Courtney Jay Higgins
“I continue to ask myself: How do I maintain a career while being a full-time parent? ”
To answer this question, I called upon other working mothers for their wisdom and advice. The common thread to their advice? There is no magic wand for finding a balance between raising children while running a business or pursuing career goals. There is only our parental strength as we learn to adapt and find what works best for ourselves and our families.
Danielle Finck is the founder and CEO of Elle communications. She has two children.
Really, it all boils down to community. I never realized how deeply I needed other people until I became a mom.
For me, self-care is rooted in nutrition, health, and wellness. I work out 6-7 days each week, try to get 8-9 hours of sleep every night, and have been blessed to walk through motherhood alongside friends.
My greatest support in motherhood has come from the moms I can text all of my
"what did you do when your kid..."
questions to.
My greatest support at work has been the people I work for and with, and I love learning how others have walked this path of balancing parenting and passion-filled work through books and podcasts.
I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the person who supports me in every single one of these areas: My husband is my greatest enabler of self-care, my biggest cheerleader at work, and my always-present, always striving to be the best co-conspirator in parenting.
Sam Mikos Harwood, LCSW, is a licensed clinical social worker and assistant director of intake at highlands behavioural health system. She has one daughter.
I have an entirely new and focused motivation now that I am navigating motherhood. Recently, motherhood has inspired me to work outside of the home. When I had my baby and returned to work, I was working from home. I thought this setup was going to be ideal and allow me to spend more time with the baby and manage the household more efficiently.
For me it was the opposite. Because I was home everything was blending together in a way that was really discomforting for me. I lacked lustre in each realm I was trying to navigate. I could not give enough to work or parenting.
Motherhood and my dreamy little baby have inspired me toward excellence. Because I want to shine for my family, I was able to make difficult decisions about changing jobs and redefining how I can and am willing to approach my career. After accepting a new job outside of the home, I am relieved that work can be work and live at work, and when I'm home I can better focus on the sweet little love in front of me. The reverberation has been lasting. I have been able to excel at work, I secured a promotion which allows my husband to be home more, and I am developing new skillsets, refining my mission, and I am able to support others to do the same. At home my family is happy, healthy, and present for each other, we make space for quality time and the needs of the family.
Jessica Jackley is the founder/CEO of altruists. Her sons are 10 years old (twins) and 7 years old, and her daughter is 2.
There’s no single right way to get it all done. Figure out what’s right for your family and ask for what you need. Know what’s essential and what’s not, and don’t waste a minute losing track of that.
My favorite time management approach is to design my work schedule around what’s most important to me, which is quality time with my children. I work six hours during the regular workday and often add time early in the morning and late at night, when my kids are sleeping. This allows me to maximize time with them during the day. I am lucky to be able to design my own schedule and have an equally flexible and capable team to make this happen.
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