In 2020, over 75% of employed women were working moms, and had children under the age of 6. Managing a career while also making sure a tiny human stays alive is no small feat. They weren’t kidding when they said it takes a village to raise a child.
A lot of women go back to work not because they want to but because they have to. I chose to go back to work and have been a working mom for 3+ years now. I am a commuting mom (I travel into NYC every day) which adds about 2 extra hours every day.
In the beginning it was extremely hard to balance working full time and being a full time mom. I’ve now since added a side hustle/hobby and it is still amazingly hard to balance everything. In no way am I an expert and most days I am hangin on by a thread. What helps is having a partner to split the kid responsibilities and housework. I’m super grateful that I have a partner that handles the morning childcare stuff. And planning, lots and lots of planning.
Below is what a typical day in the life looks like for us.
Wake Up – 5:00AM-5:15AM
My alarm starts going off at 5:05 AM, whether I actually get out of bed is another story. I do not snooze most days as my goal is to be ready by 6:00AM(ish). This is when I shower, do my AM skincare, hair & makeup. Check out how I became a morning person here.
AM Chores/Blog Work – 6:00AM-6:20AM
Once I’m done getting ready, I will empty the dishwasher & put away things from the night before. Then if there’s time I’ll sit at the kitchen table with my coffee and work on blog things. Whether that’s writing, editing, graphics, etc.
Leave for Work – 6:20AM
Since I take the train to work, I’ll head out to the station around 6:20. It doesn’t take long, but I am a neurotic person and cannot be late. I usually get there with 5-6 minutes to spare.
Work Day – 7:30AM-4:00PM
The work day varies for me, no day is the same. I have the same tasks that need to be completed/worked on but there isn’t any set schedule. I tend to work through my lunch to ensure I get everything done so I can leave at 4PM.
Head Home – 4:00PM
The work day ends around 4:00PM for me since I am tied to a train schedule. I have to get Cameron by 6PM and the train isn’t always reliable. I leave myself a lot of room here because I never know if a train will be cancelled or delayed.
Daycare Pickup/Dinner – 5:00PM-6:45PM
Cam and I get home around 5:30(ish) every night. Once we get home and wash our hands, I start making dinner. We’re in the picky eater toddler stage right now so it’s basically mac n’cheese or chicken nuggets.
I recently re-activated our HelloFresh account, so dinners are already planned out for us. All we have to do is pick what we want that night. One of my favorite things about HelloFresh is that almost all the meals are under 30 minutes.
Family Time/Bath Time – 6:45PM-7:45PM
After dinner, we clean up and then head to Cameron’s play area to spend some time together as a family. I usually try to wrap this up around 7:45PM and get a bath running. Bathtime usually takes about 15 minutes, sometimes it’s more or less. We don’t do bath every night unless he’s super dirty (from school or eating) usually it’s every other night.
This is when I’ll also set up the kitchen for the next morning. I make sure coffee is set on the timer and that Cam’s daycare bag is ready to go.
Toddler Bedtime – 8:00PM
After bathtime, it’s time for bed. We head upstairs & get PJ’s on and I set up his room. I fill the FridaBaby Humidifier oil diffuser/humidifier with water & about 5 drops of lavender essential oil. His lullabies playing on his Alexa Dot and his Hatch Nightlight goes on automatically at 8:00PM.
Couple Time – Winding Down 8:00PM – 10:00(ish)PM
After Cam goes to sleep (and stays asleep), I will head to my room and do my PM skin care routine & change in PJ’s. Once I’m ready for bed, I usually hop in and grab my laptop or iPad and do some more blog work. Lights are usually out around 10PM and then I wake up the next day and start all over again.
Planning ahead and routines are key…
Planning ahead or prepping as much as possible has honestly been a life saver. Try to make any task automatic. For example, while I’m cleaning up the dishes after dinner, I set up our coffee for the next AM.
Create routines that will help set you up for success. Check out how I created a morning routine that has helped me get more done throughout the day.
I also make it a habit to lay out Cam’s clothes when we’re getting him ready for bed so it’s one less thing my husband has to take care of.
This is the schedule that we try to keep to because as any momma of a toddler knows, consistency is key. But not everything goes according to schedule. That being said, I’ve been thinking of switching up the bedtime routine because our little toddler has been FIGHTING this hard. It has been an on-going issue and we’ve tried a ton of things, some have worked (for the most part) and some haven’t.
Find the schedule that works for you and your family and do not be afraid to change things up if it’s not working. Nothing in life is set in stone, that’s the beauty of it. It’s ever changing.
There you have it, a day in the life of a working mom.
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