The Wall Street Journal has an excellent new blog, The Juggle, which focuses on women juggling careers, family and their dreams. Sara Moss, executive vice president, general counsel and secretary of Estée Lauder gave ten great tips on how to make it work.
10. It’s a Juggle, Not a Balance: “Different things take precedence at different times, as they should. If you have a sick child, that’s what’s important. If you have a trial, that’s what important. . this way you can achieve some balance over time. Remember, it’s a marathon, not a sprint.”
9. Take Care of Yourself First: “You’re going to need energy for this juggle.”
8. Stay Focused on What is Important to You and Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff
7. Don’t Apologize for Your Choices: “To your children or anyone else. Many of us are fortunate enough to have interesting work that is challenging and rewarding. We shouldn’t feel guilty about it . . . Now, I did not do this, for many years. I spent a lot of time feeling guilty.”
6. Don’t Demonize Other Women’s Choices: “I do have a confession — any time that a child got into real trouble at one of my kid’s schools, the first things I wanted to know was whether the mother worked, and if their mother didn’t work, I said, ‘oh I‘m glad!’ That was bad of me. Don’t do that! Every woman is. . .trying to figure it out the best way she can.”
5. Establish Routines that Reinforce Time for the Relationship or Passion: She mentioned making time for exercise or reading to kids every night.
4. It Takes a Village to Raise a Child: “Look to your family and good friends to create a community and support for your children.”
3. Create Quality Time Whenever You Can: Ms. Moss said that when her children were old enough, she took them on business trips. She also created the “eighth grade trip,” taking one child alone on a trip at that point to wherever they wanted to go, including Egypt and different parts of Europe. On the trips, she said, she could spend time with that one child, which was “different from the zone defense I was used to.”
2. Be There When You Are There: “You can actually go to the park without your BlackBerry.”
1. Enjoy the Ride: “I feel that doing this juggle . . that I have a wonderful, rich, interesting life.”
This information couldn't have come at a better time. I just wrote a blogg about how I'm juggling between family and my career. I do judge women a lot and I shouldn't. I'm so independent that I can't stand to talk to some of the military wives who literally ask their husbands permission to have a life, for money, access to the car, etc. That bothers me so much. I think it bothers me because my grandmother waited on my grandfather hand and foot and he still treated her as if she were any female other than his wife. I'm working on me though so I guess thats what matters, but it just bothers me when I see a husband who always leaves his family at night for the "night life action" but will tell his wife she can't go to the gym to work out because there are too many men there. Does anyone else feel my frustration?
Posted by: Mercedes | August 28, 2008 at 04:23 AM