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Tag: work

  • How to successfully balance work, parenting and love life

    How to successfully balance work, parenting and love life

    With Valentine’s Day today and the fact many of you have spoken to us through the blog and Facebook about being a single parent, eHarmony Australia has written a great post for us on how to better balance work, parenting and your love life. Enjoy! x

    Guest post sponsored by eHarmony Australia

    For single working parents, life can start to feel like one giant juggling act. Many parents struggle to strike a happy balance between their titles as mum, dad and colleague. In the hustle and bustle of day-to-day life, the role that usually gets sacrificed first is their search for love as a single man or woman.

    The good news is that successfully juggling work, parenting and romance doesn’t have to be a superhuman feat. Here’s a look at some tips and ideas for making it all seem more achievable.

    Relationships

    Photo credit

    Let go of the guilt

    The first step to feeling better about your lifestyle as a single working parent is to let go of the anxiety and guilt about things not being perfect. At the end of the day, very few people’s lives are actually ideal. From a historic perspective, single working parents are a relatively new group in society, and institutions like welfare, daycare and maternity leave haven’t quite caught up yet.

    The key is to stop searching for perfection and let go of the super-woman working mum image we so often see in the media. Once you do that, you’ll feel a lot less pressure about how your family life ought to look and function.

    Set clear boundaries

    Your different roles as a parent and a work colleague will often compete for your time and your attention. It’s important to draw clear boundaries to make sure you’re committing your full attention and care to each part of your life. That means things like switching off the work mobile phone when you’re bathing your kids and setting clear guidelines about not being contacted by the office on weekends.

    It’s important to think about when the most important times are to be around in your children’s lives, whether it’s when they wake up, when they come home from school or having a family dinner together.

    Relationship

    Photo credit

    Use your support network

    Being a single parent doesn’t have to mean doing everything on your own. Make the most of the support networks in your life, like your family and friends. Always ask your workplace to consider new incentives to make your life easier, like an office crèche or flexible start and finish hours.

    Finding a network of other single parents in your area is a great way to find like-minded people and gain advice on the best way for handling tricky situations. For instance any singles in Perth looking to meet people with a similar lifestyle, parenting groups often meet at South Beach for a swim or coffee at the Fig Café in Freemantle.

    Don’t sacrifice your love life

    Being a mum and a worker shouldn’t mean the end of your love life. You might not have the time to head out on blind dates, but there are plenty of other ways to meet eligible singles. Online dating for instance is an easy and convenient option that locates like-minded people in your area.

    Best of all, with the option to tailor your matches, online dating sites make it easy to find singles who share your love for children, as well as your other core values and attitudes.

    What are your tips for successfully managing work, parenting and love life?

  • 4. #BloggingPrompts: Share what you’re good at – you may be surprised where it leads

    4. #BloggingPrompts: Share what you’re good at – you may be surprised where it leads

    #BloggingPrompts

    When I first started blogging, I undertook Problogger’s 31 Days to Build A Better Blog. As part of that, Darren asked readers to start a series. I decided I’d do mine on how bloggers could gain media exposure. Being a journalist, I thought that was an easy one for me to do.

    Little did I know it would springboard into my own business (Mum PR) where I now work with a team to do PR, social media, blogger outreach, writing, marketing and media management for various clients. You just don’t know who’s reading!

    What could you explore on your blog? What are you good at that has business potential? Go on, we’d love to hear it!

    This mini post is part of a regular microblogging series, #BloggingPrompts. 

  • What I don’t miss about my old life

    What I don’t miss about my old life

    iPad3

    SOME days, being a Work at Home Mum (WAHM) and Stay At Home Mum (SAHM) leaves you tearing your hair out (usually the grey hairs if you’re rather skilful). You’ve heard it before, but it really is the hardest job in the world. Sitting at an office desk is child’s play.

    With Baby Holly battling a cold, there’s no such thing as sick leave. The boss is unlikely to give you a pay rise. And it’s hard not to be distracted by the crumbs on the kitchen floor when you’re either meant to be making that business call, blogging or feeding a hungry mouth. And that coffee break? What coffee break?

    However, there are some real advantages too:

    • The incessant ringing of telephones is no longer. Unless your four-year-old constantly has this conversation with herself using a shoe: “Brrp, brrp, Hello? Nan? Yes, yes, I know. I’ll be right over. Polly put the kettle on and we’ll have a Milo. Oh Nan, you’re so funny. Bye.’’
    • You don’t have to endure the workmate who eats their lunch at their desk and makes loud chewing noises. Eewww. Although, it is replaced with li’l princesses who spill their food ALL. OVER. THE. FLOOR.
    • Gone are the rumour mills. You know that workmate who wants to start a rumour about everything and everyone. And, when you’re not in earshot, most likely you. (By the way, I did not sleep with the boss. Well, the old boss, anyway.)
    • Not being told what to do all the time. Mind you, I do have one person in my ear constantly asking: “Mum, can you get me something to eat? I’m hungry’’. “Mum, can you play Snap with me?’’ “Mum, can you make me a pina colada with one of those little umbrellas and ice?’’ OK, so maybe not that last one. If I had stayed on at my workplace, my boss would now be my hubby. So I’m not escaping the boss regardless of where I “work’’.
    • There is no longer a commute to and from work every day. Not to mention the cost of parking. All I do now is reverse myself into a chair. Or the couch. With a laptop atop my lap (hmm, think I’ve been reading too much Dr Seuss).
    • You don’t have to work back late. Note the words “have to”. OK, so I’m the first to admit I sit up every night blogging or doing my PR biz. However, the kids have been bathed, fed and had bedtime books and songs. Hubby is busy watching An Idiot Abroad, so what else is a gal to do?
    • Most importantly, you don’t have to put up with other people peeing on the toilet seat or not flushing properly. Sorry, but it had to be said.

