I write as I am on holiday with my kids. They are in bed, I'm on my laptop and I have just checked through all my work emails.
'But it is a holiday' you cry, but alas, the checking of my emails is my choice. I wont be fired if I don’t and no one will tell me I am wrong, but that is not me. This is my choice. I am choosing to check in versus returning to the office with 1000 emails. I am choosing to reply to a quick yes or no on key decisions in the business, and if I am really honest, I am keeping myself sane.
I adore my children, they are my world and would come before anything or anyone, but I need both. I want to be with them, and I want to be at work. I want to have holidays with them and stay connected and I want to skip a key meeting to attend a school play - and I do. As a WoMo I want to be in two places at once and we know that is an impossibility, so how do we manage both?
Everyone has their boundaries and my word, you should stick to yours but for me there are areas of grey. I let my work blend into my family life and vice versa yet within that I have clear lines. I wont be on my laptop when the kids are about, I will do quick messages on my phone only when urgent, and I will stay away from excessive screen time in their company. They need my attention. And on the flip side in the office, I am dedicated to the job that I do, I will be present and in an emergency I will of course drop work to be with them. All hail my iWatch which has really helped me with the phone/office juggle. In a meeting at work I can glance and check whether it’s a mate about a social next week or the nanny, and when on holiday I can have a cursory glimpse at my wrist and be reassured it isn’t the office. I ask the office to text me if anything is urgent, as I wont be checking my email daily.
So yes, at times I am divided, but when it comes to the crunch, family always comes first. But I cannot deny, that 4 days into a week with the kids, the first evening has arrived when I felt I wanted to reconnect to the office.