I was recently on a trip back home to Senegal to visit my aging parents. Sandwiched in between taking care of my parents, mothering my teens from a distance, and intermittently checking my work email, I realized how much motherhood had evolved for me. I was literally mothering my aging parents, while remotely ensuring my kids were ok, and still trying to wear all the hats even while away. As I was watching my mother, I also could notice how much motherhood had changed for her as well. If you’re reading this and nodding, you may have noted how your own experiences of motherhood have changed over time as well. You may also be struggling with integrating motherhood and career as you evolve as a working mom….
Motherhood is an ever-changing journey…
One thing I’ve learned as a working mom, is that motherhood is an ever-changing journey. Never quite the same from one year to the other, one season to the other. One season, you’re changing diapers back-to-back while preparing your return to work after maternity leave. Another season, you’re worrying about your teen’s mental health, while learning to mother your own parents. Yet another, you’re dropping young adults off to college, and coming back to an empty nest. Through it all, your vision of motherhood must keep evolving, as your heart and mind adjust to the changes…
The Challenges of Integrating Motherhood and Career…
Add to this the ever-present challenges of integrating motherhood and career in today’s fast-paced world. Now more than ever it seems, the demands on parents, and on mothers in particular, are astronomical to say the least. Modern stressors such as social media, the youth mental health crisis, and unique economic challenges have put heavy pressure on parents, leading to the recent U.S. Surgeon General advisory on the mental health and well-being of parents. This is even more prevalent with evolving professional expectations in 2025, including leadership roles, as well as hybrid and remote work. Women are increasingly entering leadership roles, at a rate of 37% in 2024, up from 32% in 2015, according to Mc Kinsey & Company’s Women in the Workplace 2024 report. Women are also more likely to select remote or flexible work options, citing work-life integration, increased focus and productivity, and reduced exposure to micro-aggressions.
All of these challenges make it all the more important to re-evaluate our own kind of motherhood every so often; and reflecting on how to better integrate motherhood and career. What kind of mother am I in this season? Where am I in my life and career as related to the mom I am today? What needs to stay? What needs to go? Such are the heart-wrenching, but necessary questions, so many of us often fail to ask ourselves as we journey through motherhood as working moms.
When was the last time you re-evaluated your own vision and definition of motherhood? Have you asked yourself lately what kind of mom you see yourself as? When did you last etch in your mind, or on paper, the picture of your own brand of motherhood?
If these questions resonate with you, here are some steps to define your own vision of motherhood this year:
1. Do Your “Mommy Audit”
Just like you perform your career audit periodically, take some time to pause and perform your “mommy audit” as well. Assessing who you are as a working mom in this season of your life and career is the first step to defining (and redefining) your own vision of motherhood.
Are you in a season where your kids are smaller and your career is taking a backseat? Or are you faced with the delicate teenage years while caring for aging parents and moving into leadership roles at work? Or are you an empty nester with more time on your hands?
2. Define what matters most in motherhood and career
Based on your “mommy audit”, identify your family and work priorities in this season of your life and career. What matters most this year, quarter, month, or even week? This also requires creating boundaries around your non-negotiables, including family events, family time, and work hours.
If like me, you are raising teenagers requiring you to be more present as they gain their independence, then blocking your time off to be more present becomes crucial. This may also prompt you to work in a more focused and efficient manner so you can honor your family time.
3. Master Your Time
Time is working moms’ most precious, and most abused, commodity. Hence why guarding your time is a priority as a working mom. There are a few things you can do to protect your time:
- Leverage technology: From calendar apps such as Calendly, to project management tools such as Asana, and family scheduling platforms like good ol’ Google shared calendars, are my go-to’s.
- Block your time: I often say “if it’s not on my calendar, it’s not happening’. Allocating specific blocks of time for parenting, self-care, and work allows to waste less time.
- Break tasks into smaller steps: Learning to break down big projects into smaller tasks allows to be more intentional and effective with your use of time.
- Delegate, delegate, delegate: You can’t do it all. And why would you want to? Setting a system to delegate tasks and responsibilities at home and at work can go a long way towards freeing your time. As a bonus, research shows kids are more successful when they do chores.
4. Build a Support System
An important part of defining or re-defining your vision as a working mom in the new year is to re-evaluate your support system. It takes a village to raise kids, have a career and wear all the hats working moms do. However, the unfortunate reality is, too many working moms do not have a village to rely on. This is where learning to build your own villages comes into play:
- Build your work village: Asking for support at work is not a weakness. However, this depends on the type of work environment you’re in. What does building your work village look like? It can look like advocating for increased flexibility, such as flexible or remote work opportunities. Support at work can also come in the form of mentors or sponsors, who may well understand working mothers’ challenges and help advocate for you.
- Build your home village: At home, support can look like enlisting the help of your spouse, children, family, and childcare services. It can also take the form of supportive working parents’ network, who can serve as resources as well.
5. Embrace self-care
Self-care is a non-negotiable as a working mom. Whether it’s prioritizing your health through exercise, sleep and healthy eating, or scheduling “me time”, carving some time out for you is a must.
Another important aspect of self-care has to do with letting go of the “mommy guilt” eating at you every time you do something for you. Instead, choosing to shift your mindset from guilt to “doing your best” can help in the process. Lastly, don’t forget to celebrate your wins, small or big.
6. Set Your Vision
Now is the time to put all the pieces together and create a vision of your own brand of working motherhood. What milestones fit into this vision? How can they be broken into smaller, more achievable pieces? How can you align your long-term family vision to your professional goals?
7. Get Inspired by Other Women
Last but not least, get inspiration from the women around you to fuel your vision as you refine and adjust it over time. Who are the women around you who are successfully integrating their family life and work? Are there even role models on social media that you can informally get inspired by?
All in all, integrating motherhood and career looks different from one person to the next. At the end of the day, it’s really about what works for each and everyone of us. Taking small, actionable steps can help. Thriving both as a parent and as a professional is possible, after all.
The Corporate Sis.
