For the working moms out there, life can feel like a chaotic balancing act.

Running from daycare to the client’s boardroom, making sure you remembered your printouts and laptop when grabbing the diaper bag, being organized is a matter of survival.

Here’s a statistic from Gender Equality Index 2021:

About 91 % of women with children spend at least an hour per day on housework, compared with 30% of men with children. The latest available data shows that employed women spend about 2.3 hours daily on housework; for employed men, this figure is 1.6 hours.

Not very equitable, is it?

Although these tips won’t take away all of the chaos, keeping them in mind might help as you navigate your career with your tremendous responsibility of raising a family.

Give yourself some grace.  You are managing a lot. You need to practice self-compassion and self-forgiveness. It’s not possible to do everything perfectly. You will forget some things and may have to buy cookies for your child to take to school rather than stay up until 1 a.m. making them. It’s okay. Don’t be so hard on yourself. You’re doing your best in each moment.

Recognize your limits.  You only have so much capacity on any given day. You can’t be everything to everyone all of the time. It’s just not possible. Ask for help when needed. You may not make it to every single game and you may need to ask another parent to drive your child to practice. There is no shame in doing that.

Let go of the mom guilt and be present wherever you are.  This is easier said than done. If you’re at your daughter’s dance recital and you’re thinking about work the entire time, are you really watching and enjoying her performance? If you’re at work in an important meeting and beating yourself up for forgetting to pack your son’s sweatshirt for him that morning, how engaged are you at work? It takes intention, but the more you practice it, the easier it can become.

Find a family-friendly employer. This is if you’re looking for a new company to work for. Look for words in the job description such as “flexibility” and see what kind of parental leave they have. Those are signs on how family friendly they may be. Also read employee reviews.

Make time for yourself. Even if it’s a precious 10 minutes each morning before the kids wake up or 10 minutes each night after they go to bed. Carve some time out just for yourself. Do something during that time that feeds your soul and fills your cup. You deserve it.

Know that you’re amazing for doing all that you do. You may not hear it very often but, thank you. Your children will some day realize all that you were for them and setting an example of what is possible.