Into Motivation

The old saying tells us that the best laid plans of mice and men will fail. While a mouse might not really lead a complicated life, it nevertheless seems impossible for us to plan our busy lives around our family and work without some of those unexpected “days off” attributable to illness, weather or teacher training!

Wouldn’t it be nice if everyone and everything were flexible, schedules included and you could simply drop your work commitments at a moment’s notice to substitute care for a sickening child?!

1. Where you can – plan. Some of these troublesome days are truly unpredictable, while others may be scheduled in advance. Of course nobody knows what the weather is going to do, but snow days only arrive during certain months of the year, whilst inset days are generally planned in advance and with a little bit of work can be sewn into the schedule.

The biggest problem of all revolves around sick days, of course. You should do a little bit of planning and preparation work in full anticipation that this day will surely come! If planning really is a problem for you, consider professional coaching to help you get on that track.

2. Save up your personal days. Both parents in your household might have to work due to regular commitments, in this case it is important to reserve some personal days for those sickness events. Talk to your human resources department at work and see if your employer will grant you a certain amount of personal days, allowing you to anticipate the scenarios as best you can.

In many cases you will not have any advance notice, so you need to look at this from every perspective and try and be fair all around.

It would definitely be an advantage if you and your partner have a sympathetic employer who could understand your position. It is very important that you do not use personal or sick standby days for any reasons other than they’re intended for.

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Line up favours. Come up with a backup plan if you have several children that you are responsible for. See if you can get some additional emergency care-giving help lined up among good neighbours or friends. Always repay these favours in any way you can. With a number of emergency backup plans in place, you’ll be able to cope when a sick child or three comes to you.

4. Stock up on vitamins. When you are coping with sick children, remember that you should pay attention to prevention as it is a lot easier than the cure. If you can make sure that your children practise good personal hygiene, eat well, are well rested and in good health, then they’re less likely to come down with those pesky, smaller viruses.

5. Be a good weather forecaster. Always keep a watchful eye on the forecasts during the winter months. Weather forecasting has improved much over the years and if they say there is a threat of a blizzard a couple of days ahead, you can be pretty sure and start making contingency plans now. If a school district is closed, it might be very difficult for you to get to your work location as well, but if the office is open, see if you can count on one of those personal days or plan to work from home.

You might think you have to wear so many different hats, that you never know which one to put on.

Nowadays, online life coaching can really help you work out which part of your wardrobe to turn to on each occasion! If you’re in need of guidance, coaching for women can help you to manage and not panic!

Amanda Alexander, Director of Coaching Mums, helps pressure-cooked, stressed working mums who long for more hours in the day. Through her coaching programmes and online life coaching courses, Amanda shows mums how to create fulfilling and successful lives. For your simple 5 step guide to balance as a working mum, download our free eBook today!