Work Life Balance for WAHMs: 'Closing the Door' on work

I've just hoped off an online chat with a group of working mums at Connect2Mums (tautology, I know, all mums work their butts off!!!). Sooooooooo many WAHMs (Work-at-Home Mums) I speak to talk about the challenges of 'Work Life balance'.

One of the hardest things - I find - is when you 'leave' your home office and walk around with a 'hangover' (work thoughts buzzing around your head while kids buzz around your feet reminding you of all the other things you need to do PLUS the fact you haven't yet decided what to feed the beasties for dinner!)

I recently wrote a simple meditation mantra and have been using this for myself - at my desk - several times a day. I've got loads of stuff going on at the moment (who hasn't!?) I'm using this technique when I feel OVERWHELMED by all there is to do OR when I need to CLOSE THE DOOR on work and get back to being mum.

Feel free to try the Work Life Balance 'Closing the Door' meditation here. Plus, here's...

4 simple steps to 'Close the Door' on your working day:
1. Be Timely - Towards the end of your work time/day, start winding down. To keep your eye on the time you could use http://ticktocktimer.com/
2. Wind down your thoughts - During your wind down time, jot down anything weighing on your mind that might 'hangover' into your family time.
3. Ritual ending - Perform some kind of ritual that closes down your work mind (turning off the computer, closing blinds, pushing in a chair).
4. Close the door - Physically and mentally close the office door. (If you don't have a designated office find a way to 'close down').

Try finishing off with the Work Life Balance 'Closing the Door' meditation before getting back to the family or heading off to bed.

Best of luck,
Lyndal

Spring has sprung...

The Spring Equinox is just over a week away, and so's my bub's first birthday. Time for me to Springclean my mind rather than feeling stressed and overwhelmed about the looming Christmas rush. Time to celebrate bub's beautiful blossoming in her first year and ME as her mum...
If you're on the other side of the globe, autumn/ fall is a great time to 'let go' of anything that's just not serving you as a mum. Just this morning, after returning from a busy family weekend away, I could feel myself sinking under the piles of washing and the 'to-do's of work and family life.
Then I remembered to tune in to what makes me feel good, to how I want to feel in my everyday, and to what really matters to me. I took a few minutes to reflect on these things and let go of the tension of 'what I think I SHOULD be doing'.
I was inspired by my friend and mentor Alison Nancye, who says in her book 'Recipes for Everyday Life', 'Lead with your heart and the rest will follow...'. She appeared on Kerri-Anne's show (Ch 9) just last week sharing her remarkable story.

• Check out this super cute 4 min video of Babywisdom on our Laugh + Play page. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll love it!
• Essential Baby has launched a new birth section on its site. http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/birth
• Interesting Forum thread on BubHub about the mask of motherhood and whether we have a public and private face.
• Spending too much time on the internet? Finding yourself frequently falling into a cyberhole? Then check out a time-saving solution on out Time + Energy page.
• Need a quick de-stress? Try the Alternate Nostril Breathing exercise.

On the way home from the weekend trip yesterday, we stopped in at a park to stretch the legs. Lily, my 7 year old offered to push a little girl on the swing. Later, her mum came up and thanked Lily for her kindness then turned to me and thanked me for raising such a wonderful girl. The simple gesture made me feel surprisingly good. It's so much easier to hear prasie for your child than it is to receive it for yourself...

Take care, Lyndal ;0)

Mum Sanctuary launches on the Full Moon

Hello out there...

Hello and welcome to my blog, mum's sanctuary. I started this blog for a number of reasons:

1. Motherhood is mentally and physically EXHAUSTING!
2. I function best when I take time out for ME.
3. If I give all of myself to everyone else I become a BITCH!
4. I need to spend time as a human BEING, not just a human DOING all the time.
5. As a mum, looking after ME does not come naturally.
6. My instinct tells me many other mums feel the same.

As you'll see from my other motherhood blog - http://motherloadtomotherlove.blogspot.com/ - I'm a woman of many words. I love to write and talk. But, I've decided to keep this blog really SIMPLE! (Just select from the menus bar at the top). Short, simple ideas for you to try. There's no one-size fits all; some things might work for you, others probably won't. Pick and choose.

Here’s a poem I wrote the week my baby turned six months old after two nights without sleep. Little did I know I had another whole week ahead of me…temperatures, sleeplessness, viruses and a first tooth. And that was just bub. Lily (6 ½ years) was spending her evenings coughing, sleep walking and crying and hubby was working late almost every night.

edges of me, by Lyndal Edwards

When I'm exhausted
the world seems flat
my kids annoying, my husband useless
the day too daunting.

I want to scream "leave me alone"
and retreat like a bear
to a deep, dark cave
until my wintery mood passes.

My elastic band of love
snaps painfully back as
I think and feel and sometimes say
those things I know are not OK.

And with each passing moment
life offers me the chance to dance and love again
the sun's warmth, my daughter's joy
an endless invitation to step out of the void.

Sometimes I fight the fight
that later makes no sense
to stay exhausted, deluded
to show those I love the edges of me I despise.

And sometimes I surprise myself
And emerge from my exhaustion
like a lotus from the mud.

I open to the sun and the
Love that surrounds me
Effortless and Beautiful.
Anything is possible.