Powerful Thoughts On Planning Your Time As A Working Mum

Guess what time of year it is, the month of September, known to be both nerve-racking and exhilarating for parents and their children, whether they are just starting their educational journey or have been involved for some time. Although there is a frenzied approach to the September kickoff, we need to remember that the school year lasts ten months and needs the focus of parental engagement and management throughout. As a working mum, you might find yourself overwhelmed with the responsibility of overseeing your own career and obligations as well as those of your kids. Planning lunches, meeting teachers, and chauffeuring your kids to ballet practise and piano lessons can leave you feeling as though you're balancing on a tightrope in a three-ring circus! Whenever you feel a bit loony and need to find a shoulder to cry on, this is the time to go to your computer and login to the online coaching website that you had bookmarked. Until then, make sure that you prepare carefully, so that both you and the children enjoy the school experience over the next 12 months. Follow the helpful pointers below to make your year a success.

Keep in Touch with the Classroom

If you always keep in touch with your son or daughter's school, by maintaining a good relationship, you will always be appraised of any developments that could impact their education. If possible, meet the teacher a week or two in advance especially if your child is young as introducing them to their new classroom ahead of time can help ease any fears or anxieties they might have. Get a hold of a calendar of events from the school, so that you know how to follow along with your child's adventures. Keep track of any questions or concerns and address them at Parent-Teacher interview nights, but ask your teacher to contact you earlier should any significant problems arise. Make sure that you go to all those PTA meetings whenever they take place and if you have the spare time, make yourself a volunteer for fund-raising events or those bake sales. Getting acquainted with the other parents and kids lets you know who your child is socialising with while allowing you to make new contacts and friends on the side!

Bring the Classroom to Your Home

The key to a successful school year is organisation and communication. Remember, that your children will want to feel as if they have some input and control over what is ahead and you should involve them in this planning, to make sure that their opinions are heard within the decision-making process. Before they get to school, make sure that they set aside a place for their homework, an area that they will feel comfortable within. When they have decided, put all those supplies and storage boxes in place, so that their school work can feel structured and organised. Create a large wall calendar for parents and kids to keep track of holidays, tests, and extra-curricular activities. Make a point of gathering everybody together on a Sunday, so that the upcoming week can be discussed and the process of planning can be viewed as an inclusive and fun-filled family event.

Have a Plan of Action

We all know that we can't plan for everything. Every now and again, the babysitter that you had arranged for after school could come down with the flu and be stuck in bed, or the child entrusted with the key could lose it on the bus ride home, somehow. This is when you have to be ready for anything and have a plan of action in the back of your mind. Always be sure that you are in communication at all times and you should try and check in with the children periodically to see if everything is okay. As busy working mums, we might still find ourselves apprehensive about the school routine, worrying that homework might go unfinished or that Susie's not getting enough one-on-one time with her teacher. And you add that to your Monday morning deadline and Wednesday's marketing presentation, and you've got a lot on your hands and mind! When everything seems to be getting on top of you, now is the time to look for professional coaching. A good Life Coach can help you to understand how to strike a balance between home and work, while ensuring that the school year progresses smoothly all the way through to the end.

Amanda Alexander is Director of Coaching Mums and a highly acclaimed ICF-accredited coach who delivers online coaching programmes to working mums who yearn for success, balance and fulfilment. Are you a juggling mom? Download our free eBook for working mums that will give you 5 simple and instant ways to balance your life right now!