Diaries of a Single Working Mother - Part 1

This is a three part series that shares an insight into being a working single mother, the cycle of emotions and attitudes and how to gain Work Life Balance.  We discuss how to enjoy your children more, how to live the life you were born to, how to overcome a negative attitude toward your job and be a more productive YOU. Enjoy helpful work, life balance tips and start living again!

These dairy entries are for every woman, single or not because at the end of the day, the same challenges face us all… Too much to do, in too short a time with too much going out in to the world and not enough coming back in.

Last year I started working full time (just for a while) - As an employee, after 6 and a half years of self employment and full availability for my children, I feel I should share what I discovered.  I have written many articles about Work/Life Balance and working full time took me to new heights of learning how to juggle kids, Top Secret Women’s Business, house and social life - and most importantly my energy and personal attitiude.  Like never before, I had to take my own advise….!

You may be familiar with this scenario -  6am wake, 8.30am start at work and a 5.30pm finish, getting kids ready for school, dressing myself, lunch boxes, Load of laundry on, sweep the floor, get kids to school early (or at least on time), rush to work - too much traffic this morning… Going from being available to no spare time at all,  a house who’s tidiness is failing me and a car that needs a service and a clean,  mail to open and dinner to cook and let’s not even mention laundry, lunch boxes and dust… So on and so forth!

How does a woman ‘really’ have a balanced, successful, happy life and still find time to exercise and prepare healthy fresh meals, entertain the idea of a relationship and water the plants? In this part one I briefly touch into the emotions and mindset of a working mum and give some ‘Pearls’ to get yourself off the merry-go-round of exhaustion, discontent and dissonance.

So the Diary begins -

Today is about what I feel and what I need to be reminded of….

Today I feel the biggest challenge which really pulls at my heart strings is my decreased availability for my children. They once had me at their beck and call and now there is barely enough time to read a bedtime story - or so it seems…. I missed my daughter’s last game of softball, her music concert invite got lost in a pile of paperwork and my son is only 9 and needs his mummy hugs still, he is fighting with his sister more and more, I suspect it’s to get my attention….  My expectations of my children have increased exponentially to ‘help out’ and make this easier for me and I’ve suddenly forgotten they are still kids who need my time….. I feel guilty!

Work is demanding and I feel unappreciated. I wonder if they know how much I really don’t want to be here andhow much I am sacrificing? I’m not really doing what I want but for now it’s a means to an end… When is it going to end?

I’m so tired, who’s going to save me? I want relief, my mind is consuming me and I don’t like where it’s going… I feel like I am selling out on something I want far greater… !

Have you ever felt like that? Want to SNAP out of it?

Pearls of Wisdom that assist in creating change - spend time contemplating the ones taht really resonate for you… it’s time to change!

• Whatever happens is meant to be - with reason - Go and find the reason!
• What never changes, never changes
• You are in control, are you?
• If the pattern repeats, there is still something more to learn, so keep your eyes openand learn quickly
• The universe never gives you situations you can’t handle
• Search for the positive meaning in things that ‘happen’- there is always a fresh perspective to ‘get’
• Have faith in yourself and what is…
• Never give up on your dreams and purpose in life
• The Universe likes to test your resolve and conviction when you’ve decided to do something, so be prepared to fight for what you want
• Stay focussed and keep the prize at the end so big and beautiful you never stop wanting it
• You get what you get, if you don’t value what you have, so start valuing what you have now!
• If you don’t know what you really want, how are you ever going to get it?
• The clearer you are, the more the universe knows how to deliver it to you
• Your security is only what you decide it is - Real security comes from what you provide for YOURSELF
• When you put your future in another’s hands, who knows where you’ll end up?
• Take full control so you can be in the drivers seat
• The only time that really ever exists is NOW, take the time to spend time with the most important people in the world - when ever you can
• Time is precious, do what you really want with it instead of what others want for you
• What you think you create into REALITY, so be sure to calibrate your mindset into a healthy, positive and productive one
• Organisation and time management is key, imperative, essential, critical

A simple little reminder that “you are the only one who is responsible for everything you experience,”  is enough to shake you back into a very clear reality - nothing quite like taking control of your life, hey?

So off to work I go - Hy Ho, Hy Ho, Hy Ho…

The big question is… How do you stay feeling great, energised, happy, validated, committed, patient, peaceful, calm and organised when so much of your life relies on you being on task?

In Part 2, I share TEN TIPS to change, grow and get organised - So you can enjoy a balanced,  productive and happy life in 2010.

Related posts:

1. Diaries of a Single Working Mother - Part 2 Part 2 The diary continues after the Pearls of Wisdom...