By Sometimes we refer to people with different occupations or roles to perform as someone wearing many different hats. Homemaking is a profession where you definitively wear different hats and you change them at a very fast tempo.
On a daily basis we are secretaries, picking up phone calls and making arrangements for the rest of the family, keeping track of everybody’s busy agendas. We become event planners and decorators during holidays or special occasions, and when necessity requires, we can act as doctors, teachers, trainers, hairdressers, gardeners, etcetera, etcetera. These “hats” are part of the many competences that we develop when we treat our home with professionalism. Maybe the most difficult for me to wear is the firefighter’s helmet. I refer to “firefighting” when we have to react to the many unexpected things that happen during a day and we need to resolve those situations before someone “gets burnt”.
Now more than ever before, leaders all over the world are facing change and complexity — the coronavirus pandemic has presented us all with new challenges, new circumstances, and new uncertainties. We are all developing “firefighting skills” and believe me, this training can be exhausting.
It can happen that we find ourselves frustrated and overwhelmed, constantly living in a state of “crisis management,” so that we seem faced with failure at every turn. It is time to stop and rest. We always try to make time for everything and everyone else but we must learn to take care of ourselves. As with everybody else, we need to invest in ourselves and do things that give us energy in order to take care of our home and family. We do not have to choose one over the other.
Here are some tips to prevent homemaking burnout and that will help you to enjoy what you do and help you to take off your firefighter’s helmet.
- Set priorities
It is easier to organize your week when you know which are your priorities. Make rest a priority and find time in your schedule to do what you like, to go to the gym to do some exercise or to meet your friends.
- Ask for help
Delegate. Let other family members help you with home chores. Give others the chance to help and give them tips on how to help you. Everyone will grow in the process.
- Lower your expectations
At home we are the ones that set the standards, so start by lowering your expectations. Nobody is expecting perfection, so convince yourself that you do not need it either. Perfectionism is our worst enemy.
- Start with WHY
Remember who all this was for. Do not forget that loving your friends and family is your greatest desire. And that showing it to them is important too.
- Be flexible
Flexibility is a good quality to have. Change is constant and inevitable and adaptability is required to succeed. Being open minded and open hearted will help you to face difficulties that may appear during the day with good humour.
Homemaking is meant to be enjoyed because “you can’t pour from an empty pitcher.” There is more to homemaking than just productivity and efficiency. Take care of yourself, refill your pitcher and you will take care of your home and your family with more energy and creativity.
Poetry, Home & Innovation 