LOCKDOWN MUSINGS FROM A MOTHER AND ENTREPRENEUR

While the current COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the conventional work-life balance, it has also given working parents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to bond with their children like never before

Both motherhood and entrepreneurship are not without their challenges. And being a mom entrepreneur is like raising two babies at the same time. But the good news is that motherhood helps you develop the skills necessary for being an entrepreneur.

You are able to set your priorities right, you develop a great intuitive power and start trusting your own opinion, and most importantly, you excel at time management and multi-tasking! These are the same skills that helped me during the lockdown days.

While the outbreak of this tiny virus has disrupted the conventional work-life balance, it has also given us a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to bond with our children like never before. I never imagined I’d be able to spend so much time with my son. Of course, that also meant constantly juggling between work and childcare. This pushed me into putting a daily schedule in place, that thankfully, worked well for us.

The daily schedule is completely jam-packed, of course. Since schools have become restricted to online classes, I now have an additional responsibility of teaching my son.

So, time between 7.00 am to 11.00 am is devoted to my son; he being too young needs assistance in learning and taking classes. After his online classes are over, I introduce him to some engaging activities to keep him busy. That’s when my office work starts.

Duration between 12.00 pm to 7.00 pm is the time for office and between 10.00 pm to 11.00 pm, I spend some time again in checking emails. This is how a typical working day looks like for me. Amid the rush, I really look forward to the hustle at work; innovation is something I directly take care of and I love doing that.

In between childcare and office work, it is also very important for working mothers to take out some time for themselves. The early mornings have become my best friends, and have allowed me to spend time between myself.

This time between 5 am and 6:30 am allow me to do anything I want to do – reading, working out or painting! During the day, my work drives me and keeps me going and I usually don’t feel the need to re-charge. However, there are certain unusual days when I really need to relax.

That is when I take a five minute break to shut my eyes, take some deep breaths and listen to my favourite song.

After the hectic weekdays, the weekends are reserved for my son, and that gives us a chance to spend quality time together. Apart from that I follow my passion for painting and spend time with family, a treat I can hardly afford during weekdays.

It’s not just me, there are so many women who are managing their businesses in such an unpredictable time while simultaneously providing the love, care, comfort and support their families need. This may seem like a daunting task but there are simple things that mom entrepreneurs can do to make the most of this time with their families.

Make sure you spend some time with your children before you start working. This will calm their anxiety and help them settle into the new routine. Have a clearly defined time for working and communicate it with your family.

Keep a dedicated space in the house that is just for your office work. Finally, as an entrepreneur, ask yourself how your business can do good for the society at large and find creative ways to engage with your audience.