This is a collaborative post

I have just started my maternity leave for the 2nd time, and as of Wednesday just gone, I am officially out of the office for 12 months. A whole year. 4 whole seasons. It feels like an eternity yet I know the time will fly past. GULP. It is quite a daunting prospect.

I am incredibly lucky in that I actually LOVE my job, so I will miss my colleagues and my projects whilst I am away. Despite only breaking up on Thursday for the bank holiday, I have already checked my emails multiple times, partly because I am a loser, and partly because I have major FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) lol 🙂 – I am sure this will reduce a little once baby arrives, but for now, its good to be able to keep in the loop.

I returned to work part time after 12 months at home with Erin, and I know just how lucky I am to be given this option, as in many roles, particularly in Human Resources, part time or flexible working hours are extremely rare. I currently work three days a week, which is the perfect balance, meaning I get two days at home each week to spend precious time with my daughter or to get the jobs done that would otherwise have to wait till the weekend. At times, part time working has it’s challenges, but I wouldn’t change it for the world.

Here’s how part time working works for me:

Be as flexible as possible – Whilst you may need to have set working hours due to childcare arrangements, if you can, be as flexible as possible. I am blessed to have grandparents helping out two days a week, so if my boss needs me to change my working days, I can usually do so at short notice. I find this flexibility then works both ways – and  if ever I need to swap days due to grandparent’s holidays or personal appointments, I can usually discuss in advance without much of a problem.

Accept that normal ‘extra hours’ still apply! – I accept that being part time, there are times I need to log in outside of my normal hours – however, this  is perfectly natural whether I was working full time or part time – there is no such thing in my world as a 9- 5 and there never would be. I am not coded that way! 🙂

But when I log in, I try to keep it as brief as possible to stop getting sucked into emails and other tasks. But if you work at home, it’s always a good idea to keep a clean working space and a clean computer, just for the sake of organisation. Programs like Clean My Mac help to keep everything in some sort of order (and so I don’t have pointless emails and programs taking up hard disc space).  

In my job, walking out the door on time so I can go and pick up my daughter means I often have to catch up when she’s gone to bed but this enables me to see her each evening and have some quality time before she goes to bed – I simply cannot put a price on that!

Consider childcare for longer than you need – Does this make me sound like a selfish mother? My daughter goes to nursery on a Tuesday morning for a half day – despite me being at home. I did this for a couple of reasons.  Due to spending two days with grandparents, she would otherwise have only been in a nursery setting one day a week and I felt that an extra half day would help be beneficial. More time at nursery has helped her in terms of interacting with children of a similar age, learning to share, establishing a routine and becoming independent. She has made some great friends, and having that extra time with them each week has really helped. I also wanted to have a morning where I could do the boring jobs such as housework, food shopping and chores without a toddler calling out for my attention. If I manage it properly, it means on a Friday and the weekend, we have special time together where I can give her my full focus and we can do fun stuff together like go the park, play in the garden or make some craft projects together.

Yes I miss the money, and at times, it can be easier to go to work than stay at home with a threenager, but I am lucky and happy with my work life balance! 🙂 For now however, the stylish work bag has been swapped for a slightly more practical “mum” bag, and I am looking forward to a shift of focus! 🙂

Do you work part time? How do you find the balance?

This post is part of the #30bbdaysofgratitde project – taking time out of our busy lives to be thankful for all that we have! Today’s theme is My Projects / Work. Come back tomorrow for a new theme and a new post! 🙂