Balancing Career Growth and Motherhood: 3 Strategies for Success
Whether you are looking for a promotion in your current role, to change career fields completely, or start a side hustle each of these tasks can be daunting while also trying to care for your kid(s) at home and take care of yourself too. Read this blog post on Enhancing your Health and Wellness to learn more ways to improve and balance it all.
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Being a mama is a challenging task. Especially when you want to Navigate Career Success as a Busy Working Mama; it is one thing to be able to coast along at work, but it is another when you want to improve your current career or start a new professional endeavor.
Within this blog post, I explain three ways to grow within your professional and career development as a busy working mama and give other helpful tools in order to succeed in your personal development goals. I personally enjoy working while also being a mama, and it is essential to have something to call your own if that brings value to you.
A lot of working mamas experience more independence, and fulfillment, and have an overall sense of accomplishment being able to both work and be a great mama. I know this is how I feel, and I want to encourage other mamas to feel like they can also “do it all”, even if it is more of a challenge or when they need more support.
Check out my Amazon Associates Page to see my favorite products for some of these activities. Check out my digital downloads page to view helpful resources to make each of these ways easier to accomplish.
Let’s dive in, and I am so happy you are here to be educated, inspired, and connect with other “bold mamas”!
- Learn New Skills
Learning new skills is so important in order to grow within your professional and career development. It is important to gain confidence and knowledge in whatever goal you are trying to reach. If there is something that interests you, take the time to look into ways you could gain this knowledge.
There are so many ways to learn new skills and enjoy the process along the way. For example, reading books, attending conferences or classes, listening to podcasts or audiobooks, finding a mentor, etc. The possibilities are endless and it is all about the time, effort, and energy you are willing and able to put in.
It is also about finding what works for you and your learning style. You can do this by asking questions. For example, are you an auditory or visual learner? Do you like to learn independently or would you rather be surrounded by a support group? Do you need accountability and motivation from an outside source?
Being honest with yourself about what will currently work for you and your situation at home, will be extremely helpful in staying consistent in learning a new skill. Someone with a brand new baby who is not getting optimal sleep may have less focused time to learn a new skill than someone who has kid(s) that are older and more independent.
Give yourself grace and remember if you are that new mama or someone who is unable to devote as much time as you would like to personal development, this may be just a season. Try to embrace where you are at, and enjoy the journey along the way.
- Build Relationships and Network
I am a believer in the saying, “It is all about who you know”. Having other people in your corner is huge in order to help you grow in your professional and career development. I know I would not be where I am at today without practicing relationship-building skills both inside and outside of professional environments.
Someone may end up becoming a resource for you to learn something new, someone may end up being a reference for a new position, or someone may end up being able to collaborate with you in order to learn new ideas.
You never know who you will meet along your personal development journey, and it is so important to keep relationships going after you meet someone and follow up with them. Being able to do this in a genuine and authentic way is also a huge win. It will not only make you seem more interested, but it will make the process easier when you do need to ask for a favor.
Pro tip: send them a handwritten thank you note or email with an e-gift card after you meet someone who positively impacts you.
Some ways you could meet more people and build more relationships could be through networking events, professional associations, or online communities. There are endless opportunities, and if you have an abundance mindset about people you will come in contact with, even more opportunities will open for you as a result of this positive energy output.
Something I try to do before I step outside is ask myself, “Whose life am I going to impact today?” Being able to look outside yourself in order to help others is a huge gift. When you are in the process of networking, think about the other person and ask them what you can do for them and how you can help them reach their goals as well. They will be so appreciative.
- Outsource Tasks
In order to grow in your professional and career development, this means something might have to give in other aspects of your life. I know as busy mamas we want to feel like we can accomplish everything ourselves, but that is not always possible given the amount of time or resources we have available to us on a given day.
In order to start considering what you should choose to outsource, think about what you already spend a large amount of time on in the day that you either wish you could give to someone else, or how you could reduce the amount of time spent on that task. Some ideas for outsourcing could include hiring someone to clean your house, buy a Roomba to clean your floors, meal delivery services, having someone else in your family do grocery or store pick-up, use Amazon Fresh etc.
Another huge part of this as mamas is deciding if we want to hire childcare or ask for help from others we trust in order to have more focused work time. Currently, working before my daughter wakes up, during her two nap times, and sometimes at night is enough time for me to accomplish what I need to throughout the day.
However, there may be a day that comes when this is not enough time depending on the needs of my business. I have to stay realistic about what I can accomplish and remember the fact that I am doing the best I can within my current circumstances.
Although thinking about outsourcing within the idea of childcare can be a tough decision, I know a lot of other mamas who appreciate the time to themselves or feel like having help brings benefits in other ways. This is something to at least consider with other members of your family and depending on what professional and career goals you are trying to reach.
Remember, it is important to discuss your needs with your support system and if “doing it all” is too much for you, think of alternative solutions and ways you can outsource so you can still make yourself a priority. You are just as important as everyone else, and so are your dreams, desires, and aspirations.
Here at The Bold Mama Co.™ we provide education, inspiration, and connection that all mamas could benefit from.
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Mama Whit XOXO
