Once upon a time I used to work full time. I worked long hours and often burnt the candle both ends. There were days that felt so long the only way to get over them was to make the night even longer and go to the pub! I would ‘back it up’ on a Friday with a hazy hangover, double shot cap’ and recollections of the Karaoke songs from the night before.
I enjoyed my pay packet each month, distributing it equally between clothes (another pair of jeans and a ‘going out’ top), long weekend lunches by the water with friends (did we really have that many bottles?) and weekends away with my beau’ escaping the hectic lives we had created for ourselves.
Oh those were the days.
Now I work part time. And I have never worked so hard in my life! As a new mum I am now a fully qualified task-mistress.
I still have big nights out (of bed). I run on less sleep yet still manage to exceed my work commitments. I can put on four loads of washing, go for two walks, catch up with my team in an online meeting and give 110% to my work during my son’s nap – all with military precision.
I can prepare an evening meal (“it just needs heating up love”) and get a bottle ready for my husband for when he gets home (not the alcoholic type). I can bathe my baby, sing a few songs (not very well) and deal with a few tears all before 7pm. There are days I am so busy I simply forget to jump in the shower.
And then I wonder….what was it like on the other side? Did I use my time to my best advantage? Oh for a big night….IN!
Mondays used to come round so quickly. Now, with a jam packed weekend it seems to take a while. A lot more thought goes into what we are doing as a family – from a logistics point of view as much as anything else. Life seems so much more full for us. It can be exhausting yet exhilarating.
So I have created a new label for myself… not ‘part-timer’, not ‘working-mum’. Just call me the Dominatrix of Time Management. Or the Task Mistress. Now where’s my whip?
(Image 
gr33ndata)
