What Can Mums Do to Achieve Work Life Balance?

As mums, our daily routine is pretty much packed with an endless list of to-dos.

We start the day by getting the kids ready for school and/or make preparations for them to spend the day with their caregivers. Then we make a dash for the office and cross our fingers that we do not get stuck in the rush hour traffic.

Our workday starts the moment we step into the office, and we focus on accomplishing our tasks for the day. Despite the busy schedule that we have ahead of us, we are aware that there is a new set of responsibilities that await when we get home.

Oftentimes, we feel overwhelmed as we juggle career, marriage, family and kids – and we wonder if it’s really possible for working mums to have it all.

What would it take for us to have a successful career and a happy, balanced family life?

Power network

I was invited to be part of the Dell Women’s Entrepreneur Network event earlier today where some of the most influential female founders, CEOs and leaders in Singapore were there to discuss pressing issues in the workplace and share strategies for growing their business.

Among the women who attended the event, there were a few who are mums too – and I got to sit down with them to get their thoughts on the work-life balance issue that most women struggle with today.

Here are some things I’ve learnt from the short conversation with the attendees and speakers:

There is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ formula to strike a good balance

What balances between work and life differ for each person, so there really is no specific way on how one can truly achieve this. However, it is important to have the confidence and determination to know your priorities and set the boundaries between work and life.

Share your needs and priorities with people at work

Image source: iStock

Once you know where your priorities lie, it is also important that you communicate this with the other members of your workplace so that they are aware of them and can help you carry out your tasks and responsibilities against those priorities.

Work-life effectiveness may be a more feasible goal to attain

We may never be able to achieve that perfect balance between work and life, but we can shift our focus on achieving work-life effectiveness instead. This involves shifting our priorities based on the current situation at work and at home.

Yvonne McGill, Vice President Finance & Chief Financial Officer of Commercial Business (Asia Pacific & Japan) at Dell shared, “In life, there’s always a need to re-shift re-prioritise. If there’s an emergency at work, you might have to call off something that you have planned with the family – and the opposite should apply also.”

Be sure to watch this space in the weeks to come to check out how these power mums strive to achieve work-life balance.