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Confident like a mother! On Developing Confidence as a Working Mom

Confident like a mother! On Developing Confidence as a Working Mom

The other day, I was in the middle of disciplining one of my babies (who are no longer babies), when the thought “ I have no idea what I’m doing” crossed my mind. As a Black mom of a pre-teen and a full-blown teenager, these moments in my working mom life are happening more and more. Whereas they used to be far and few in between, now during this teenage phase, they have become more the norm than the exception. Truth is, there are few things like raising teenagers (and kids in general) that will also raise both your blood pressure and insecurities as a mom and a parent in general…

Have you ever, like myself, been in the middle of disciplining your child, only to question your own confidence, adequacy and aptitude as a mom? Have you ever felt that you needed a larger supply confidence as a mom? And really (tell the truth), have you ever wondered if there ever were a “mom confidence training” class somewhere? Ok, I’ll give in, I know I have…

Whereas confidence is more often associated with career and work skills, there is not enough talk about how many moms like myself find themselves needing one (or many) extra shots of maternal confidence, especially in current times. While parenting has always been a challenge for most, if not all parents, the modern lethal addition and combination of modern technology, social media and mental health culture, among other factors, have made it both a virtual and physical gargantuan task for moms.

According to the 2021 research by the WealthiHer Network, 79% of women recognize they struggle with self-esteem. Further studies reveal almost two thirds of new mothers, or roughly about 63%, report decreasing levels of self-esteem after giving birth. Unfortunately, lack of confidence and self-esteem can result in self-doubt, which can then turn into burnout, anxiety, and/or depression.

As a first generation immigrant from Senegal, West Africa, the cultural clash between witnessing raising kids back home, and the corresponding reality in today’s America, has been trying to say the least. As a Black working mom juggling motherhood, career, marriage, laundry, and all the rest of life in the midst of a world still struggling with racism, sexism, and discrimination of all kinds, it’s been akin to walking a tightrope threatening to break at any moment. Add to it all the modern advice and literature around conscious parenting (thank you Dr. Shefali), childhood trauma, and the rampant mental health epidemic among the youth, and there’s an explosive cocktail of parental confusion with strong notes of mothering guilt and not-so-subtle undertones of societal crisis…And need I mention the lack of parental support, paid leave or a general infrastructure to assist moms? ‘Nuff said…

So how do we even begin to develop anything close to “mom confidence” in today’s world? How do you sift through all the biases, traumas, dreams, and responsibilities to uncover the secrets to raising well-balanced kids without losing your sanity and very last coin? How can we, as not-so-proud holders of multiple minority statuses, whether as Black women, women of color, and women in general, take back our power when it comes to raising our children?

Well, since I have not found the mothering secret (or any secret for that matter) or magic recipe, here are some tidbits about my humble own experience, and that of the many working moms I’ve had the privilege to share this mom path with;

  • Learn and adjust!

Modern motherhood is not for the faint of hearts, especially when navigating the cultural and racial , as well as technology, social media and mental health issues that plague our world and societies. In an ever-evolving world, constantly adjusting and learning become indispensable. As a Black woman, an immigrant floating between different cultures and realities, learning is a constant necessity.

As a lifelong nerd and academic, much of my learning happens in books. I’ve also been gifted with precious sisters, aunts, mothers whose advice, conversation and support have taught me more than I could ever learn from the pages of any book. This learning has also informed much of my work and career, and progress in other areas of life.

What learning is motherhood pointing you to? What unanswered questions can you find answers to? What are the safe spaces, places and people you can learn from?

  • Build and leverage confidence in other areas, including your career

While I always proclaim that being a mom has made me a better career woman, the reverse is also true. In many instances, the confidence I’ve gained in my career has allowed me to show up as a freer, more authentic version of myself as a mom. It’s allowed me to trust myself, my intuition and my God-given skills and abilities, including those of a mother. As a Christian mom, my faith has been the pillar of my confidence, which has also significantly helped ground me professionally and personally as a working mom.

