Are you a superwoman? How do you find the time and energy to juggle so many responsibilities? This is a common challenge that many people face, and in this blog, I am excited to share with you my secret weapon for managing it all.
Let's start by outlining my situation: I am a mother of two children (ages nine and ten), work 32 hours a week, exercise fifteen hours a week, write blogs, manage household tasks with my husband (who also works 32 hours a week), indulge in reading, spend time on my mobile, watch series, take a French course, and maintain a social life. Just like everyone else, I too have only 24 hours a day and seven days a week. So, how do I manage this? Here's the secret: effective time management and prioritization. By setting clear priorities, creating a schedule, delegating tasks, learning to say no, practicing self-care, and leveraging technology, I have found a way to maintain balance and accomplish what matters most to me. Join me on this journey of finding harmony amidst the chaos. With the right mindset and time management techniques, you too can conquer the challenges and thrive in your own superwoman role.
To answer this, let me take you back to the beginning of my cycling career four years ago. I was passionate about cycling and loved being on the road. However, as a mother, returning home meant no rest for me. I had to immediately jump into housekeeping and taking care of the kids, who were much younger at the time. There were household chores like vacuuming and laundry, groceries to be done, the kids demanding attention, and my husband wanting some time for himself. It was all logical, but I couldn't keep up. Cycling was draining more energy from me than it was giving.
I'm sure many of you can relate to this situation. Now, let's move forward to the more interesting part. A tipping point arrived, and hard choices had to be made. Importantly, I didn't make these choices alone. My partner and I made them together, through mutual agreement. We discussed what we each wanted and needed. We created a plan, a physical planning board, and a household schedule (old school style on paper!). It was a collaborative effort to determine who would do what and when.
Check out our updated SHOP. Discounted tickets, promotions, second hand tickets, apparel and much new. New stock every week. Limited offers!
Firstly, it's important to note that this is not a "one size fits all" schedule or a fixed plan. Our household plan and schedule are dynamic and constantly evolving. We engage in an ongoing process of evaluation, fine-tuning, experimentation, and evaluation again. This evaluation happens both individually and together, with a focus on understanding what drains our energy and what replenishes it. It's crucial to maintain balance and ensure we stay on track, just like in cycling terms. Initially, we evaluated on a daily basis, but now we review and adjust our plan on a weekly basis to accommodate changing needs.
For instance, if I cycled more than 100 kilometers, I communicated my need to relax for an hour upon returning home and expressed my desire to spend quality time playing with the children afterwards. This meant that housework had to be scheduled for another time, and everyone in our household plan was aware of this. The key here is open communication. By clearly expressing our needs, setting expectations, and following through with our commitments, we fostered a sense of understanding and clarity. For example, I would say, "I need a moment to myself right now, but at 3:30, we'll all go to the playground together." This provided everyone with a clear understanding of the schedule. If I agreed to handle the vacuuming that day, I made sure to follow through. This relieved my husband of any concerns about the task and allowed him to let it go. Such open communication and commitment to honoring our agreements brought peace of mind to everyone involved, as everyone knew where they stood.
JOIN Cycling is the #1 app for your smart, flexible and personal training schedule. Exclusively for CycloWorld readers, we have a unique offer. An extended free trial period! This will introduce you to 28 days of dynamic training schedules that adapt to your personal profile, training history, progress, training goal and busy life.
But I also had to prioritize for myself. What do I want? Ride a bike in the evening or watch that series? Do I want to spend three to four hours scrolling on my cell phone or do I want to spend two hours cycling out of those three to four hours? What gives me more energy and what do I consider more important? But I also made conscious choices in the area of work. Do I go for the demanding career job, which I can hardly combine with my family? Or do I go for a more relaxed job, with which I still have energy left over to ride my bike and do what makes me happy? For now, I'll go for the more relaxed job. Later when I grow up, I'll have plenty of time to work and have a career. Oh, and what about that French language course? That's still sitting neatly in the closet.
In addition, I have often felt guilty towards my children. What kind of mother am I, that I'm gone so much? I'm supposed to sit at home with a cup of tea and play with the kids, right? Nice that I had figured out for myself that this is how it should be! But I really am a much nicer mom when I also have time for myself. When I exercise. When I'm on the go and when I'm doing what I love. Being with my kids is fun and important to me, but I enjoy so much more! I am so much more than just a mother. In addition, I think it is important for my children to see that I listen to my own needs as a person. That I do what makes me happy. That I do what gives me energy. That I allow myself to be less (because yes, I certainly still do!) hindered by what is appropriate and what others think. That I take care of myself and am a nicer person and nicer mom as a result. But also that I go one hundred percent for my goals. That I don't give up when the going gets tough, but that I keep pushing forward. I want to be an example for my children in this. I want my children to later also choose for themselves, do what makes them happy and persevere in the face of adversity. Because, adversity in any form is part of life. And if I want this for my children, I can only live it by putting myself first and going for my goals. And not with the blunt axe (which many people do think), but with open and sincere communication and genuine interest in each other. What do you need, what do I need, what do we need from each other and how can we help each other?
Do I really only do what I like? Am I always on one? No, of course not. There are four of us and thus four alternating first places with each having their own needs. Moreover, even if I choose what I like as much as possible, there remains plenty of what is not fun! But if you do the not-fun things together as much as possible, more time and energy is left for the fun things in life. Together you really can do much more than alone!
Discount on event tickets up to 50% and much more.