One year ago, I went back to work after 365 days of taking care of my new baby and adjusting to motherhood! Watch the video here.
I was nervous to say the least! I had thoughts like:
“What if I’m not good at my job anymore?”
“What if I don’t like my job?”
“What if I’m not as smart as I was before I took time off?”
“What if I’m an absent Mum after going back to work?”
All the what ifs!
My inner child was throwing all kinds of tantrums because I was unsure of what to expect! (Comment below if you can relate.)
Despite being almost crippled by fear of the unknown, I had to do what I do best! I created a game plan!
1. Pray
If you’re an O.G reader, you’ll know I’m vocal about how I rely on God for help. And that’s what I did! I told him everything I was scared of and I asked him to guide my steps!
2. Create Goals
I’m motivated by goals! I love to check off a good ol’ list! So I created a list of goals with timelines. I listed what I wanted to achieve within one year of my return and created list of goals I wanted to complete within my first month back. Writing this down motivated me and helped me look forward to going back to work!
How are you motivated? Use this to fan that flame of excitement in you!
3. Be Honest
Have you ever spoken to someone who pretends to know the answer to a question but you find out later that it was just made up?! I sure have! And I didn’t want to be that person.
I was honest with people about my learning journey and I was okay not having all the answers. This was very difficult and sometimes frustrating! But the more honest I was to the right people, the more help I received.
4. Learn
Tiwalola’s Confident and Killing it podcast taught me that
‘Learning is my Superpower!’
And that’s what I did!
My inner child was scared of being unable to complete tasks I was assigned or even worse socialize because I had forgotten how to! LOL! (Bear in mind that I wasn’t much of a social butterfly prior to taking the leave!)
The truth is, you can learn and bridge those gaps! So although you might not know the answer to that question right now, you can do your research and give an excellent response later! Use phrases like:
“That’s an excellent question! I’ll look into it and get back to you”
5. Have a Mentor
Coming back to work, I set check-ins with my mentor to share my goals, fears and areas I wanted to improve. Working together with someone who had gone through this journey, motivated me through mine!
Momma, you are probably feeling all kinds of emotions about your decision to return to work. You are not alone and you are not a bad Mum for choosing to return to work. You are doing just great! Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
Do you have other tips that helped you with transitioning back to work? Please share them below!
God Bless you Tremendously
Akhere
Photos: Pexels.com
