The document discusses balancing motherhood, life, and business. It begins by explaining the author's experience starting her own business and realizing she prioritized the business over self-care. After having a child, she found balancing even more challenging but has since found ways to maintain equilibrium. She offers advice to others, emphasizing acceptance of limited time, patience, enjoying moments with children, relying on support systems, and establishing routines while remaining flexible.

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When I was first asked if I would be interested in being a guest
writer for this issue of I AM WOMAN I immediately thought “Yes”!
Knowing this issue is dedicated to motherhood and life balance,
I was sure I could share something that might prove helpful or
inspiring for others, or perhaps just give a few people a giggle. I
am a mother, I have a life and I run my own business. I manage to
balance all of these so writing this piece should be an easy task,
right? Wrong!
Who am I to offer tips, stories or advice on the motherhood and
life balance subject? Well, this seems a good place to begin. In
2011 I took the plunge from being an employee to a business
owner. I’ve always worked in the field of Intellectual Property,
particularly trademarks. I started my own company in this field
because, simply, I love it. My passion in this area is primarily
with small and start-up businesses. I love being a part of the
excitement my clients have for their new businesses and brands.
I love being able to assist others in protecting their brands, and, I
love being a part of their start-up journey.
This was my first balancing act – mother to a new business and
still ensuring I had a life. If I am honest, that first ‘baby’ was the
number one priority for a long time (just like a real life human
baby is!). I am sure a lot of people can relate to this. I had to
invest in my new business to promote all its offerings before I
had a healthy ‘marketing budget’ that allowed me to outsource
such tasks.
Looking back now I realise the balancing beam wasn’t level for
around 12 months or so – my social life, health and wellbeing and
self-care missed out for a bit.
About 12 months after I started my business I found out I was
pregnant with my first child. Ruby arrived in June 2013 and then
I really came to appreciate the need to find the right balance
in life. Some days I think dealing with motherhood, life and
business is a juggling act rather than a balancing act! I think
mums are amazing jugglers. I know I didn’t fully appreciate this
until I became a mum myself – now, I realise I can juggle balance
an alarming number of things at one time, and recognise this
unique talent in other mums too. I think we should all take a
moment to pat ourselves on the back every now and then and
remember that we are capable and we are doing a good job and
we are balancing our lives well.
During 2012 and 2013 I was regularly contributed articles to
a small business site in Australia, having a monthly article
published in my field of work (being trademark law). I’ve always
been comfortable writing on this subject. I know the subject well
and I know I can share useful information and educate others.
But…writing on a more personal note demands that I really think
about what I am writing and what others may wish to read. In
March 2013 (three months prior to my daughter arriving), I wrote
an article about how I was preparing my business for a baby. In
September 2013 (three months after my daughter was born) I
wrote a follow up article, reviewing whether my ‘preparation’ had
paid off. It’s funny re-reading these now, some two years later.
I was clearly quite naïve when writing the March 2013 article –
I truly believed that if I planned everything just ‘right’ and was
super organised then everything would go off without a hitch
and balancing baby, business and life would be simple. Ha!
Nap when baby naps they told me. Take
time for yourself they told me. Check
emails just once a day they told me. Eat
properly and be healthy they told me.
Make sure you get out of the house and
socialise with other adults they told me. It
seems these are the sorts of things that
are easier said than done. Baby napping
for me meant a small window of time to
spend with my first baby (the non-human
business baby). Getting ‘out of the house’
and seeing other adults did happen I am
pleased to say. There are other adults –
and I spoke to them – at the supermarket
and petrol station!
Fast-forward a couple of years to present
day and I think I’ve managed to keep the
balancing beam pretty even for a little
while now. Whilst it’s lovely to think you
can nap when baby naps and all those
other things, for a lot of mums, especially
in this day and age, it isn’t necessarily
viable. So many of us are involved in
careers and jobs that are demanding;
time is seemingly in short supply for
a lot of us!
For all those new to motherhood,
especially those who are seeking how to
balance their new role as a mum with life
and/or business/work, or perhaps those
who are yet to embark on the amazing
journey of motherhood (and, it truly is
amazing), I’d like to offer a few realistic
thoughts to help you manage it all:
No. 1 Acceptance.
Don’t beat yourself up and sweat over the
small things. Accept that you have less
time for yourself (or your work) now that
a child is in the picture. This is a fact. The
sooner it’s accepted, the sooner it will be
less stressful!
No. 2 Patience.
Almost immediately after becoming a
parent I became a more patient person.
Most mothers (and fathers) that I have
spoken to have said the same thing.
Impatience simply doesn’t work, in my
opinion, with children. It’s a quality that
now extends into all aspects of my life,
including my work.
No. 3 Enjoyment.
Yes it’s tiring, yes it’s full on but being
a mum is a heap of fun too. Now, I am
mum to a two year old, so I have a really
little person running around! She’s got
a great sense of humour and I make
sure I consciously take time to enjoy her.
To enjoy us. Likewise, when I have my
business hat on I take moments to ensure
that I am still enjoying what I do. If I’m not
enjoying something, I make changes. It’s
easier to keep stress down when you’re
enjoying life.
No 4 Support.
In leading up to the birth of my daughter,
one thing “they” told me was to ensure
I had support and not to be afraid to ask
for help. This was the most useful piece of
advice given to me then, and possibly the
most useful tip I can pass on. Balancing
all that we have to balance can be
stressful – I don’t think that’s avoidable.
It’s how we manage this that matters I
think. Support is key. For example, having
family and friends by your side if you
ever need to vent or require advice (from
someone that’s been there and done
that). I consider child-care to fall under
the category of support. My daughter
attends a child-care centre two days a
week. This is truly what allows me to find
the right balance with everything. This
provides me uninterrupted work time.
It provides her with socialisation and
education. It means that the other days
of the week I am less stressed and
therefore able to be a better mum than
I would be otherwise.
No 5. Routine.
A lot of people will tell you that kids love
routine. I think when possible routines
are truly helpful. Everyone’s routine
is different, but simply having one in
place will help balance motherhood, life
and work. A routine will help your days
become more predictable. Once a routine
has been established, you’ll be able to
figure out when you have time to fit in
the housework, when you have time to
socialise, when you have time to work,
when you have time to play, etc. Referring
back to my earlier thoughts – acceptance
and patience – be prepared to be
constantly updating and tweaking your
routine. Kids seem to have an uncanny
knack to change as soon as the routine is
established. I think they just like to keep
us on our toes! [IAW]
5words
By Jacqui Pryor
to
reenergise your life