I was a stressed-out mom until I learned to set boundaries and protect my busy calendar.
“Get buckled! Mommy has to get to a meeting!” I begged my three toddlers as I raced to secure my coffee and bags in the front seat. It had already been a particularly challenging morning involving a major kitchen spill, a frantic search for a must-have show-and-tell item and an impromptu call from a client—all ahead of an 8 a.m. meeting downtown. The working mom pressure was on.
In that moment I thought, “Why am I doing this to myself?”
You see, I set the time and place for my 8 a.m. meeting. Why would I do this knowing I’d have to get the kids out the door early and race across town in rush hour traffic? I had lost sight of the fact that I am the keeper of my schedule. I don’t have to make things harder than they have to be.
Since that moment of clarity, I’ve made some small but important changes in my time management. Here’s what’s worked for me.
Don’t schedule meetings before 10 a.m., if you can swing it.
Alleviating the pressure to get out the door by a certain time allows my husband and me to be more patient with the kids and makes drop-off at daycare a sweet moment we can savor.
Schedule deep focus time—and stick to it.
When we let others control our schedule, we’re often left with little time to dig into projects that require deep and sustained focus. I use my calendar to block a few large chunks of time (two to three hours) at least once a week. During that time, I don’t check email, I don’t take calls and I (politely) decline office pop-ins.
Use the “out of office” notice as an “in office, but...”
It’s nice to give people a heads-up when you’re soaking up sun at the beach, but I’ve opted to use the automatic email to let people know I’m working, but might be slower to respond when focused on an important project.
Set “no meeting zones” with the team.
Collaboration is great, but we’ve all suffered from meeting fatigue. I’ve shared some of my strategies for managing my schedule with those I work with, and we’re collectively piloting a meeting-free time on our company calendar. This gives everyone a guaranteed window of time each day to get caught up on what needs to be done—or simply recharge.
I recognize I’m in a position of privilege in that I have the ability to adapt my work schedule. Any working mother would likely agree that when we’re balancing work and family, every second of the day is in high demand. Giving ourselves grace and being intentional about how we use that time can make a noticeable difference.
This post was originally published on Working Mother.