Working mothers recognise the value in maintaining a career outside of the home.  Aside from the financial benefits of a regular pay cheque, work provides women with a sense of identity, purpose, and passion apart from our maternal and domestic roles.  Yet, as working mothers, we also face the dual burden of “second-shift” work, meaning we often suffer from burnout and the tendency to overextend ourselves.  While a certain amount of stress can be a positive motivator, overexertion is dangerous and leaves women feeling overwhelmed and at the brink of insanity.  How can working mums reduce their stress levels and avoid burnout? Seeking professional coaching will help you ditch the guilt and stop the burnout.  But in the meantime, to take control of all that life throws your way, try the following tips to help release tension and improve your mood.  Read More

Several weeks ago I wrote part one of a blog post entitled “Suffragettes, Sinatra and Pants: Your First Three Principles of Work Life Balance” with the intention to send you part two in the following issue. Then something inspired me and I wrote about that for the next issue. Having already written part two, I completely forgot to post it. It wasn’t until my sister in-law, Denise mentioned it to me last week, telling me how much it had helped her friend to breathe a relieved sigh of, “Oh, I’m doing ok and I’m not the only one”, Denise also told me that she seemed to have missed part two, and it was then that the penny dropped! I hadn’t posted part two!!   Read More

The time has never been better to consider bringing the office home!  For working mums who struggle to find a balance between their work and family lives, many find the solution lies in setting out the welcome mat to their home offices.  It’s not an easy decision, by any means, especially when the line between work and home life grows blurry.  There’s also the initial cost of start-up, and the negotiation of new roles and new boundaries to consider.  Yet, while drawbacks exist, the advantages of working from home may far outweigh the risks when you draw up a cost-benefit analysis!  If being a work at home mum appeals to you, but you’re not sure how to make the transition, professional coaching can provide the guidance and support you need to set the changes in motion.  In the meantime, here are the five reasons you should consider being a work at home mum:  Read More

For working parents and working mums, who tend to be the primary organisers, school holidays can represent a planning nightmare! You will have six weeks or more of time to fill for your children, well aware that this is quality family time, irreplaceable for family bonding purposes. You can't help but think how the months and years are flying by and how, before you know it, the children will be all grown up and on their way. In an ideal world, you would want to spend the entire summer holiday with the children as well, taking time to soak in the summer. Wouldn't it be nice if you could take a six-week holiday as well?!  Read More

Summer is here and with it the call of the great outdoors. But the big economic downturn is still with us and family budgets are stretched. It is not easy to make ends meet, to pay the mortgage or rent and put food on the table, let alone find money to pay for those special summer trips. So here are 10 great days out for you to consider this summer, an eclectic collection, each for under a tenner.  Read More

We know that we have 24 hours in each day and that this should be plenty of time for us to complete everything that we have to do, with ample time to spare. The dawn of each day should bring a fresh outlook to all of us and we should feel rejuvenated and ready to tackle anything that life has in store. However, for one reason or another it seems that we are always playing catch-up, despite what we might feel are our best intentions. When the sun has set and the hours are winding down, we often feel frustrated, as we have not had enough time to complete all those tasks. As a busy working mum, we certainly know about time constraints and wish we could find an extra hour, each day, somehow. Well, maybe we can:  Read More

Whoa There!
Do you ever feel  yourself getting overwhelmed with everything that you juggle?  Read More

With your new arrival now firmly ensconced within your household, it’s time to consider making the transition back to work. This has been a whirlwind few months and you could be forgiven for not thinking too long and hard about your career and your employer. However, you have to come down to earth with a bump in many respects and know that you have to make the transition very soon.  Read More

The best environment for romance is a desert island, with no mobile phones, no emails, no work deadlines, no dirty nappies and NO KIDS! Children are sure-fire passion killers for most of us. As working mums, we tend to give our attention to he or she that shouts the loudest, and children are natural masters at shouting the loudest to get their needs met. This means that all other relationships get pushed to the bottom of the pile, especially the one with our romantic partner.  However, it is so important to invest in your relationship and to keep the romance alive. After all, when the kids have grown up and have their own families, it’s just you and him. If you don’t nurture and pay attention to your relationship, it’s likely that you’ll find that you and the father of your children have become a strangers with no connection.  Read More

It's never easy taking a career break, but sometimes ‘you've just got to do, what you’ve got to do,’ as the saying goes. This is particularly appropriate when you have to make preparations for - and welcome into the World - a new arrival. Mum can be very focused indeed when it comes to the significant challenge of raising a child and it is understandable that her main focus may not, for the time being, be on her career, which will be on hiatus. Thankfully, our society is very understanding and mum is very rarely in a financial bind during these all-important days.  Read More