In turn, this same sense of confidence has kept fueling much of my career and professional life, almost creating literal emotional, mental and even spiritual economies of scale throughout the various areas of my life. When I don’t feel as confident as a mom, I can remind myself of my spiritual foundation of faith and confidence. I can revisit all the times when I felt and acted confident at work, in my relationships, in my vocation.

Which areas of your life and work can you leverage to build and boost your confidence as a working mom?

  • Healing is key!

One thing that motherhood, and parenting in general, will unveil, is the core of yourself. You can count on mothering to awaken the wild beast of all your traumas, known or unknown (mostly unknown), and bring to the surface emotions, attitudes and reactions you would have never suspected in a million years. I know it certainly did (and still does) for me…

While my career has revealed over time some of the childhood trauma I have needed to heal from, motherhood has laid bare even deeper wounds I need to face. Indeed, one of the most precious gifts of motherhood is the call to heal. Understanding, and heeding, this call, through formal and informal therapy (read: books and endless girlfriend conversations), has been nothing short of a saving grace for me.


Has your experience as a working mom revealed areas where you need healing?

All in all, developing confidence as a working mom requires much more than many, if not most of us, anticipate at first. Through learning and adjusting, building and leveraging confidence from other areas of life and work, and focusing on healing, we can keep growing through motherhood.


What has been your experience developing confidence as a working mom?



The Corporate Sis

How to build your family mission statement as a working mom

How to build your family mission statement as a working mom

The story was repeating itself…It was only the third day back to school after the New Year, and the kids had missed the morning school bus…Again…The morning tension was at its usual peak, what with breakfasts barely eaten, work schedules now thrown off, and moods in need of a serious overhaul, all before 7am…At this point, with one teenager, one almost-teen, an unruly dog, and about ten loads of laundry in tow, I felt our family was in need of more than the usual New Year resolutions and goals. We needed something stronger, better, some sort of a purpose or mission that would create a shift in this season of our family…This is where our journey to build a family mission statement began…

As a working mom, the New Year rarely feels like a fresh, clean slate. After all, last year’s laundry is still lingering in the dryer, glitter from the Christmas gifts’  overpriced wrapping paper is still littering the dirty floors, and no one is checking the bank account balance until things somewhat settle…With each passing year as a mom, family resolutions become increasingly obsolete, slowly replaced by the hurried frenzy of the first days back at work and in school…Each year, as I stare at the sheer immensity of Motherhood, I keep asking myself: “So…where do I begin?

Have you ever thought of building your own family’s mission statement? Have you ever looked at your closest loved ones, and wondered as you were picking up dirty socks off the floor, if there could be a sense of a common mission among you? I know I have, in between two loads of laundry, grading mid-term papers and emptying the dishwasher…

If like me, you and your family are in the process of building your family’s mission statement, these 3 steps may help:

  • Clarify your vision of your family

How do you envision your family and family life? If you were to close your eyes and picture your idea of what your family would be like, what do you see?

Too often, we don’t have a clear idea, or any idea at all, of our vision for our family. Neither do we talk about it. Growing up in Senegal, West Africa, in a single parent home, there was no time even to begin to think about having a vision for our family. How was that going to help with anything?

Fast-forward a few decades in my own family, as an African immigrant in America, stuck in between the reality of American families and the history of African families. To say there was confusion was an understatement…Clearing this confusion required coming up with a clear vision for our family, not just for me, but for each and every one of us.

  • Define (or redefine) your values and principles as a family.

What are your family’s values and principles?  What’s important to you as a family? What are you and your family members passionate about? What do you love to do together? When are you and your family members at your best, or at your worst? In what ways can you help better others in the family, and vice-versa? How do you want to be perceived as a family?

Defining or re-defining your values and principles as a family can help put everyone on the same wavelength, especially when it feels like everyone in the family has been speaking a different language. It’s especially powerful when children and young adults express their values and principles for the family, as they may not often get the opportunity to do so.

  • Reflect on your family’s impact

What contributions would you want to make as a family? What impact are you envisioning your family making on others? What have you been struggling to achieve as a family?

Reflecting on your contributions, achievements and desired impact as a family can help explore the goals ahead of you. Not just any goals, but rather the goals aligned with the unique vision, values and principles for your own unique family.

