After returning to work from a 12-week maternity leave of which my pay consisted of a little short-term disability and what vacation days I had saved (which meant only using five days during my 40 weeks of pregnancy for sick or vacation), I tried to do it all. Why do we do this to ourselves? I was being cheap, or I had a lot of pride or a lot to prove (you pick), and I thought I could and should be able to put 125% into my roles as mother, wife and employee. Unfortunately, none of these areas can afford 40+% effort and I still needed six hours of sleep per night. Not to mention, what about any time for friends, exercise, etc.

My goal: feed my child in the morning, go to work, be home for six to spend two hours with him, cook dinner, clean the house, do laundry, pay bills, do some extra work, plan any upcoming weekend events, find a few minutes with my husband before going to sleep and anything else you can think of on my growing “to do” list. I knew I had hit a wall when I found myself eating a piece of pizza while trying to take a shower! Even though many moms with similar lives are super moms, I got to a point where this didn’t work for me.

I hired a cleaner to come every other week, found two-three hours per week for a run, determined that it was fine to go to someone else’s house with just the bare essentials such as diapers vs a home-cooked treat or present and decided it was ok for my child to start watching an hour or two of TV a week so I didn't have to do everything during hours after he was asleep and the sun went down.

I also bought a second freezer. I really do enjoy home-cooked meals and cooking, especially with the typical take out when traveling for work. So, I would cook three-to-four times per week, sometimes while on early or late conference calls and cook double. That way, I could freeze one meal and defrost it two weeks later on a night that I needed to work late or wanted more time with my child. This was the best of both worlds, and I could avoid multi-tasking for at least one hour that night.

I also changed my routine when traveling for work. I read a book when I was pregnant that said you should try to do something for yourself when traveling for work that you don’t typically have time for, to get your mind off the fact that you’re away and treat yourself. However, I would rather make some personal calls and do some personal errands if I could, as it made me feel good to do something for my family and know that I’m taking less time away from them when I get home.

My husband also helped out more, but what always frustrates me is what others say about this. I could go to work and do 10 other things for our family that day and my husband will go open the mail or grab some groceries after work, and I would hear "you're so lucky to have a husband that does that.” Don't get me wrong, I'm appreciative, but if we both work, why don’t people assume that you need to split up non-work related tasks to be successful, spend time with each other, relax for five minutes and not end up in an insane asylum.

My husband always says that he doesn't know how I multi-task as much as I do or get as much done in each day, but I have no idea how I would function successfully without this, so for me it's just the way to ensure survival or success – you pick. And of course, I do really like the overall balance and juggling of a great career and wonderful family life.