Being a mom means taking on many different roles. How can you easily and seamlessly go from work mode to family mode? From family mode to work mode, from work mode to be-with-my-girls mode, from family mode to being with myself and taking care of myself mode.
It can be taxing, but you can learn how to reduce stress and compartmentalize your day.
It all has to do with creating space. Let me tell you why it is so important as working moms that we compartmentalize.
We do it all the time and you’ve probably learned how to compartmentalize without realizing it. Otherwise, how are you going to get your job done when you’re thinking about how much you miss your kids or how your son was upset when you walked out the door this morning? How are you going to be present with your kids when you know you’ve got this looming deadline? How are you going to be with your husband when you know your kids are missing you?
It’s so difficult, but the way that we get through it is by focusing on one role at a time.
Having said that, compartmentalizing can create its own set of challenges. So I want to share with you one very important way to deal with some of the stress that comes from compartmentalizing.
Ease the stress of compartmentalization
That is by creating buffer zones. Create physical space between each mode that you need to be in – mama mode, wife mode, cleaning the house mode, daughter mode, sister mode. Creating some physical space between them makes a huge difference in the stress that comes and builds up from compartmentalizing.
I mean literally making space in between. I’m going to give you some different ways to do that.
Lighting a candle can really help to create a physical space for relaxing.
How to create space between work and home
The most natural way that we were compartmentalizing work and personal life in the past is our commute. Leaving our families and heading to work, or leaving work and heading to our families created a natural space for us to be able to wind down from one thing and prepare for the next. Whether that commute was 15 minutes or an hour, you had the time to readjust your brain and get ready for that next mode.
In the pandemic, when we all started working from home, that went away for a lot of us. If you’re in a hybrid mode now, where you’re not necessarily gaining that buffer time, you have to create it for yourself.
There are lots of different ways that you can do this.
Insert an unrelated activity between your roles
It could be by getting out of your house and taking a walk before you start working and then getting out of your house and taking a walk before you end your workday.
If it’s too cold to go outside, simply do 10 jumping jacks right before you start and another after.
If that sounds like too much, then you could look at closing your door and doing some deep breathing for three minutes. Find that quiet place and just breathe deeply. Do three minutes of meditation or three minutes of deep breathing before you start work and three minutes after.
It creates space so that you can transition between work mode and family mode.
Whatever it takes for you to physically just get into yourself so that you can pivot and switch gears and move into that next mode.
Create a signal that you’ve shifted roles
One way to do this is to light a candle when it’s time to start winding down for the day. Don’t just go straight to bed. Getting into your pajamas is also a way to signal bedtime. This can signal the whole family, “Hey, wind down time, mama lights the candle,” and everybody knows it’s time to bring it down a notch.
Another way that you can do this is by thinking about an activity that you enjoy and doing that for a few moments. Reading a book or listening to a podcast can signal to your brain that it’s time to switch.
“We were doing this one thing. This is our kind of mini-break. And now we’re moving on to the next thing.”
Taking the time to switch will help to reduce the stress related to compartmentalizing.
That’s what I found for myself. That’s what I found for the women that I coach and work with. And I hope that that’s what you find for yourself.
Commute creates a natural space for us to be able to wind down from one thing and prepare for the next.
Take Action
So these ideas that I just shared with you, please take one of them and act on it today. If you have other ideas for how to compartmentalize your day to live stress-free, share those with me and share this with the other mamas.
P.S. If you want more resources to help you thrive as a working mom, my Work-Life Harmony bundle can help you find joy in each day and keep you connected with your goals.
Get the roadmap to Work-Life Harmony here!
P.S. If you want more resources to help you thrive as a working mom, my Work-Life Harmony bundle can help you find joy in each day and keep you connected with your goals.
Get the roadmap to Work-Life Harmony here!
