Check out 16 Return-To-Work Programs In India For Ambitious Women Like You!
Getting back to work after you have had a baby is not always easy. One needs to really focus on creating a balance between the home and workplace.
The job scenario has become extremely competitive in today’s market. With opportunities floating everywhere, the need to carve a niche with sharpened skills has also edged. With this changing environment one needs to be ahead in the game almost all the time. But, when you are a new mommy who has just joined back, leaving a 6 month old baby in a day care or with a caretaker, it becomes a run against time to keep the balls in air.
But, like everything in the world this too can be balanced. Take deep breaths and focus on priorities. A 6 month old baby is very adjusting and needs proper food, care and positive environment. Select a good caretaker or day care, one you can trust your piece of heart with. Get cameras installed or select a daycare with live monitoring system not for spying but, for assisting your caretaker in situations you think are critical for your child. Also a peep once in 2-3 hours can help soothe your separation anxiety.
Having said this, focus on work with planned breaks for monitoring. Try giving shots at new and unexplored territories at work, which might be less demanding and require comparatively less input and time but, yet would help you shape your career in the future. Try not to run away from responsibilities because they only train you for betterment at workplace and home.
Along with this, try getting work from home options so that commute times could be minimized with extra focus on self development. Also try taking breaks from work with or without baby for self relaxation. A healthy partnership between the spouses and mature division of responsibility could work wonders for both.
Stress only makes life unmanageable and takes a toll on one physically and mentally. As it is rightly said, our body is our temple so a simple 20-30 minute physical workout/relaxation routine can do wonders in relieving stress. Experiment with in-house cardio, yoga, stretching routines or make a customized plan fitting your body and lifestyle requirements. Cutting on caffeine, sugars and promoting healthy diet can give one those extra energy bouts and ward off the dizzy starts to a day. Having said all this keeping a balanced diet and body is a key to a balanced and calm mind. Allow yourself the luxury of those 5 minute water breaks where you don’t have to worry about the next task at hand and what your baby is at the daycare or at home. Listen to a song ,one that gives you pleasure once in a while.
Lastly, do not fall in the trap of being a perfectionist. Perfection is a myth , real life is full of experiments ,crests and troughs. All days will not be same ,neither will be all situations. So there might be tough days both at work and home but, then there will be pleasant ones as well on both fronts. Being a mommy itself is a huge task and being a sincere professional itself is a compliment. Do not worry about being a super employee and super mom at the same time. Aspiring for performing best is great but, fretting about being the best is just a waste of energy. Sometimes continuity is more important than reaching the pinnacle. As they say slow and steady wins the race.
Enjoy the ride and the colors it brings with it. A growing baby, keen on learning from you and a career graph where your learning and ideas get utilized and implemented makes you a complete individual. Being a complete person is an accomplishment. Bask in it , give yourself the due credit and let yourself flow with time. One day, you will see that consistency has made you a great employee and in the process your child looks up to his super mom.
Image via Pexels
A software professional who has her heart in writing. Words resonate and make a profound impact on me. I love reading and writing poems,short stories and articles that can enthuse one with positive energy read more...
This post has published with none or minimal editorial intervention. Women's Web is an open platform that publishes a diversity of views, individual posts do not necessarily represent the platform's views and opinions at all times.
Stay updated with our Weekly Newsletter or Daily Summary - or both!
People say that women are the greatest enemies of women. I vehemently disagree. It is the patriarchal mindset that makes women believe in the wrong ideology.
The entire world celebrates International Women’s Day on March 8, 2024. It should be a joyful day, but unfortunately, not all women are entitled to this privilege, as violence against women is at its peak. The experience of oppression pushes many women to choose freedom. As far as patriotism is concerned, feminism is not a cup of tea in this society.
What happens when a woman decides to stand up for herself? Does this world easily accept the decisions of women in this society? What inspires them to be free of the clutches of the oppression that women have faced for ages? Most of the time, women do not get the chance to decide for themselves. Their lives are always at the mercy of someone, which can be their parents, siblings, husband, or children.
In some cases, women do not feel the need to make any decisions. They are taught to obey the patriarchal system, which makes them believe that they are right. In my family, I was never taught to make decisions on my own. It was always my parents who bought dresses and all that I needed.
14 years after her last feature film Dhobi Ghat, storyteller extraordinaire comes up with her new film, Laapataa Ladies, a must watch.
*Some spoilers alert*
Every religion around the world dictates terms to women. The onus is always on women to be ‘modest’ and cover their faces and bodies so men can’t be “tempted”, rather than on men to keep their eyes where they belong and behave like civilized beings. So much so that even rape has been excused on the grounds of women eating chowmein or ‘men will be men’. I think the best Hindi movie retort to this unwanted advice on ‘akeli ladki khuli tijori ki tarah hoti hai’ (an alone woman is like an open jewellery box) came from Geet in Jab We Met – Kya aap gyan dene ke paise lete hain kyonki chillar nahin hain mere paas.
The premise of Laapataa Ladies is beautifully simple – two brides clad in the ghunghat that covers their identity get mixed up on a train. Within this Russian Doll, you get a comedy of errors, a story of getting lost, a commentary on patriarchy’s attitude towards women, a mystery, and a tale of finding oneself, all in one. Done with a mostly light touch that has you laughing and nodding along.
Please enter your email address