Juggle Struggle blog

Going back to work after you have kids doesn’t just add your job back onto your plate – there’s also the: 

• added logistics of childcare around work (which can have many moving parts 
• Trying to squeeze in the rest of life somewhere around work and your kids 

That’s quite a lot to have on your plate! 

Here’s how I cope with the demands of being a working parent and planning my week; I sit down for 30 minutes each week and work through a list of questions so that I can get a handle on the upcoming chaos of the following week. 

Here are the questions / statements I ask myself: 

1. My successes last week were
2. Last week would have been even better if 
3. Last week I learned this about myself 
4. Upcoming week checks:
   1. Who’s due where and when? 
   2. Are there any surprises? 
   3. Is there anything to add? 
   4. What can I delegate? 
   5. Have I over-committed myself? 
   6. Is anything potentially stressful coming up? 
   7. What am I not going to do this week?
5. This is my most important thing to juggle this week 
6. This is why it’s important to me 
7. This is how I’ll work on it 
8. I’ll know I’ve succeeded when… 

Here’s why I’ve designed this system in this way: 

1. “My successes last week were” – this gives me an opportunity to focus on all the good things I did and celebrate me a bit. Human brains are wired for negativity, so focusing on some positives for a minute puts us back into a positive state for reviewing last week and planning the next week. 
2. “Last week would have been even better if” – this helps me review anything that could have gone a bit better without judging myself too harshly. Answering this question helps me learn from experiences, even if it’s something small. 
3. “Last week I learned this about myself” – I wish I’d embraced sooner the idea of learning about my evolving self as a working mother. I think I expected to be the same person, which of course doesn’t happen in real life. This question reminds me that I’m still learning about what works for me as I navigate family and work and self, and encourages me to be open and not hold on to the past version of myself too much. 
4. “Upcoming week checks” – this gets into the nitty gritty of logistics and general calendar management, looking at:
   1. Who’s due where when – the basics!
   2. Are there any surprises?  – has that dentist appointment crept up? Do I need to shift anything around to accommodate it? 
   3. Is there anything to add? – maybe not this week but in future weeks? Did I finally get a girls night booked in in 3 months’ time? 
   4. What can I delegate? – is there child transport that could be shared? Any chores or jobs that could be handed off? Getting comfortable with delegating will win your week. 
   5. Have I over-committed myself? I have a habit of trying to cram too much in, so this question encourages me to be honest with myself, and with the concept that you can’t bend time to suit you / be in 2 places at once. If I have over-egged my commitments, I take the opportunity to pull some of them back.  
   6. Is anything potentially stressful coming up? Is there something that is going to make me feel frazzled? A conversation I’m dreading or a journey that I hate doing? I take this opportunity to look at anything I can do to reduce my own stress, because I don’t have to be stressed if I don’t want to. 
   7. What am I not going to do this week? This could be something very literal like ‘the ironing’, or something a bit more ‘inner self’ related, like ‘feeling guilty for treating myself to a hot chocolate’. In both cases the aim is to shake out any waste of time from your life. 
5. This is my most important thing to juggle this week – this helps me focus on what the priority for this week is  
6. This is why it’s important to me – this reminds me that my focus needs to be something I really care about (because if not, why am I spending time on it anyway)  
7. This is how I’ll work on it – this sets me a specific task or goal to work towards so that there’s an easy way to answer the next question 
8. I’ll know I’ve succeded when – if you can’t validate your successes you’re in a bit of a tricky spot, it’s easier to hold yourself to account when you know specifically what you’re working towards. 

Sounds like a long process, but it gets easier and quicker the more consistently you work through it. 

I used to sit down and do this on a Sunday, because a ‘traditional’ week view is Monday – Sunday, but recently I’ve been trying Fridays, which seems to work just as well. I think whichever day/time slot you choose will work as long as you’re consistent with it and look at the full next 7 days each time. 
If you’re feeling the struggle of the working parent juggle, give the weekly system a go and let me know what you think. You can even download a template and video walkthrough of it over on gumroad here.