1. Try to delegate your work to spouse ,kids .Also keep a maid for cleaning.Previously i used to wake up on saturday mornings thinking about cleaning house and it used to irritate me a lot as we eholidays only on saturdays and sundays and that too we have to spend for cleaning? Once i kept a maid , i have more free time.
2. Dont think that people around you are perfectionists like you.
I used to expect a lot from maids.Why cant they clean up properly ,why cant they do something without asking them to do etc etc.Finally i came to the conslusion that maids are maids.We can't change them and its better to change thoughts than bothering too much about the work they didn't do.Once i lowered my expectation ,i am finding my maid to be very good:)
3. Go for a workout @ Gym or go for a walk
Exercise is always required to make us healthy and keep us energised. Find out time for yourself. Don't feel guilty that you should have spend the hours with your child than hitting the gym. If you start spending time for yourself ,you will soon find that its easy to find happiness in all the activities you do for your kid or for your spouse.Do this and you will soon realize.
Not only this ,you need a healthy body and mind to withstand the pressures of the world around you.
4.Try to go out on weekends ,have a lunch or dinner outside or set it up @ home.Do come out of the routine mechanical life
5.Try to have a hobby - not required to be an expensive one.I am having a hobby of colecting coins of India where i discovered that we have more varities of coins available which i didn't notice yet.Sometimes my interest for collection ends up in funny scenarios where i end up asking bus driver or auto driver for the coin I need:)
Hi,
ReplyDeleteI am juggling between thoughts of continuing in a very well earned software job and staying at home. Since you know all the pangs that a working woman goes through, have you by any chance explored a less involved job? Are you yourself into that kind of job where spending 5-8 hours a day should not hurt in your kid's upbringing? Please do suggest if you are aware of such solutions.
Thanks in Advance
Hi Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteI have tried my both ends - worked for more than 10 years in IT industry and took a break of 6 months to sit at home.Now again back to IT industry.So have seen both ends and felt the following
1) If you are a working woman, then it's very difficult to sit at home and enjoy. You will be bored and you feel that you are not utilizing your time effectively.I was happy for the first 3 months of quitting job then I started feeling bored. Once your kids are grown up then there is no point in sitting at home.
Another issue I faced was the difference in the thinking patterns. I was happy to spend my time doing something effective than talk to neighbors for hours about what's happening around.Might be we are tuned that way due to our career. So when I got time, I felt really boring in such a company.
2)Grass is always greener on other end. When I am in office, I feel I should be at home enjoying everything and vice versa too. So finally it's your call.
3)When I sat at home also I did the same thing when I was working. Only one extra activity I did was to pick up my kid from school bus which we both enjoyed. Rest all were same.I didn't do anything extra for my kid.So I realized that though I felt I am spending less time with my kid when I was working, it's not really true. We are spending same hours when you are not working too.Your kid needs only so much attention.
4)I tried to discover less involved jobs but they are not paid well.So the hours you put into those are not worth the effort you put in.
5)If you are in Service industry, try to shift to Product based companies as tensions are less and working from home options are feasible
Finally - it all depends on us.
Read some books on working women's,there are many in market now,one has even come out in Chicken Soup series. After reading those, you will feel that it's worth it being a working women.
Thanks a lot for giving out such a detailed reply. Trust me it really helped me. I completely agree with what you wrote "I was happy to spend my time doing something effective than talk to neighbors for hours about what's happening around". I really do not enjoy spending my time chit chatting.
ReplyDeleteI am working in a Product based company. I think going to work closer to home can also ease out a bit of pressure. Currently 3 hours of travel time is lost everyday. I am in look out for jobs in and around Outer Ring Road near Bellandur.
Hi Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteI hope you get job in some nearby place which will surely resolve your problem to a good extend.
Read this article by Chetan Bhagat. I personally don't like his writing. But this article is great.
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-07-16/edit-page/29782152_1_indian-women-stress-levels-powerful-people
Hi Smitha,
ReplyDeleteYeah .. This was one article widely circulated in emails among us female colleagues the day it was published. I liked it too.
Wish you all the best :)
ReplyDeletewonderful blog Smitha!!! I am Zahir searching school for my daughter in Bangalore
ReplyDeleteThanks Zahir.
ReplyDelete