I’m a Mom Who Works From Home Part-Time—How I Transition from Work to Mom Mode
The dramatic shift in energy from focused work to parenting can be jarring and stressful. This simple, expert advice gives me a sense of control—and helps ease the transition.
Since the school year began, I have struggled with a newfound tension between my work mind and my parent mind. Either I have trouble settling into work for the day—or I’m shocked out of a workflow by my preschooler’s boundless energy. For any at-home parent working flexible, part-time hours from home, toggling between career and family can be tricky—especially when your work hours are truncated.
To wit: Each week I have a guaranteed 15 hours of work time while my youngest attends morning preschool. For three hours a day I can power down the mothering side of my brain that listens for cries and crashes, spilled Legos and snack requests. I can focus on the work I do writing and editing from home. When my alarm sounds at 11:16, I race downstairs to the car, where I’ve left myself 4 minutes to pull on my jacket and drive a few blocks to my little one’s preschool.
What follows is often frenetic and uncomfortable. When my 4-year-old climbs into the backseat, my brain is still back at my desk, puzzling through a work project. As my little one delights in recounting her day, it’s her eager chatter that bursts the bubble of focus and silence I’ve been in since 8:15. Our post-preschool reunion is always sweet, but the dramatic shift in energy can be a jarring, stressful way to begin our afternoon together.
How to Balance Work and Motherhood Daily
To help me solve this problem and ease the stress of moving from work to caregiving, I tapped Sofia Mendoza, a licensed clinical social worker in Long Beach, California. She says switching gears from working mode to parenting mode can be as simple as building in a small habit to signal that it’s time to transition.
Creating an intentional transition ritual helps our brain and body enter into the next moment. It’s like a palate cleanser…
“Creating an intentional transition ritual helps our brain and body enter into the next moment,” she says. “It’s like a palate cleanser for our system in charge of attention, focus, and energy and it’s much-needed when switching over to present parent mode.”
If you’re wary of this ritual eating into your work time, don’t worry. Sofia’s ideas for easing from one mode to another can be done in small pockets of time. “I recommend doing body practices that help relieve tension, tightness, or a change in energy level,” Sofia says, citing her own ritual of having a snack or doing a five-minute stretching video. “Releasing stress and tension in your body before picking up little ones will help you show up as a parent with less vulnerability, and be more equipped to be fully present.”
How I Added This One Ritual to My Work Day
This transition habit means setting my alarm for school pickup ten minutes earlier. Instead of my mad dash from desk to car, I make a point of closing my laptop and writing a quick list of priorities for my next work session. I roll my shoulders, take a few deep breaths, and take a minute or two to pick out a good song for my drive to school.
Is this practice a miracle worker in compartmentalizing the two sides of my brain? No. But I will say that it’s helped me feel more in control of how my day unfolds. With this, I can approach preschool pickup with more joy, eager to set aside my computer for all the silliness and snuggles the afternoon brings.
Read More:
How a Serial Entrepreneur Turned Her Passion Into a Business That Works With Family Life
