Juggling act

Work-life balance – I’m not sure it truly exists. And as for juggling, it’s for clowns.

So much is written about work-life balance, and rightly so – it’s important to have a balance in our lives. My question is, is it really achievable for working mothers?

For the past 12 months my life has been a comedy, quite hysterical as I have juggled a new baby (number 2), breastfeeding and working. I must say, first time around, building a company in my 20s with no responsibilities, no children and no idea – right now seems a lot easier.

I have spent more time that I care to admit hiding behind trolleys in the corridors of the Telstra Dome or other venues where I have been running sessions to breastfeed my baby, timed to precision during breaks in the workshops I was facilitating (hoping that as I run back into the room there is no trace of baby puke on my shoulders).

Yes, I chose to work and feed my baby myself. The two do not naturally fit together. Now that the time has passed and I look back, I am incredibly happy that I fed her for over 11 months. I wouldn’t necessarily want to repeat the experience. There were times of joy and more than a few tears through sleep-deprived eyes.

By this experience I am reminded of what I do truly believe in – juggling is for clowns. Smart people focus on what they want and devise strategies and plans to achieve this.

Therefore can we balance it all? I don’t think so. Something invariably gives. What we can do is focus on what’s important to us, and with some good planning, support and determination we can achieve our outcomes. I was 100% clear that feeding my baby was a priority for me, therefore I designed everything around this. Being clear on what’s important is vital. What is absolutely non negotiable.

Starting with the end in mind has always been a strategy that has helped me achieve my outcomes. If I begin at the beginning I usually talk myself out of it, get scared or come up with a million reasons why it’s not possible. Then if that’s not enough I get the opinions of others to help me sabotage the end result. What a waste of time.

What do you do?

I leave you with these three questions:

• 1. What is non negotiable for you this year?
• 2. What are you prepared to stand for?
• 3. What are you prepared to do about it?

For more Second Time Around, click here.