One of the most frustrating aspects of working motherhood is how difficult it is to achieve goals that were so easy to reach before children. The added demands of motherhood often shift your focus from goal-oriented action to just meeting the daily needs of your family. As a result, your professional and personal goals are set aside for what you promise to be a short while, but eventually your goals (and your dreams!) just fade away.
Achieving your goals while maintaining your role as a working mom is easier than you think. Here are three keys to hitting your professional and personal goals:
#1. MAKE THOUGHTFUL CHOICES
Everyday you're faced with two very important choices that create the results you see in your life:
a) Your priorities, and
b) Your attitude.
So, regardless of how you feel about your current work/life situation, you created it by virtue of your chosen priorities and attitude.
To reach your goals, you've got to make thoughtful choices about what you'll focus on during the day (your priorities) and what beliefs you'll carry with you (your attitude).
Do you want to get your body back in shape? Then instead of grabbing a muffin with your Grande White Chocolate Mocha on the way to work, wake up 20 minutes early and prepare a healthy breakfast for you and your kids -- a thoughtful choice.
#2. ENLIST SUPPORT
One of the biggest mistakes working moms make just about everyday is adopting the do-it-all-myself mentality. You're the "yes woman" who everyone depends on to meet their needs. You're the "super mom" who appears to have it all together (but you know the truth!).
The bottom line is, motherhood is a leadership role. And just like in the work setting, you can't effectively lead a team (your family) without a strong support structure. All the great leaders of the world know this very simple principle and leverage support from a variety of sources, including executive coaches, mentors, and board members.
Who is on your support team?
To develop your support team, first consider where you need help. Maybe you just need a compassionate ear to listen to your rants, or guidance from a fellow working mom who more experience under her belt, or professional assistance to keep you focused and clear-headed.
Make a list of where you need help and assign the name of people who can fill that need. If you have blanks, then seek out the appropriate support person.
#3. TAKE ACTION EVERYDAY
Well-known author, speaker and consultant, Alan Weiss, came up with an interesting idea called the "One Percent Solution" -- improve by just 1% a day and in 70 days you're twice as good.
In other words, you can achieve your goals by simply taking small, consistent steps forward...just 1% a day. This approach helps break down enormous, intimidating goals into manageable bites.
For instance, if you're goal is quit your full-time job to work part-time taking on contract assignments by the end of the year, then map out what it will take to accomplish that goal. It's helpful to use a "chunk it down" process. It works like this:
Step 1. Write down your one-year goal.
Step 2. Ask, "What must I accomplish in the first six months to have a realistic chance of meeting my one-year goal?"
Step 3. Ask, "What must I accomplish in the first three months to have a realistic chance of meeting my six-month progress marker?"
Step 4. Ask, "What must I accomplish in the first month to have a realistic chance of meeting my three-month progress marker?"
Step 5. Ask, "What must I accomplish this week to have a realistic chance of meeting my one-month progress marker?"
Once you've broken your larger goal into weekly goals, it's much easier to apply the "One Percent Solution" to your everyday actions.
Make thoughtful choices, enlist support and take action everyday. These are the essential ingredients to achieving your goals in the midst of working motherhood. Stay committed and it will happen!
Reprint Information: ©2006 The Integrated Mother and Michele R. Dortch. All rights reserved. You are free to reprint this article as long as you include complete attribution, including live web site link. Also, please let us know by email to info@integratedmother.com where the article will appear. The attribution should read:
“By Michele Dortch, founder of The Integrated Mother and the creator of the only "mom club" to provide a flexible and effective mentoring program for success-oriented working moms. Learn more at http://www.integratedmother.com” | 
