Many women enter the corporate world excited about the possibilities. They were told as girls they could accomplish anything. No one told them it would be hard to accomplish “everything.” However, career women can strike a balance between their career and their family and even self-care. Here’s how.
The desire to work and raise a family
In researching my book, Wander Woman: How High-Achieving Women Find Contentment and Direction, I found that more and more women feel the need to realize their career potential but don’t want to give up the desire to raise a family. How do these women do it all while still maintaining their health and peace of mind in the process? Here’s what a few of the women from the book had to say:
Segment time and space
Julie English, a Six Sigma Master Blackbelt engineer and CEO of Within Reach Consulting, said she needs to have a place to work outside of the home. For years, she worked for a corporation. When she felt she had enough experience (and not enough recognition from her boss), she started her own business. Yet she maintains an office a few blocks away. She only goes there two or three days a week, but she needs the physical separation to refocus on herself and her work.
Integrate activities
Barbara, a senior manager for a multi-national shipping company, takes the family with her once or twice a year on business trips. When she went for her MBA, she showed her two daughters the campus and shared her homework assignments with them. They were so proud of their mother on graduation day.
Schedule “Mommy Time”
Darelyn “DJ” Mitsch, president of the corporate coaching company The Pyramid Resource Group said she books “mommy” time along with her work appointments. She also said she recalibrates her time as her children grow up, giving some of that time back to herself. She recently published her memoir, Mystic Grits.
There is a flipside. When Mitsch found a note from her son in her suitcase asking her if she loved travel more than she loved him, she started hiring other coaches to do the ground work which allowed her more time at home. Ultimately, this led to her winning bigger contracts because she had a team to do the work.
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