Mother’s day, stay at home mother’s, working mother’s it doesn’t matter they are busy and they are awesome. It has a nice ring to it. As a child, it’s a special day to say “thanks” to mom for everything she has done. And, for many of us, as parents, receiving a special card from a would-be Hallmark artist in the house, or getting a wake-up breakfast in bed from a miniature hotelier who resembles the child you put to bed the night before – Mother’s Day is nice. And in terms of job satisfaction, being a “mom” is one of the best titles going.
That said, the reality of the other 364 days is a little more hectic! For working moms — working outside or at the home, the goal seems to be how do we take the magic of that one “special day” and try to bring a little more “balance” to the hectic reality of everyday life.
Working moms are always looking for ways to be more efficient. OK, this is not a new revelation, but let’s be honest: it’s never been more true than in today’s fast-paced world. Some statistics show the trend impacting moms. Last year the Pew Foundation released findings that showed moms are the breadwinners in a record 40% of households with children.
As the lines of work and personal lives continue to blur, moms are faced with increasingly complex schedules – families and work responsibilities pulling them in myriad directions. And sometimes technology doesn’t always help! How many of us, while attending a child’s school play, or soccer game, have quickly glanced at our mobile phone only to be suddenly sucked into the swirling vortex of endless work emails or texts?
The ceaseless ebb of work concerns and responsibilities no longer ends at 5 pm for most working professionals. And despite the best intentions to balance work and family, professional and personal, the reality is that technology today is often shared – we often text work notes from our personal mobile phone. Who hasn’t stopped, looked at their phone and said, “I wonder who that is” calling.
The result? Today, some working professionals have even taken to carrying two smartphones – one personal and one professional, to help separate their business and personal worlds. This is an effort –to be more “in the moment” with either work, or family. And, of course, in terms of “unplugging” it seems that there must be a better way to find a balance.
Today, fortunately, there is improved technology that helps separate professional and personal business text messaging without the excesses of carrying two mobile phones.
My company, HeyWire Business and our Business Messenger app, has created a solution for business and personal texting. With Business Messenger, busy professionals can separate their professional and personal texting. Business Messenger text-enables a business landline phone number to provide a separate, dedicated number for texting and calls. As a result, they can keep their personal number private. And their messaging inbox is no longer a mish-mash of personal and business texts.
The app is designed for business, so it has features like a “co-worker directory” that lets you quickly and easily message anyone in your business organization. (They automatically show up in your address book the minute they download the app). Other customizable features include auto-reply, to set a customized message to let folks know when you are unavailable. And the ability to assign different ringtones to each contact, so the next time a text comes in from your boss, you can get a quick audio cue, letting you know if it’s important to respond or not—and you won’t be tempted to look at EVERY message. Business Messenger is just one of the many ways working moms can utilize software, apps or processes to gain efficiency.
In terms of improving efficiency, it’s not just limited to technology. Other analog thoughts:
- Night-before Preparation: If possible, it’s great to pack up the kids school bags & lunches the night before so it is one less step to get them out the door in the morning.
- Share the Ride: Creating and participating in a neighborhood or school car pool is a great way to share the challenges of being a mom/chauffeur.
- Birthday gifts: Don’t leave birthday present shopping till the last minute. The fewer “firedrills” for last-minutes gifts you have, the better. If possible shop well ahead. (Make sure you have a good hiding place at home, or pre-wrap them, or both to avoid any early surprises.)
- Family time: It often helps to “turn off” for a few hours. Setting aside a few “technology free” hours to read a book with the kids is invaluable. Put your laptop, tablet or phone out of reach so the temptation to just “check one more e-mail” is removed. And make this an iron-clad rule: between 6-8pm each day, for example, is family time, not phone time.
As we all celebrate this Mother’s Day, let’s think about simple ways be more efficient, and more “in the moment” for work and for personal time. Because being a mom is still the best job in the world.
