If you struggle with the juggling act of being a mom and following your passion, I get you.
(I wrote this while dealing with a tired 3 year old, breastfeeding my son and calling the bank. And we all know how it feels being on the phone to the bank!)
I’m fortunate to be at home full-time with my 3 year old and my 11 week old. Their needs are different and I’m in demand pretty much 24–7!
So how do I juggle my passion for writing and being a mother to two little ones?
I know I can’t ‘have it all’ at the same time.
I can’t write all the time. I’m a mother.
But I also know that everyone benefits from me being more joyful.
And writing makes me happy.
So how do I manage this juggling act?
I schedule my writing time.
Boring huh?!
But it’s the only way for it to be a priority.
I put it in my diary every day so it gets done.
I start with 5 minutes of writing. If I have time to write more, awesome! I’m absolutely thrilled!
But if not, I don’t feel crappy about it, because I’ve done my 5 minutes of writing. And I need to respect my journey, in that some days are just more demanding as a mother.
The act of scheduling it in my diary and doing it every day no matter what helps create a daily writing habit. And by default an action that brings me joy!
And it’s much better for my little ones that I share the emotion of joy than the emotion of resentment and unhappiness because I’m not following my passion.
Grab that beautiful new diary you bought for 2017 and start scheduling just 5 minutes a day of whatever brings you joy. Block out 5 minutes a day for the next month and notice how your family life changes based on HOW YOU FEEL!
If you know other mothers struggling with the juggling act, please share this article with them. We need more mothers following their passion and sharing their gifts with the world.
Originally published at medium.com