroundings. You can designate one day per week where you take them to their favorite outing or activity. Plan the whole day around it for maximum fun. This will give them something to look forward to.
4. Make the most of their time at home: Develop with their help, a routine that makes everyone feel like they are having fun without too much work. Enlist their aid with house chores and set a specific screen time. Then plan activities and fun games they can do while sitting at home such as making popsicles or baking cakes, taking care of the garden or house plants, and creating a fun summer project they can show their friends once the school year starts.
5. Turn your exercise routine into a fun activity: We all need to exercise, and working moms need to do it more than others to stay fit, energetic, and healthy enough to juggle the million little things they are responsible for. You can turn your exercise routine into a fun walk around the neighborhood with your kids, or a run on the beach, in the forest, or at the park.
6. Replace usual daily activities with fun trips that are easy to manage: such as a picnic at the park for dinner, or a trip to the bakery to buy croissants and milkshakes for breakfast.
7. Try to wake up earlier than usual: This will help you tackle the biggest workload before everyone wakes up. It will also give you more free time during the afternoon to spend with your kids.
8. Reconsider your schedule: If you are working from home, you might find it easier to do your work in several small chunks of time, rather than in one sitting. This will help you spend time with your kids while you are taking a much-needed break to reset your thoughts, then help them enjoy the activities they love and the screen time they are allowed to, while you are back to work.
Parting Words:
Trying to juggle work, kids, and summer vacations is not an easy task.
Therefore planning, while managing everyone’s expectations and staying realistic, will help everyone make the most out of their summer and enjoy the holidays guilt-free.
Don’t forget to also take some days off from work for yourself as well, so that you will be able to take a break and enjoy your summer.
It will help you recharge your batteries and feel ready to tackle the new school year.
Gayle Terzis, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Gayle Terzis is an Executive & Career Coach and the Founder of Boost Up.
With a background in banking, Gayle spent over ten years in the corporate world working on diverse missions, including the development of the first program dedicated to the financial empowerment of women in the Middle East. However, she started feeling that her job was lacking meaning and purpose, and she was automatically less happy at work. She found coaching to be her calling. She quit her job and got certified by the ICF Executive & Leadership Coaching program.
Today, Gayle helps ambitious career-focused people connect with their better selves in order to reach their full potential and achieve meaningful goals faster; while having a balanced, healthy, happy, and productive life.