I don’t know about you, but my family is on a mission. We’re not a perfect family, nor do we aspire to be. Yet, in the midst of the imperfect, beautiful chaos that is our life, we’re striving to share a common mission and purpose we can walk towards.

What is your family’s mission statement?



The Corporate Sister.

Out with the resolutions, in with the mission: 3 steps to build your own mission statement

Out with the resolutions, in with the mission: 3 steps to build your own mission statement

Every year, the resolution frenzy takes over, as people all around the world make a list, however much realistic (or not), of goals they plan to accomplish during the new year. And yes, I was “people” for the longest time (and I still am)…

Making a list of changes, however unrealistic, at the beginning of the year, somehow feels like a relief when faced with the unpredictable newness of another turn around the sun. It feels good to etch ideals of achievement, goals and behaviors on a virgin slate of time… As if laying these down on paper, or even uttering them in the atmosphere of a still pregnant future, would make them magically turn into reality…

For many years, as an overachieving perfectionist, a mom, wife, professional, I would partake in the same resolution ritual, peppered with slight variations in form, loud empowering affirmations and frail temporary faith here and there. Yet every year, it would be the same walk down the hallway of resolution shame, barely hanging on by a thread of watered down excuses… until the following year, that is…

At the end of last year, I finally, and quite ungracefully bowed out of the annual resolution dance, less out of an urge to do better and more out of sheer exhaustion. I was just sick and tired of being sick and tired… The same goals and strategies that have been hammered on us from year to year, from “waking up earlier” to “getting more organized”, not to mention “making it to the gym this year”,  no longer worked for this mama juggling work, kids, home and everything in between…Especially not in the post-COVID era of scarce childcare resources and non-existent parental support…

I needed something else to keep me going…I had just completed a terminal degree that left me running out of steam, while raising a teenager and a tween, and pursuing an academic career I am passionate about. I was out of resolutions, out of stamina, and in serious need of something stronger than black coffee with a spritz of lemon juice and a touch of cinnamon. I needed a mission, beginning with a mission statement…

In his acclaimed book, “The 7 habits of highly effective people”, Stephen Covey discusses the importance of building our own mission statements, whether personal, team or family-oriented. He delves into the power of mission statements when discussing the second habit entitled “Begin with the end in mind”, out of the 7 habits defined in the book.


According to Stephen Covey, a mission statement is about “ defining the personal,  moral and ethical guidelines within which you can most happily express and fulfill yourself.” The way I see it, a mission statement is the clear, concise expression of one’s purpose, priorities, along with the actions to live a purposeful, fulfilling, and successful life. It’s a compass of sorts to keep us on the path that is right for us…

As I stepped into the New Year, the idea of a compass, a sense of direction in an otherwise increasingly directionless world, sounded so much more appealing than a set of empty, albeit widely popular, resolutions. As a mom, career woman, wife, along with the other hats I, like so many other women, wear day in and out, it took me decades to realize that popular strategies and mainstream advice do not work for me. As a matter of fact, from talking to so many other women, they hardly work for many, if not most, working women and moms. Hitting the gym three to four times a week, as much of a sound resolution as it may be, is not as practicable for a mom struggling to barely make it to work after dropping off the kids to school and daycare. Neither does the 5am club be much of an option for an exhausted working mom in dire need of sleep. Instead, a sense of direction, a compass that could be adapted to my own purpose, life, circumstances and chaotic kitchen, may just be what the doctor ordered…

So this year, I’m skipping the resolutions, and embracing my own mission. My own mission statement, to be more exact…One as unique as my purpose, priorities, and goals…If like myself, you are sick and tired of being sick and tired of making (and breaking) the same popular resolutions, here are three steps I can suggest to begin the process, inspired from Stephen Covey’s mission statement builder:

  • Hone in on your Vision

Who do I want to be? What may sound like such a simplistic question holds so many answers as to the direction to take in a new year. Even if the vision is not yet clear, just delineating the character we may envision for ourselves can get us started in the process of framing our mission. This includes digging into what we are passionate about, what drives us, what we can imagine ourselves doing without the time and resource constraints we usually face, especially as working women and moms. It’s visualizing our life’s journey, and using it as the start of the mapping of our own personal missions.

