Gone are the days when a woman stays and keeps the home while the man provides for the family alone. The economic dynamics have changed so much that a family can only survive when both the man and woman are contributing to the running of the home.
Women are expected to excel both at work and the home where they function in the dual role of a wife to the husband and a mother to the children. However, there has not been any clear concession given to the woman to make their responsibility easier since the weight they carry exerts more pressure on them than their male counterparts.
Who is a career woman? A career woman is expected to wake up as early as possible, everyday, to ensure she resumes at an 8:00 am – 5:00pm job and be able to successfully undertake all assigned tasks without fail. This does not differentiate between a married or single woman, the level of commitment and responsibilities required remain the same.
Who is a family woman? As earlier mentioned, a woman in the home has a dual role of a wife and a mother, both of which should not be conflicting at any point in time. As a home keeper, the woman is expected to take care of the home by preparing meals, cater for the children and ensure everywhere is clean and the house habitable. This is in addition to always available to respond to the physical and emotional demands of the husband.
The failure of women to successfully combine these responsibilities has given rise to women who are doing well in career or business but have lost their homes; children, husbands or both.
How have I been able to combine both my family and career over time? Please, read on:
1. PLANNING – Planning is a great tool that helps prioritize and allocate time efficiently between important tasks. As a career woman, I ensure a time schedule that takes into consideration all the tasks from my roles as well as setting reasonable targets so as to ensure that nothing lacks my attention both at home and work.
2. PRIORITIZING – I realize that for my planning to be effective, its important for me to also prioritize. i.e when to cook, clean, study, play time with my children, go shopping, go visiting etc. All these are critical part of home time but have different level of importance.
3. KNOWING WHEN TO DRAW THE LINE between work, business and family – Knowing that the most productive part of my day is usually spent at work, I ensure the same work does not take my time when at home. Yes, there may be some times that work will crossover into the home-time but I make effort to consciously control it to only when extremely necessary so as to ensure that my home-time is strictly for my family (hubby & children).
4. COMMUNICATION – A lot of failures in life, especially in relation to career and marriage have been traced to poor communication. We cannot avoid misunderstandings or misconceptions in most of our journey, however, the ability to explain myself with clarity has helped my family (especially my husband) to understand me greatly thus giving me all the needed support and relieving me of the mental and emotional stress that could have engulfed me.
The idea behind successfully combining these important roles is that none of them should clash. While I still struggle with some overlap occasionally, I try to do everything possible to avoid conflicts of interest.
Till I come your way next week, know that, if I can, then you can.
Author: Bukola Folusho-Omole
God is on the throne of my Life!