SUPERMOMS really do exist. They’re the ones running things at the board meetings. They’re the ones running to after-school programs. And, especially on weekends, they’re the chauffeur, running errands all over town, taking care of all the things needed to keep their house in order.
But how do they cope?
According to supermoms everywhere, fine-tuning their organizational skills is key to balancing their career and family with as little stress as possible.
Here are a few key things that help them balance their family and career:
1. MASTERING THE ART OF TIME MANAGEMENT
Supermoms are always super busy, so they can’t rely solely on their memory to keep track of all the things they’re expected to do, or all the places they are expected to be at the given time.
To avoid any schedules from clashing, supermoms should set aside a few hours a week to plan their weekly or monthly schedule. Once they have their schedule, they can think twice about participating in any extracurricular activities that may clash with their jobs.
Supermoms can use a calendar, electronic day planner, or maybe even a palm device to help keep track of important meetings at work, upcoming school functions and any personal outings they may have scheduled with friends and family. Their schedules should be placed in the family room where it is obvious or on the refrigerator so that their children would always know their whereabouts and can add their own planned events.
2. DEVELOPING A SUPPORT SYSTEM
Once supermoms have gotten their schedule all planned and, without warning, their son comes home with a note explaining that the spelling bee competition has been rescheduled, to the very day that their boss have asked them to work late on a project.
What are they going to do?
They can’t be in two places at once, but they do have options. Option A: They can approach their human resources department (or their immediate supervisor) about getting some flexibility in their work schedule so that they can deal with any unforeseen circumstances (such as a sick child or a rescheduled school event).
They can also strengthen their request for a scaled-back workday by reminding their employer that modern technology, such as laptops, pagers, video-conferencing and others can keep them “in” the office even when they’re out, and thus, they can still handle their business at work.
Option B: Delegate their extracurricular parenting responsibilities to a network of trusted individuals by asking a relative or a reliable friend to help them when they’re in such a situation.
When developing their support system, supermoms look to people who they know will honor the rules and regulations that they have set in place for their children. Supermoms would also make sure they talk to their children about whether they are comfortable with the adults they’re including in their network.
3. HAVING FUN TOGETHER
Supermoms say that having fun with your kids isn’t hard to do, but what to do might be a problem. Here are some ideas from supermoms that have come in handy:
I. Go out for a weekend outing, or go on a major excursion overseas.
II. If supermoms have children who love doing arts and crafts, they would suggest their children borrow art and craft books from the library, research various art projects on the Internet, and then present their ideas to the family.
III. Host family nights at the bowling alley or skating rink.
4. BE REALISTIC
A best piece of advice from many supermoms is to be realistic about tackling the challenges of the workplace and the home front and to understand that you can’t be everywhere all the time.