When I first started crafting my mission statement, reflecting on my vision and who I want to be turned out to be quite the interesting exercise. I had anticipated struggling with even beginning to lay down my vision in words. Yet, in the absence of distracting lofty goals and resolutions, it became simpler and so much more enjoyable for me to see in the eye of my mind, through the things I enjoy doing and the childhood dreams I still have, what my vision is.  


What is your vision of who you want to be? What if time, resources, and other constraints were no object? What if you cleaned the crowded slate of popular goals and commonly accepted objectives to re-focus on what truly matters to you?

  • Identify your values and principles

What are your values and principles? What would you like to make a priority going forward? Who are the people who influence you? What are the physical, social, emotional, mental and spiritual activities that you value the most?

Delving into what I value the most was surprisingly refreshing, as opposed to setting far-fetched objectives that raise the already high level of pressure we’re under. It also brought light to many of the things I have been doing that are not in alignment with my values and principles. In a way, it confirmed the sense of direction I had started getting from defining my vision in the first step.

  • Focus on future contributions and achievements

What can you do going forward to contribute to those around you? How can you use your gifts and talents to do so? When are you at your best to do so? To complete the sense of direction you have started getting from honing in on your vision and defining your values and principles, you can begin focusing on future contributions.

Getting to this third and last part was not quite as laborious as I thought it would be. Armed with a clearer vision and sense of my own values, I was inspired to see how these could serve those I love deeply, and the world at large. I was encouraged by documenting my own gifts and talents, and the concrete ways these could be of service.

What struck me through this process is that actual achievements and contributions only came after refining my vision, values and principles. Unlike the traditional, and popular way of setting goals, this process first led me on a foundational self-introspection journey, before laying any goals down. It did not leave me to fend for myself against far-fetched, misaligned objectives, almost setting me up for unavoidable failure. Instead, it provided direction and guidance.

As I went through each one of these steps to build my own mission statement, I experienced a sense of relief and clarity that resolutions and goals never provided me. For once, I felt in my lane, aligned with the vision that was mine, the values that I believe in, and the contributions I feel inspired to make with the strengths and desires I have. For once, I did not feel like I had to meet some elusive ideal of excellence that was not in line with my authentic self. I felt like I did not just set a destination with no idea as to how I could possibly get there. Instead, I had some sort of a map, or at least the foundation of it, that would lead me back to the only destination worth getting to: myself.

Have you built your own mission statement?

Happy New Year,

The Corporate Sister.

30 Best Amazon Black Friday Sales for Working Women and Moms

30 Best Amazon Black Friday Sales for Working Women and Moms

*Please note this post may contain affiliate links, which means I may earn commissions for purchases made through links in these posts.  As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

The holiday season is certainly a busy season for working women and moms, what with planning family and friends’ celebrations, gift-giving and meeting year-end deadlines. For busy working women and moms, Black Friday can be the perfect opportunity to take an early approach for the holidays and save on deals for the whole family. From a financial perspective, especially during inflationary periods, planning ahead can relieve a significant burden on families. From a personal, family and community perspective, taking advantage of early deals can save valuable time and stress.

I personally know first-hand how stressful the holidays can be, and have learned with time to plan earlier for year-end festivities. An important part of my early planning process involves curating a list of available sales on Black Friday, whether in person or online.

This year, here are my 10 best Amazon Black Friday sales for working women and moms curated from my own list of must-haves and luxuries for the home, the family and the office.

For the home:

For the Family:

For the Office:

All in all, Black Friday sales can be great opportunities to plan ahead, while saving time, money and energy on year-end shopping.

For more Amazon sales and deals, click HERE to check out my Amazon storefront.

What are your favorite Black Friday deals?

The Corporate Sister.

