6 Tips For Staying Motivated As A Parent
Being a parent is one of the greatest responsibilities in life. Caring for another human and being there for them 24-7 can be exhausting. Parents, many times forget to take care of themselves and dedicate their all to their kids. Being a working parent, you face the difficulty of managing and balancing your home and work life, and you end up unmotivated.
Loving your kids and caring for them is, of course, one of the greatest things in life, but you shouldn’t let yourself go just because you become a parent. That’s why we have curated these 6 tips to stay motivated with work and parenting.
1. Plan Things Out Further Than You’d Think
If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. That saying is more than true. The vast majority of stress and lack of motivation comes from chaos. And chaos is the root of all problems. You could be avoiding that by planning way ahead, not only your day and your tasks but also your long-term future.
Of course, not everything goes according to plan 100% of the time, but having a general idea of what you want to do and what you want to achieve is one of the first steps to avoid anxiety and find motivation. When you know where you’re going, half of the work is done.
2. Take some time off
Overworking yourself can be one of the main causes of stress. Sometimes all you need is a day off to take you back to the motivated you that you know. Many times the lack of motivation comes from never taking a break. Being a mom is tiring enough, working on top of that can cause a major amount of stress. Sometimes the best thing you can do for yourself and your job is to call off work. There are many reasons you can call off work and taking time for yourself is worth it.
After a break, you will feel more energized and ready to take on anything that comes your way.
3. Remember WHY You’re doing this
Reason is the biggest motivator. Nothing can drive you more than something you want to achieve.
When you’re not working towards anything, days can seem long and work can look neverending. Working towards a goal can give you reason and therefore motivate you to do something you need to do. This adds the fun back into your work and home life.
4. Find your village
Surrounding yourself with people alike is sometimes the best motivation. When you become a parent your priorities start to change and you feel the need to share things with people like you, who go through the same things as you.
Parents alike or coworkers that are also parents can be a great source of motivation if you’re feeling down or overwhelmed. They will understand you better when you are having difficulties because they have gone through them themselves.
5. Support others
Oddly enough this is another tip to stay motivated. This one ties well with the last two tips.
First, when you support someone you give yourself reason. Helping others can give you a feeling of accomplishment, and make you more aware of other people’s flaws. This will also make you cut yourself some slack. After all, everyone seems to go through some stuff, sooner or later.
Second, when you support others you work on creating an understanding and healthy environment for yourself. You can expect other people to be there for you too when you’re there for them.
6. Make a list of the things you have accomplished already
Last but not least, reflect and look back. Your past achievements can serve as a great source of inspiration and motivation. You can see what you’ve previously achieved by not giving up and working hard. This will always be one of the greatest sources of motivation because it comes from within.
Ujëbardha Bekolli is a writer for mother-works.com. MotherWorks is a job portal designed to bring together stay at home moms and recruiters. The platform also brings helpful articles in the Blog section regarding mothers who want to return to the workforce.