Whether you are seasoned or new to working parenthood, completing day-to-day tasks, launching and managing your career and family life, maintaining work-life balance, and utilizing “me-time” can seem daunting. There is too much to do in such little time, which makes these common obstacles of a working parent overwhelming and seem like one BIG challenge to overcome.
If this list of challenges resonates with you, Daisy Dowling, executive coach and author of Workparent, recommends the simple task of breaking things down. She states, “If you can break things down and look at a discreet part of the problem [you] can then start identifying some solutions [and] techniques that can help you make progress against this BIG challenge.”
You might be thinking, easier said than done, right? Well, to maximize your experience in work-life integration, Daisy Dowling has provided a few customizable techniques, tips, and tricks that will help you along your journey of being a working parent.
The First Technique: Take Charge of Your Working Parent Template
Motherhood is unique in the sense that the experience of raising a child depends on preconceived notions of what it means to be a mom. These notions are based on your exposure to your family of origin, personal experience, interpersonal communication and observation, social norms, and social media platforms. There is no one “right” way to raise a child while maintaining a career. Our history and beliefs about what makes a good working mom will impact how we approach these two roles. Daisy Dowling labels these beliefs as a Working Parent Template.
According to Daisy, working parent templates are collage-like pictures that you have in your head as to what it means to be a working parent based on different pieces of observations, advice, or experiences of working parenthood over time. This template is very strong as it influences your thoughts, feelings, and decisions about working parenthood. Now, having an idea of being a working parent and applying that idea to your unique experience may not always be in alignment. Sometimes, the idea of how you want to be a working parent is not possible due to the challenges of day-to-day life. Thus, it is important to take your “beliefs” about working parenthood and adapt them to create your unique template. Otherwise, you can find yourself under the burden of “should,” in which you compare yourself to other working parents’ experiences, even if it does not apply to your situation. “The burden of “should” can control you, so push back on and understand your “should’s” by taking control of your working parent template.”
Think about what fuels your picture and ask yourself, “What’s the picture I want for my working mom experience?” This might change based on your situation, but make the template “your own and think about what works for you, your family, your resources, your career, your ambitions, and your unique needs. Then you might find working motherhood a little bit easier.”
Want To Learn More?
Click here to be redirected to Daisy Dowling’s Mothers Lead the Way video and follow along for the next series of techniques presented by Daisy Dowling. Also, check out Daisy’s book, Workparent: The Complete Guide to Succeeding on the Job, Staying True to Yourself, and Raising Happy Kids.
Need A Reference? Here Is What A Working Parent Template Can Look Like
References and Further Reading
Dowling, D. (2021). Workparent: The Complete Guide to Succeeding on the Job, Staying True to Yourself, and Raising Happy Kids. Harvard Business Review Press.