It was 1 year ago that I was making the huge transition from pregnancy to motherhood. After the cake eating frenzy of the 1st birthday party has died down, I thought it would be nice to reflect a little on what my little man has helped contribute to our lives.
Obviously… Greg and I are happier, more fulfilled and generally taking ourselves far less seriously than we ever did pre-kids. If you’re a parent you know the “gift that cannot be named” that children bring. It’s just an extra dimension of yumminess in your life right?
But … We’ve also had far less sleep and done far less in our business than ever before! Despite having less time than ever before, being a Mum has translated into really solid benefits for my business. And it’s those that I wanted to share today.
I was preparing for an upcoming interview with Lisa Barnwell on “Bumps and the Boardroom: A global conversation on the Pregnancy Advantage for Business”. As I did- it dawned on me that really, if you want to get ahead in business… you should have a baby!
A paradox I know…but here’s my list of what being a Mum has opened up for me in my business.
1. The Chill Factor:
Nothing gets to me anywhere near as much as it used to. Seriously- when you’ve had a kid literally screaming for two hours straight and nothing you can do stops it…. it’s really hard to get too perturbed about that bitchy client.
2. A Passion for Prioritisation:
My ability to triage the important things in business has gone through the roof. Granted not everyone agrees with my priorities, but they keep me true to myself, my son, my family and the direction I WANT for my business.
3. The Power of Focused Attention:
Being able to only work sometimes for 15 minutes at a time, squeezed in between Mummy activities has actually made me more fruitful than I’ve ever been in the past. I seem to get so much more done in the few hours a week that I do work. Honestly, I think I must have spent hours each day reorganizing pencils or something in the past.
4. Environmental Oblivion:
I used to need to have to have a fabulously neat and tidy space to work. The office needed to be devoid of paper piles. It really helped if I knew the laundry was done! But now… well… let’s just say we are about to move out of the house we moved into 16 months ago for the birth of James- and well, I didn’t have to pack too many boxes because some of them never got unpacked!! There’s something about the mania of a house with kids in it that means if you don’t learn to be able to ignore the pigsty I think you would actually go insane.
5. Calling in Help:
I used to be someone that had to do everything myself. Seriously- everything. I had a good team and I was pretty good at delegating… but if I had the time I would have still done as much as I could. During pregnancy I was so ill I was barely able to get out of bed most days. This was a gift for business. It really MADE me learn how to ask for help effectively, and how to be grateful for it when it’s given. And now with my little man, I don’t want to spend every spare minute working on something I love… I want to spend lots of it with him. So sharing the load has become a must do. Indeed the next phase of business we’re entering we are going to have a lot of great people supporting us. So I’m looking forward to becoming more of the visionary of the business, rather than the technician.
I guess that’s my top 5… but I’ll be going into more detail with Lisa later in June. So come and join in the conversation with us and 11 other experts as Lisa Barnwell shines the light on the huge advantage being a Mum can have for business.
I’m intrigued to hear what you’ve found combining business and babies? Mums and Dads… what have you discovered. Please let me know in the comments!
It’s been a while since my boys were babies, but they still demand plenty of attention just as they used to :). As do aging parents and lots of other “life” events. I think you hit the nail on the head when you said that you chill more. Having kids or any of life’s other major events does tend to change your perspective somewhat. As we know hindsight is the clearest form of vision which is why I love reading the advice from octogenarians+ to their younger selves. At the end of the day it’s about living a life of meaning – and of course that is different for everyone. I think the biggest lesson I learned from having babies and a business at the same time was the “Cats in the Cradle” message – be there for your children no matter what is happening in your business, otherwise they may not be there when you want them. Somehow the business will manage, even if you have to modify a few things – including your expectations.
My daughter is now grown with a home and partner of her own. Looking back on the heady days after she was born, I have to agree with you Jo – I became much more focused on what really needed to get done, and far more accepting about the mess and all the stuff that piled up waiting for my attention. I also became a much better person – more relaxed, more aware of others, more able to juggle all the myriad things that needed to be done. And more willing and able to ask for help. Children are a joy, one I’m so privileged to know.