Making enough time to balance work with motherhood can sometimes feel like an impossible task, especially when you feel like you should be at home looking after your kids when at work, and working when you’re at home looking after your kids. It’s a viscous cycle and one that never seems to end.

Puzzled? Here are some tips that can help you balance work with motherhood.

Be organised and prepare ahead

Plan when and where you can get jobs done – keeping well organised can help you relax and feel in control.

Whether you use a paper organiser, phone or computer, make these tools your best friend. There are plenty of fantastic calendars, apps and online shopping lists that can help streamline your life and help your downtime become just that!

Leave work at work

When you get home, attempt to leave your work behind by putting your internet and phone aside. If you’re distracted by your work, you can miss out on so much quality time with your family. It’s easily said, but do try to switch off when you get home and your family will thank you.

Get plenty of sleep

Making enough time to balance work and motherhood shouldn’t see you sacrifice your time to sleep. Getting enough sleep is too underrated, and can easily affect your ability to get all the tasks you need to get done effectively the next day. It will help your mental, spiritual and physical wellbeing.

Prioritise

Balancing work with motherhood doesn’t mean you have to do it all! Doing everything, and especially all at once, will increase stress and see your priorities of work and caring for your family fly out the window. Do what you can do, and forget about the other’s expectations.

Support and be supported by other working mothers

Remember that many other mothers are in the same position and can understand what you’re going through. Supporting and being there for each other can be a great portal for advice, tips and even taking turns to look after each other’s children. You don’t need to feel like you’re being swamped alone, tap into the network available to you.

Communicate with your partner

Parenthood with two fulltime workers can be quite a struggle if you don’t communicate with your partner. Help each other out, figure out your reciprocal schedules for the week and work around them, sharing responsibilities. A full diary and long list of tasks will seem so much lighter after speaking and sharing the load.

Work flexibility

Talk to your employers about the possibility of having flexible hours. Chances are that they will understand, making your balancing act a lot easier. If they don’t understand, consider whether it’s not the right workplace for your time of life.

Take care of yourself

If you’re stressed and not getting time to look after yourself, everything else can start to fall apart. Don’t put too many expectations on yourself to get the impossible amount of tasks done in one day – try to enjoy the journey along the way. Hire a babysitter or nanny, and take that time for yourself – whether it’s a shopping trip, dinner with the girls/your husband or just time at the gym, it will help toward stress relief. A relaxed and revived mother is a happy mother!