Time Management and Juggling Responsibilities
Being a present mother, while leading a thriving business is truly a challenge. It is incredibly rewarding, but with responsibilities and expectations on both ends, it is a constant balancing act where one misaligned thing can lead to chaos. What people see often overlook how messy and challenging it really gets.
In all honesty, I am naturally a super big workaholic. In the early days of OHME!, when it was just a dream being built from nothing, my work days practically never ended. I would finish my 9 am to 5pm job, then head immediately to my 5pm to 12am job (OHME!). OHME was a bootstrapped organization, which meant Han and I had to wear every single hat: operations, marketing, etc. And while I am grateful for that grind as it led to where we are now, I have to admit it led to less time being spent with my sib when he was younger. And I find these are sacrifices that you truly can’t understand the scale of until you reflect on them later on.
When Han and I finally made the decision to take on OHME! As our full-time role, things changed drastically; suddenly there was breathing room. For example, I was able to be more present in my relationships such as spending quality time with my son.
How I Found the Work-Life Balance
The main inflection point in my life was when I really took a pause, and reflecting around a difficult question: what do I truly want in my own life?
I realize that we don’t get the time back once it’s gone, and as much as I love building work, both being a workaholic and an entrepreneur, I came to the realization that I was sacrificing other things, things that truly mattered to me most: namely, my family. Therefore, choosing to be more intentional in where I was spending my time became the first real step towards finding balance and everything fell into place after that.
All that is said and done, being both a mom and a founder is a constant challenge, but it has also made me more intentional with my time, and grateful for every moment in all aspects of my life.
