3 Ideas to Help you Transition Back to Work

The transition back to work can be hard for so many moms!  You may be going back to work after a maternity leave. Or maybe like me you are transitioning after years of being a stay at home parent.  Any way you do it, going back to work is a huge change in your schedule.  I am personally starting a long term substitute teacher job this month.  So for the next three months I will be back in the work force for the first time in eight years.  If you are like me, and working through this transition, I have three ideas to help you with this transition.

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Set Your Expectations as You Transition Back to Work

As I think about going back to work full time (temporarily), the first thing I need to do is set my expectations realistically.  I have just spent the last month watching my kids adjust to going back to school.  It definitely had it’s share of hard moments.  They were exhausted by the end of the week and that often ended in lots of big emotions.  And while they are kids, and I am an adult, it would be foolish of me to think that the transition back to work will not be physically, mentally, and emotionally taxing for me too!  Sometimes, just reminding myself ahead of time that I will come home tired helps take some of the sting out of it! 

I also want to set my expectations of my own performance.  I know I have a tendency to be a people pleaser and to demand perfection of myself.  Teaching is something I love, but I have also never taught full time while also being mom to four kids.  Add to that a busy season for my husband’s new business, and I know expecting perfection from myself will only end in shame.  In no way am I say, throw in the towel and just stop doing your best.  But if you are a perfectionist like me, you may want to remind yourself from the beginning that you will make mistakes. 

There will be lessons at school that don’t go well.  There will be times at home that I loose patience with my kids.  Times I just don’t leave enough time to get everything done.  I need to preload the reminder in my brain that failure isn’t the end.  It is an opportunity to repair and learn.  If I am honest, that sounds great to write on the page, but so much harder when faced with a day that is not going well.  But, I choose to press on and believe I can get better at shifting my perspective.

Prioritize for the Season

If you have followed me for a while you may know in the summer, I really try to intentionally think through what I want my priorities to be.  It is different each summer because our family has grown and changed and needs new things each summer.  This last summer, I choose my priorities to be rest, reading, and kindness.  It was honestly, so helpful, as I know we are going into this next busy season.  And it made me ask myself, why don’t I ask the same question at other seasons of my life?  

So, as I move into this season of transition, I asked myself what do I want to prioritize?  After some thought, I was lead to the word connection.  I want to prioritize connecting with God, my family and close friends, and my students.  Of course there will be other things that happen outside of those priorities, but they serve as an anchor and guide.  If I have to choose between connecting with God and working on the to do list, I should follow my priorities and connect with God.  I will never be a person who just ignores the to do list, but thinking through these priorities helps me stay true to what is really important to me.

Simplify Everything

The last step I am taking as I prepare to transition back to work is to simplify as much as possible.  If I can find a way to streamline something then I will do it!  It doesn’t mean it has to stay that way forever, but while we are all adjusting to this change, the more simple our lives and routines, the better. 

For example, I will be simplifying dinner.  I have been stocking the freezer with double batches for easy thaw and reheat dinners. On nights I do cook, I will be sticking to meals I know that I can easily make.  I know I will be tired at night as I start and the last thing I will want to do is make an unfamiliar or complicated recipe.   Trying to plan that will likely result in a drive thru meal! 

Other ways you may want to simplify your life are grocery pickup or delivery!  I know most of our local grocery stores offer a pick up option for free and shopping online is so much faster than going through the store!  You could also streamline your cleaning routine.  We do the kids clothes every week on Friday and then they fold and put them away on Saturday.  I do my clothes on Saturday and my husband does his on Sunday.  This keeps us from having to decide when to do laundry or from running out of clean clothes. 

You can also streamline and decide what chores are essential daily chores for you.  In our house, we do dishes, sweep, and pick up the living room every day.  You may have different priorities, but deciding what your cleaning priorities are and then assigning those duties will help the work from piling up, but also keep the burden from being yours alone. 

What tips do you have for transitioning back to work?  We can cheer each other on!!  I know I am cheering for you as you navigate this new change!

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