Hello, readers! Because it’s the holiday season, I’m sure a lot of us home bakers are already having a hard time doing time management and practically overworking. It might get to the point that you’re wondering how to be a happy working mother when juggling so many things like child care, grocery store visits, and so on.
In fact, your mental health can crumble any minute now, with the looming mom guilt and you thinking that you’re not doing enough to take care of your husband, your children, and your customers.
I can totally relate. As a mother of two who is running The Bailiwick Academy as well as many other pursuits, I know the feeling of being stretched too thin. There are days when I feel like my life as a full-time working mom is like a balancing act where I’m going to end up dropping everything.
There are also times that I asked myself why a work-life balance is so hard to achieve, or why is it so hard to be a working mom. Especially since sometimes, being committed to working and to family seems like an impossible, exhausting, and thankless task.
Well, after many years of doing this, I’ve kind of figured out how to keep myself as a happy working mother – without feeling guilty!
Here are some helpful tips I learned on how to be a happy mom. They’ve worked for me, and I hope my sharing these can help you too – and be life-changing for the better.
Let’s get to it!
First thing to ask yourself: are you taking care of yourself to be happy?
Are moms happy? As in truly, really happy?
Well, that’s a question we moms should really be asking ourselves. Usually, what happens to us is that we end up taking care of everybody except ourselves! You might be a stay-at-home mom, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t include yourself in the care, right?
One of your priorities is really how to be a happy mommy, not just making other people in your life happy. Because if you’re not happy, how can you make other people happy? You’re just going to end up resenting the people in your life, as well as your job.
That means you need to dedicate time for your own happiness as well as personal career growth. While it might make you feel bad and guilty, I’m here to tell you right now that there’s nothing wrong with thinking about yourself or putting yourself first.
You don’t even have to wait for Mother’s Day or Valentine’s Day just to get a gift. You can do it for yourself, if that’s how you do self-care.
Again, as I already mentioned, if you can’t care for yourself first, you won’t be able to take care of your family and your customers. So make sure you do this first!
So… how to be happy as a working mom, exactly?
I’m glad you asked! In no particular order, here are a few ways to do self-care, feel better about yourself, and end up being a truly happy working mother.
1. Stop saying yes to everything and you will be happier.
Do you feel guilty about saying “No” to some requests of your children, your spouse, or your customers? Well, don’t! That’s especially if you really don’t have time to do that request anymore, or you’re just too tired.
I’m not saying to say no to important things like, say, date nights with your hubby or quality time with your kids, or overall family time. But if you really can’t bake cookies for your daughter because you’re too tired, or you can’t accommodate an order because your plate is full of orders, just say so.
Your family will understand. And let me tell you, no amount of money is worth any amount of stress! Learn to say “no.”
You’ll be surprised that it will make you feel better after – trust me!
2. Don’t be a working mother all the time. Commit to some “me time” throughout the day.
Every day, you might find yourself taking care of everyone’s concerns except what you want to happen. Well, it’s time to set boundaries!
What I mean is that you should take breaks throughout the day for yourself, to help you recharge. You can turn off your cell phone and enjoy peace and quiet, or actually get on the phone and start watching some Netflix, say your favorite historical Korean drama.
Every day, you might find yourself taking care of everyone’s concerns except what you want to happen. Well, it’s time to set boundaries!
What I mean is that you should take breaks throughout the day for yourself, to help you recharge. You can turn off your cell phone and enjoy peace and quiet, or actually get on the phone and start watching some Netflix, say your favorite historical Korean drama. Think of it as spending quality time with yourself.
Whatever activity you feel like doing, just make sure to take these “me time” moments so that you can recharge and feel much happier. And if you’re wondering how often should a mom get a break, my answer is: as much as you need!
3. Lower your expectations.
One thing that makes you less happy than we are is that we expect too much from ourselves as moms. For example, your children have to be this way, your house has to be super clean, and so on.
Even our bakes or cooking, they have to be the most delicious, or the best-looking.
But if you actually take a step back and look closely, the people you take care of, whether family or customers, aren’t happy because what you’re doing is perfect. What you’re already doing for them is more than enough. After all, they’re not requiring perfection from you!
Also, once you accept that life is not perfect, that takes off the pressure of having to be perfect and you become much happier.
4. Change your environment from time to time.
Yes, you may be one of the many stay-at-home moms, but that doesn’t mean you never get to step outside the home, right? In fact, research suggests that you can refresh your mind by changing your environment. So if you’re feeling trapped or down in your house, step outside of the home.
Do something like I did when I visited Chef Ely Salar’s restaurant in The Podium. That was a fun experience and helped me recharge, ready to work!
5. Take care of your health to be a happy working mother.
One of the best ways for us to be happy is to take care of our health. That means you should prioritize sleep, for one thing. If you get enough sleep, not only will your body function better, you’ll be able to extend more patience and be more relaxed throughout the day.
Another way to take care of our health is to exercise. It doesn’t have to be the gym. You could simply just go walking during your “me times.”
I personally go biking. There are many exercises you can do. The important thing is that you exercise, as it can contribute to your happiness!
And finally, taking care of your health means eating better, like avoiding sugar, eating whole grains, and adding vegetables to your diet. Research suggests after all that eating healthy makes you feel better, not just help you lose weight.
It’s all about finding balance.
The answer to the question of how to be a happy mom and wife while working is to take care of yourself first. Make sure you’re happy before thinking of others. It’s that simple.
And of course, just learn to accept what happens, and to go with the flow a little. Happiness and success may not look exactly like how you pictured it, but just take it one day at a time and learn to relax.
And when you do that, you’ll find yourself much happier, which will make you happy to do stuff for your family and to handle your food business. I can personally testify to it!
Speaking of staying healthy to be a happy working mother…
I know that it’s the Christmas season, so it’s kind of hard to control eating delicious sweets and indulging. After all, it’s only once a year.
And that’s why I’m thankful that Ms. Chiqui Ortiz Dingcong is one of our instructors at TBA. Not only is she bringing various keto recipes for us to learn, she’s also releasing a new class just in time for Christmas: Keto Cakes 2!
Following the success of her Keto Cakes 1 class where she taught recipes for three moist, luscious, and to-die-for keto cakes plus a bonus recipe of keto condensed milk…
When you enroll in Keto Cakes 2, you’ll learn THREE more cakes that are moist AND delicious: a keto version of the classic Tiramisu, keto strawberry shortcake, and a decadent salted caramel cake that you won’t believe is keto!
Gone are the days of dry, crumbly, and tasteless sugar-free, guilt-free cakes! All these are something you’d want to eat over and over again.
Oh and if I didn’t mention it, indulging in something good IS one of the ways how to be a happy working mother. Eat a little bit, or a lot – it’s up to you because again, it’s totally guilt-free.
So what are you waiting for? Sign up at The Bailiwick Academy and get started making keto cakes in time for the holidays!
See you inside!
P.S. Enroll now and get 20% off the original price!
This special offer is good only up to 8:30 PM today, October 31, 2022, so don’t delay and enroll now!
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Keep coming back to The Bailiwick Academy blog for more kitchen tips, tricks, and much more!