    Are you a WAHM or SAHM? What do you miss (or not miss) about working outside of the home?

  • When did being a mum become so complicated?

    When did being a mum become so complicated?

    smiling girl

    At what point did parenting become more complex than a Rubiks Cube after someone’s tampered with the stickers? Sorry, that was usually me. A week or so back I saw Kochie (of Sunrise fame) tweet:

    Gee Poppy, dates to park are complicated… Sunscreen, hats, drinks, snacks, spare nappy, clean clothes. Was it always this complicated?

    It’s one of the reasons I’m happier sitting on the couch watching the princesses slide down the indoor slide. Now to figure out how to get a swing set through the door.

    A fellow mum and I were discussing the “old days’’, when you were brought up by your mum, your nan, your aunties and half the neighbourhood who, really, just told you to “go outside and play’’. What exactly were all those women doing inside, anyway? They certainly weren’t on Facebook.

    When did being a mum become so complicated?

    Nowadays, we mums do much of the parenting role alone (unless you struck gold in the partner stakes). We sometimes also work or run businesses, we juggle five social media accounts and still manage to declutter every inch of our homes.

    We put added pressure on ourselves that our children’s Pumpkin Patch outfit stays clean, that their hands are constantly sterilised, they’re fed wholesome meals made from scratch (well, the packet says “homemade’’. Or is that “HomeBrand’’?) and their ponytail sits at a 45 degree angle from the top most point of the head. You do that, right?

    messy eating

    What happened to sending them out in the same pair of clothes they wore yesterday? Letting them eat a little dirt, along with some extra protein goodness via a worm or two? Why can’t their hair look more akin to a member of Rolling Stones than Justin Beiber?

    I think as parents, we’re our own worst enemies. Sure, keep our kids safe with sunscreen, boundaries in which to play and curfews. But do we go overboard when it comes to letting them be kids? Aren’t kids meant to have faces full of snot, dirt on their knees and a nappy showing off their plumber’s crack?

    Are our kids just too… perfectly pampered? Should we get rid of this notion of the perfect parent and cut ourselves some slack? The important thing, after all, is that our kids are healthy and happy. Right?

    What do you think? Is parenting getting far more complicated? And who’s to blame? *runs away quickly*

  • The Shed: C’mon, Aussie Lleyton, c’mon

    The Shed: C’mon, Aussie Lleyton, c’mon

    tennis ballsBy Julian O’Brien, aka The Bloke in The Shed

    The look in the eyes of the kid was unmistakable. It was steely-eyed determination and grit. The kid with the backwards cap and the focus beyond his years who was looking intensely at the sports journo from a regional newspaper interviewing him was Lleyton Hewitt. The other bloke was me.

    I was interviewing Lletyon after he won the national 14 and under hardcourt championships in Burnie, Tasmania and alongside him was the female winner. She was a much taller, more affable and a more relaxed personality. Her name was Alicia Molik.

    Interestingly, Lleyton’s mum and dad hovered close by. Not much has changed.

    What struck me then has also not changed to this day. Lleyton Hewitt is just one extremely talented and focused individual who has a terrific family support network.

    Get him off court and comfortable, he’d be a terrific bloke to be around. Get him on court or out of his bubble, he’d be an absolute nightmare.

    If you look up “competitor’’ in the dictionary, it would be fitting to see Lleyton’s mugshot there. Sure, Australia has probably produced more decorated tennis players, but the fact remains – on statistics – he is our greatest ever Davis Cup player. Ever. He loves the nation which spawned him. Therefore, we should love him back.

    I saw someone refer to him as “Bogan Lleyton” on Twitter recently. I’m tipping Lleyton might wear that as a badge of honour and I’d encourage him to do so. The tennis player I saw as a kid transferred to the world stage.

    As a pimple-faced kid, I saw him chase down balls no-one human had the right to retrieving. He was a player determined to make the most out of his ability and, regardless of any future results, he has already done just that. That should be respected, whether you love him or hate him.

    Lleyton, whether the end of your career is nigh or far, you are a champion. Thanks for the memories.

    What are your favourite tennis memories? Have you been watching the Open?

    Photo credit.

  • WIN: Aussie Giveaway Linkup #32

    WIN: Aussie Giveaway Linkup #32

    Mum PRLAST night I launched Mum PR’s online Media Room. Considering how many bloggers and women in business visit this linky each week, I thought it might be a good place to share my news. And, well, I’m just a bit excited about it and need to tell someone.

    If you’re a blogger and want to know what certain businesses are doing, you can regularly check in to view press releases or subscribe via RSS. If you’re a business contemplating working with us, this will give you a small taste of what we do.

    There will be an email subscription option soon. It’s on the list, at least. Even more important is the fact there’ll be some exciting news announced there on Monday. But in the meantime, I’ve got some giveaways to enter.

    If you’re a blogger or business wanting to take part in the Aussie Giveaway Linkup:

    1. Only link directly to the giveaway post/s and include the prize and end date in the linky tool below. Link each giveaway separately. If you need to delete it, hover over your link, wait until the red “x’’ appears and click.
    2. Giveaways must be open to Australian residents.
    3. Grab the button to add to your post.
    4. A new list is added each Sunday so bloggers need to add their links weekly.
    5. Start entering the giveaways! Please note: Entering giveaways is at your own risk.

     



    Aussie Giveaway Linky
    Hosted by Three Lil Princesses