Meera’s Advice For Maintaining A Healthy Work-life Balance

BE KIND TO YOURSELF:

Don’t try and be the perfect mother, perfect wife and perfect employee. At one point in my life I came to the conclusion that I would be a very average wife, average mom and average at my job but I was happy. I was working because I wanted to, I was married because I wanted to be with my husband and raise a family. Remember it’s okay to be average. Women tend to beat themselves up because they want everything to be perfect. But that’s an unattainable ideal.

LEARN TO COMPARTMENTALISE:

Don’t bring work home and don’t bring your personal life to the office. When I’m at work I finish my job, no matter how long it takes and when I’m at home or on holidays I am simply not accessible to anyone in my office. I’m not always tinkering away on my phone.

FAMILY SUPPORT IS KEY:

We tend to underestimate the importance of family support. We are very lucky to live in India and have access to household help. I always advise young married women with children to live with or close by to family. The joint family system is often trashed and I think these saas-bahu serials have really done a disservice to our nation. Living with your parents or in-laws is good for everyone especially the children and grandparents. In the long run it makes sense to accept everything your elders say, because the benefits of living with them is so great. If you are fortunate to have parental support, learn to take advantage of it. Without the support of my mother and mother-in-law there’s is no way I would have been able to juggle a career along with motherhood.