Balancing Career and Motherhood As A High-Achieving Mom: 5 Practical Tips

Balancing career and motherhood isn’t always straightforward. Every scenario is different, and therefore the needs often vary for every mother. However, having a baseline to work from in order to develop a structure that works for you is essential. We took the pleasure of putting together a list of 5 practical tips to help you start creating some work-life balance in your daily routine. 

This is not a one-size-fits all guide. Feel free to take these tips and critique them in order to make it work for you.

Why is it important to figure out how to balance motherhood with your career and your personal goals? Because the overwhelm can get real —real  fast. Having a system in place that works for you can help to minimize the challenges you might face and also provide a healthy rhythm within your life so that you’re not confined to just one specific role. 

It’s no secret how consuming motherhood can be. You have to worry about taking care of your kids, taking care of yourself, and showing up in your career and personal goals. That’s just the reality of being a high-achieving mom. It’s not impossible, but it does take some extra work to keep you afloat. 

1. Manage Your Time

First and foremost, you have to know how to manage your time. I know, I know — you’re probably rolling your eyes because how practical is it for a mother to actually manage her time? Motherhood is an olympic game of juggling hundreds of tasks with what feels like little to no time to actually get things done. But mama, it is possible.

Write down a time to sit down and get everything in front of you. Decide if you solely want to structure your life day-by-day or week-by-week. For myself, I tend to go week-by-week. On Sundays, I’ll take about an hour to lay out what things I need to focus on in the upcoming week and how I can dedicate my time across the board. Then, I list out my priorities and make sure the ones that are top of my list are the ones that I dedicate my time to at the beginning of the week. You can also make a list of things that aren’t as dire or that you can be more lax on. That way, if you don’t get to it within a certain day or week, it can easily roll over to the next day or week without causing a huge problem or knocking you off your rhythm. 

2. Have routines

Routines, routines, routines . They’re so important and literal lifesavers when it comes to balancing career and motherhood along with personal goals. A good morning routine can gently usher you into your day while a good nighttime routine allows you to unwind and reflect. Take some time to identify what things help you feel more motivated and energized. Maybe it’s waking up early and getting 30 minutes to yourself before being thrown into the chaos of your household. Maybe it’s going on a midday run to jolt your mind. Maybe it’s reading a few pages from a book in the evening before making dinner. Routines can set you up for success.

Here’s an example of my ideal morning routine that I’ve noticed has given me such a better start to my days:

• Wake up at least 30 minutes to an hour before my household.

• Stretch, shower/get dressed, and spend some time on my face routine.

• Make myself a tea and grab a bite to eat (a bowl of fruit, yogurt, cereal, eggs, etc).

• Read a few pages of a book and/or journal.

A nighttime routine could look like:

• Getting in a quick workout session (whether in the gym or at home).

• Running a bath or taking a nice shower with candles lit.

• Reading a book or journaling in reflection of the day.

• Setting out anything needed to make the morning run smoother.

3. Learn how to incorporate both your kids and your career into the mix.

Of course as high-achieving women balancing career and motherhood, it’s not just about us. We often have to incorporate everyone else’s schedules into our own — such as our kids, our spouse, and work. It’s important to find a healthy balance when taking on the extra load. If you’re the mom of a baby, this might look like learning to work around your infant’s feeding schedule or nap time. Our J35 Wearable Breast Pumps can be a great companion for that

If you have older children, it could look like learning to work around their school schedules or extracurricular activities. And if you have a partner, it could look like learning to find a flow with their work schedule and availability. 

Whatever your scenario might look like, knowing how to incorporate these other factors into your daily schedule is important. Figure out the best way for you. This could mean you and your partner alternate days for who takes the kids to practice. It could look like you seeing if your kids can carpool to and/or from school with another kid in the neighborhood sometimes. It can look like flexing your work schedule when you need to. Whatever it takes for you.

4. Set Boundaries 

As with anything in life, you have to set boundaries. Without them, it’s easy to become overwhelmed. You have to do what you need to do to keep yourself and your household on track. Learn to say  no  when necessary. Delegate tasks to decrease your chances of burnout. Be honest with your boss about the work-life balance you require. Don’t answer emails after hours. Set your boundaries and stick to them.

5. Carve Out Space to Refuel

As a working mom, there’s a lot to take on and it’s easy to get so lost in the responsibilities of both your career and motherhood that you leave no time for yourself. In order to not get burnt out, you have to ensure you’re making time for necessary self care. This looks different for each and every mom, so identify what your self-care needs are and implement them into your routines. As the saying goes, you can’t pour from an empty cup — so don’t even try to. Make time to tend to yourself and love on yourself. You deserve it.

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