Ambitious Like A Mother: How to fight the double-edged sword of ambition as a working mom

Ambitious Like A Mother: How to fight the double-edged sword of ambition as a working mom

You don’t need to take that certification, you’re a mom now, just take care of your kids…”

I remember these words like it was yesterday. While they were intended to be well-meaning coming from one of my loved ones, they cut like a knife. I had been trying to get my Certified Public Accounting license for a few months now, and had failed miserably after the first few attempts. I was on the verge of giving up….Had it not been for my wonderfully supportive husband, I probably would have…

This story is not unique. It’s the story of so many ambitious moms trying hard to juggle motherhood, career and everything in between. On one hand, they have so much merit going after their dreams and purpose while taking care of their families, often at the expense of their own well-being. On the other, they are often discouraged to do so, and even criticized and humiliated in the process.

Despite a growing number of working mothers in the U.S. workforce, even after the pandemic, research confirms the discrimination and negative stereotypes against working moms still persist at the hiring stage and beyond. Yet, working moms are still just as ambitious as women without children. They are also returning to work in greater numbers after the pandemic and using the advantage of remote and flexible work, as well as leveraging digital technology, to juggle work and family life. This is in addition to the general ambition bias against women in general, and working moms in particular. Women, and mothers in particular, are often slammed for being ambitious and stepping out of the traditional roles of wife and mother. Actually, being a working mom has been proven to benefit children.

What’s a working mom to do to face the double-edged sword of ambition?

Here are a few steps that can help:

  • Clarify your values:

Clarifying your values and priorities is the first step to fight this double-edged sword. What is truly important to you? What impact do you want to make on your family, community and the world at large? What do you want your legacy to be? Who do you truly want to be? These are some of the questions that will help you clarify your values and priorities, and help you move in the direction of what truly matters to your authentic self.

  • Assume your choice:

Even after clarifying what my values and priorities were, I was still in denial for a long time. It is important to assume your choice as an ambition working mother, especially when faced with opposition from the outer world. Accepting yourself and your career as well as your life choices is absolutely imperative when it comes to fighting the stigma of ambition as a working mom.

  • Create your own brand of motherhood:

Last but not least, clarifying your values and priorities and assuming your choice will lead you to create your own brand of motherhood. What kind of mother do you see yourself being? How do you mother best?

The reality is, ambition truly is a double-edged sword for working moms, both on the professional and on the personal and community front. Yet it is one that moms can use to improve themselves, inspire their family and create a new brand of motherhood for themselves.

How do you fight the double-edged sword of ambition as a working mom?


The Corporate Sis.

The Mother of All Negotiations: On Negotiating Flexible Schedules and Family-Friendly Policies as Working Moms

The Mother of All Negotiations: On Negotiating Flexible Schedules and Family-Friendly Policies as Working Moms

As I started my career as a young professional woman, I was barely aware that I could negotiate my salary, let alone anything else. As I became a mother, it didn’t occur to me until a long time that I could negotiate for benefits including flexibility and other family-friendly benefits. While I was too preoccupied with being accepted and valued at work, I did not think I had the room, the authority or the permission

In today’s fast-paced work environment, achieving a work-life balance is crucial, especially for working moms juggling both career and family responsibilities. This is where negotiating flexible schedules and family-friendly policies can significantly improve working moms’ quality of life. For many, the traditional 9-to-5 work model may not align with the demands of parenting, self-care, social relations and life in general.

According to the U.S. Labor Bureau of Statistics, 73% of moms with children under 18 years of age were employed in 2022. Among these, many working mothers are also the breadwinners in their households, as confirmed by data from the Center for American Progress. With such an overwhelming number of mothers in the workforce, the need for family-friendly policies cannot be overstated. As a matter of fact, research clearly shows family friendly policies such as dependent care and leave benefits have a significant positive and moderating effect on work-family conflict created by work demand.

From enabling moms to pick up their children from school, attend doctor’s appointments, or simply spend more quality time with their families, flexible schedules and family-friendly policies allow working mothers to better integrate work and family life. They also help relieve moms of sometimes overwhelming stress from juggling work and family responsibilities, thus also promoting mental well-being. Lastly, they also tend to increase job satisfaction and loyalty, leading to a more committed and productive workforce. This is not to mention promoting gender equality as well, thus contributing to closing the gender gap in the workplace, allowing mothers to progress in their careers while still nurturing their families.

If you’re a working mom looking to negotiate a more flexible work arrangement, here are a few tips that may help:

1. Know Your Needs and Boundaries

Before initiating negotiations, it’s crucial to have a clear understanding of your needs and boundaries.

