Redefine roles before returning to work after maternity leave

You have grown and learnt so much during your maternity leave.

You’ve got some awesome new ninja skills that you probably weren’t expecting to acquire before having a baby.

Often it is the mum who stays home and looks after baby on maternity leave although this is now starting to change with the improvements to maternity/paternity leave.

All too often mums go straight back to work without discussing with their partner what will change and how all of the tasks both baby related and house related will be divided up.

Your partner isn’t a mind reader and if you have been doing all of the baby and house things whilst being on maternity leave they may not realise that now you are returning to work you can’t possibly do it all on your own.

Don’t wait until you are in floods of tears feeling like you are failing in all areas of your life.

Write a list of all of the essential things that need to be completed on a daily basis for your life to function. Items on this list should include packing a bag for the baby, cooking/preparing meals for everyone, having clean clothes.

Then make a list of the things that you would like completed to have an enjoyable life such as tidying and cleaning etc.

Set yourself small targets. Don’t overwhelm yourself in the beginning. Trust me going back to work in itself is stressful enough without giving yourself a hundred and one jobs to do as soon as you walk through the door.

Divide the essential tasks between you and your partner with a time frame of when each job needs to be completed by. This may seem like an unnecessary step but will save many an argument of I haven’t got any clean clothes because you didn’t put the washing on last night etc.

Do at least a week of completing the essential tasks and getting used to being back at work and being a mum before you start dividing up the would like done list.

Take it a day at a time and be kind to yourself. You are not superwoman and can’t do everything all at once.

#workingmother #workingandhouse #work #organisation #redefineroles