Work, Sleep, Family, Fitness, or Friends. Pick 3. That’s what they say. I’m here to offer an even tidier method to focusing on getting sh*t done with kids, and that method is what I like to call the One and a Half method. Because to heckin heck with three! Three is two too many.
So. Work, Sleep, Family, Fitness, or Friends. Pick one, and the one you want to do well in like, minimally.
If it’s going to be Work, make it the best work. Or, more realistically, make it the best mediocre work you can do because let’s be real here, you’re tired. Exhausted.
If you pick Sleep, you are the smartest person and I commend you. New mamas may know the tired (hah!) mantra of sleep when the baby sleeps, but I’m going to suggest honestly, just sleep anywhere you can. If you leave work and you’ve got a spare 20 minutes before it’s time to pick up the kiddo from daycare, go find a cozy Target parking lot, blast your air conditioner, lock your doors and SLEEP. Do not scroll on your phone, do not make any calls, do not FOR THE LOVE OF GOD AND ALL THAT IS HOLY step foot *into* that Target because then you’re going to first see some cute dollar bin stuff that you don’t need but it’s CUTE oh shit you just spent $112. NO. *takes your face between my palms* You sleep now. Then go get that kiddo.
*cracks knuckles*
So, Family. Meh!!
Fitness. LOOOOL. Also if you’re breastfeeding that counts, do nothing else, you need a REST.
Friends.
Honestly, you need those.
So, pick your poison! Isn’t this fun?
Personally, all kidding aside, pick your family, pick your sleep, pick your friends. These three things will sustain you in times of hard shit — the people we love passing, the cleaning of grandpa’s garage, the rocking of baby cousins, the messy stuff that happens in every family; sleep because you must have it to survive; and friends who will buoy you and who will need buoying too. If you abandon your family and friends postpartum, you can focus on work and fitness in their place, but I will speak from experience that work did not sustain me, fitness does not sustain me. Work is not there to be a shoulder at 3AM with a text. Fitness doesn’t bring me a casserole, or reach out when a casserole and a hug are needed on their end. Family and friends are harder than work and fitness during the little kid years, but I argue to the courtroom here that the harder aspects do not make them less good things to lean into when you’re struggling.
Pick that which will sustain you, and you can get sh*t done. And frankly, eff the rest.
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