What type of flexibility do you need? (e.g., remote work, adjusted hours)

How will this benefit both you and your employer?

What are your non-negotiable boundaries?

Having a firm grasp of your requirements will make your negotiation more effective.

2. Research your Company Policies

Familiarize yourself with your company’s policies regarding flexible work arrangements. Some organizations already have guidelines in place you may consult online or through their human resources department. Understanding these policies can help you navigate the negotiation process more effectively.

3. Prepare a Compelling Proposal

Create a well-thought-out proposal that outlines the benefits of a flexible schedule. Consider how it will positively impact your productivity, work-life balance, and job satisfaction. Use data and examples to support your case.

4. Highlight Your Performance

Emphasize your track record of delivering results. Make it clear that your request for flexibility won’t compromise your ability to meet work objectives. Demonstrate your commitment to maintaining or even enhancing your performance.

5. Suggest Solutions to Potential Concerns

Anticipate and address any potential concerns your employer may have. For instance, if your request is for remote work, propose solutions for maintaining effective communication and collaboration with your team. Show that you’ve thought through the practicalities.

6. Initiate the Conversation Professionally

Arrange a meeting with your supervisor to discuss your proposal. Approach the conversation professionally and non-confrontationally. Express your desire to find a solution that benefits both you and the organization.

7. Be open!

During the negotiation, actively listen to your employer’s perspective. Be open to compromises or adjustments based on their feedback. Flexibility should be a two-way street.

8. Propose a Trial Period

To ease your employer’s concerns, propose a trial period for the flexible schedule. This allows both parties to test the arrangement and make adjustments if necessary. It also provides an opportunity to demonstrate its effectiveness.

9. Be Aware of your Legal Rights

Familiarize yourself with local labor laws and regulations regarding flexible work arrangements. Knowing your rights can help ensure that your negotiated agreement aligns with legal standards and protections.

10. Document the Agreement

Once you and your employer reach an agreement, make sure it’s documented in writing. Include all the terms and conditions of your flexible schedule, ensuring clarity for both parties.

In addition to flexible schedules, you may also negotiate family-friendly policies to better support you as a working mom. Here are some tips as you prepare to get to the negotiation table:

1. Know the Available Benefits

Research the family-friendly benefits offered by your organization. These may include maternity and paternity leave, childcare support, lactation rooms, or flexible spending accounts for dependent care.

2. Highlight the Benefits for the Company

When negotiating family-friendly policies, emphasize how these benefits can positively impact the company. For example, shorter maternity leave may lead to quicker return to work and reduced turnover.

3. Connect with your Peers

Talk to colleagues who have successfully negotiated family-friendly policies. They can offer insights, share their experiences, and provide guidance on the negotiation process.

4. Align with the Company Culture

Frame your request in a way that aligns with your company’s values and culture. Emphasize how these policies can contribute to a more inclusive and supportive workplace.

5. Consider a Personal Support System

If possible, involve HR or a mentor in the negotiation process. Having a support system can help ensure that your needs are heard and addressed effectively.

6. Negotiate Flexibility Within Policies

While some family-friendly policies may be standard, there may be room for negotiation within these policies. For example, if your company offers childcare support, negotiate the flexibility to choose the childcare provider that best suits your family’s needs.

7. Stay Informed About any potential Changes

Be aware of any changes or updates to family-friendly policies within your organization. This can help you stay current and take advantage of new opportunities.

8. Document Policy Agreements

Just like with flexible schedules, ensure that any agreements related to family-friendly policies are documented in writing. This creates a clear record of what was negotiated and agreed upon.

Negotiating flexible schedules and family-friendly policies as a working With effective strategies, you can navigate the negotiation process effectively and create a work environment that supports your needs as both a dedicated professional and a loving parent.

Are you negotiating family-friendly policies and flexible work arrangements as a working mom?

The Corporate Sis.

