Go on admit it – you are torn between ‘thank goodness’ and ‘oh my, it’s gone too quick’.
Personally I’m in the ‘woo hoo, finally some routine back’ phase. And yes I ruddy loved this photo doing the rounds on FB and twitter! If I had a pool that would totally be me.
So here are my 3 top tips on how to ease gently back into the school/work/life balancing act again.
1.Be Guilt Free
I only ever managed a handful of first day of school drop offs. This was difficult because I missed the chance to meet other parents and classmates at these times. You feel like a constant outsider because you are the parent who wasn’t there. Don’t beat yourself up or hold yourself to an impossible standard. Double check that you are doing everything that you can to accommodate both school and work. Then, let that guilt go, knowing that you are still present in your kids’ lives, even when you can’t physically be with them.
2. Manage your time
Managing your time, especially during the back-to-school season will never be perfect or foolproof,and it is a balancing act that can cause disruption as you get adjusted to the new school year and schedules. Know that you are not alone, and we are all muddling through it together. Use your diary and remember to keep a track of everything.
3. Commit to one thing, not everything.
Many parents I know are stressed about the things they believe they “should” be doing for their kids and at work. That might mean greeting your kids with home-baked cookies after school every day, being available for every evening meeting or hand-sewing those dreaded world book day costumes. But many of our lives are very different than our parents’ were, so trying to live up to every high standard we set ourselves is doomed to fail. Be more realistic.
Remember you are rocking this work/life integration and no one can tell you otherwise…
#Resilience #Backtoschool #worklifebalance