Back to School Time! 3 Steps to Creating a Successful Back-to-school System

Back to School Time! 3 Steps to Creating a Successful Back-to-school System

For many, if not most working women and moms, back-to-school is quite the stressful time. New schedules to coordinate, childcare to secure, administrative duties to take care of, all the while juggling the rest of their commitments because life doesn’t stop because school is back in session. If anything, the intense post-summer rhythm ends up taking a toll on working women and moms, affecting their mental and physical well-being, as well as their careers and even personal relationships…This is especially more acute when working women and moms do not have the necessary support to handle all the related changes, from infrastructure to community support. Not to mention the financial toll that comes with the heightened school-related expenses for parents…

It’s no wonder then that, many working moms and parents in general, dread the back-to-school period. An Indeed survey reveals 84% of mothers and 85% of dads are taken by surprise by the back-to-school challenges. A majority of moms (94%) tend to feel that the chores and childcare are their responsibility, which also puts a strain on marriages and partnerships. In addition, moms also tend to deal with managing the desire to be present during daytime activities at school, welcome the kids home, and take advantage of social opportunities with fellow parents, along with the societal pressure that accompany these. Considering the number of dual-earning households where both parents have to work, this can pose serious problems in terms of coordinating schedules, leading successful careers and having harmony at home.

For many, if not most moms, these pressures directly conflict with getting back to a more intense work and family pace for the last months of the year. This adds itself to the pressure to finish the year well, and successfully meet deadlines and deliverables before the end of the year. While the COVID-19 pandemic may have opened a wider door to remote and flexible work arrangements, increasing the number of women in the workforce, it’s also created increased childcare issues and is burdening women with handling both the home and work front simultaneously.

As such, developing a back-to-school system that works best for each working mom can go a long way towards lessening the frustration, guilt, and even home and work issues that often arise at the end of the summer months. Here are three steps to consider:

  • Developing a vision and plan for the back-to-school season:

As mentioned earlier, the back-to-school season takes many parents by surprise. The sheer amount of tasks and coordination involved leaves many a working mom especially frazzled and stressed out. One of the main reasons for this is, as many tend to not give thought to it earlier in the summer, they underestimate the breadth of what is involved. If we add to it current childcare shortages, increasing inflation and other societal, political, and economic pressures, the whole thing can end up turning into the perfect parental and family storm.

Hence the need to develop a vision and plan beforehand. This involves starting at least a couple of weeks earlier, considering all individuals involved, including parents and children, but also the communities around, the schools and workplaces involved as well. How do we want the back-to-school season to feel? What errors and mistakes do we want to avoid?

Putting together all the schedules of all individuals and places involved allows to spot and fill in the blanks, that is all those times, commitments and duties that may require assistance and support, and find ways to approach these.

  • Set up a communication plan:

Very often, especially as working moms, we fail to communicate our needs and expectations, especially during harsh seasons. Being so accustomed to literally doing it all, or doing most of it, has robbed many of the skill to ask for help. As a result, overwhelm, frustration, even burnout ensue, unfortunately leaving us depleted and drained. This is where setting up an effective communication plan is crucial.

This entails communicating personal and professional needs and expectations, as related to scheduling, administrative tasks, school and family events as well as finances to the units that make up our communities, including home, work, schools, and the villages we operate in. Some examples include asking for remote and flexible work arrangements, coordinating schedules with partners and family support, or asking for teachers’ assistance.

  • Take action!

Last but not least, the last part of this system is to take consistent and dedicated action towards making this back-to-school system work. Change requires preparation and consistent action, and back-to-school changes are no exception. This is where implementing small modifications to personal, professional and family habits come in handy, such as progressively modifying bedtimes and wake-up times or slowly reinforcing daily study habits. Stacking habits, whereby new habits are built upon already existing ones, such as scheduling study time right after breakfast, can also help.

Most importantly, maintain the consistency of small changes over time makes all the difference. Involving the whole family, setting up a rewards system, or regularly motivating everyone can go a long way to keep at it!

All in all, back-to-school, while being a busy time for working moms and working parents/families as a whole, doesn’t need to be a time of struggle, frustration and anxiety. Setting up a solid system based on a strong vision and plan, adequate communication and consistent action can help transform a usually dreaded time of year, into one of successful transition.

What are your tips for a successful back-to-school season?


The Corporate Sis.