New Year’s Resolutions of A Work At Home Mom

The New Year indicates a fresh start, a new chapter of our life, a new beginning. This is also the moment to reflect and look back on the memoirs of the past year and a chance to do better and correct the mistakes we’ve done.

To start the year right, we make guidelines and list down our long-term and short-term goals, as well as our resolutions with the hope to make this year better than the years that passed. I have been doing this practice for ages. Some were completed while others are still resolutions until now.

Let me share with you my resolutions for the New Year:

1. Spend more QUALITY TIME with my daughter.1
With the line of business that I handle, I don’t have the luxury of time to spend with my daughter. I am with her 24/7 but I’m not readily available to her. I’m a work-at-home mom; I co-manage our family’s tourist bus rental business. Most of the time, I’m busy receiving calls, sending out proposals and other documents to our clients and arranging the tours for the week. My work is from day to night with no rest day. Though, I’m privileged to work here at home and watch my daughter grow day-to-day in front of my eyes, there were times I feel guilty knowing that I don’t have much time for her. She’s mostly accompanied and attended by her yaya.

From now on, I’m thinking of having in between breaks and let my assistant handle the work so I can have more time for my daughter. I’ll try my best to finish my work by 6:00 PM or even earlier so the rest of my day will be allotted for my daughter. She will surely be happier if I will have more time to play with her and read her books every now and then.

Note to self: Your mere PRESENCE does not qualify as “TIME SPENT WITH THE FAMILY”, it’s important that you interact with your kids – play with them and cuddle them while they are young and are in need of your attention.

2. I am a WIFE first and then a MOTHER.

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Our pre-nup photo taken year 2009

Sometimes, we are overly occupied with our role as a mother that we tend to forget that we are a wife first. Our husband has his own needs too like our kids. It’s important that our husband feel that they are loved and cared for all the time.

In our case, my husband and I are both busy individuals with two works to handle excluding our job as parents. I am  doing  my best to attend to his needs and make him feel that I am always there for him. I am just blessed to have the most understanding husband even though; I’m far from being the perfect wife. From time-to-time, I look back at our old photos when it was just the two of us and reminisce the sweet and happy moments we shared together.

3. Stick to the BUDGET.

Sometimes, it’s so tempting to say “yes” to my daughter’s whims most especially when we are in malls and she’ll cry hard for me to buy the toy that she wants.
It’s wise to make a detailed list of your budget divided into different expenses monthly/weekly so you’ll have a guide of your allowable expenditures and stick to it. It’s hard to say “no” to fancy things but it is our role as mothers to control and manage the finances in the house.

4. Say NO to JUNK and YES to HEALTHY food.

junk-food-vs-healthy-food

This year, I’ll try my best to stay away from chips, sodas and too much sweet. Unfortunately, in the past years, I already influenced my daughter and husband in eating junk food. It’s hard to resist my favorite chips, but for a healthier life, I’m willing to give these up and substitute it with organic fruits and vegetables.

5. Be more PROTECTIVE of my family

green cross

I am a self-confessed protective mom and wife. It’s my nature to protect what’s mine, and my daughter and husband are my prized possessions that’s why I do everything to shield them up to the best that I can. Be it from germs, mosquitoes and other sources of sickness that I can prevent through regular vitamin-intake, balanced diet, and healthy lifestyle. I also have partners in keeping the two of them germ and dengue-free – Green Cross Alcohol and Green Cross Insect Repellent Lotion. I highly recommend the Gentle Protect variant of Green Cross Insect Repellent Lotion as it effectively provides up to 8 hours of continuous protection from day and night mosquitoes. The best part of it – it’s light and non-greasy; perfect for kids.

6. Be more ORGANIZED

This has been the biggest battle of my year. I don’t know why I find it so hard to keep my things organized. There were many papers on my desk, different folders on my office cabinet plus my daughter’s toys scattered almost every hour on the floor and in our room, etc. I really hope that I’ll be able to deal and solve this problem of mine this year. Life is better and easier when things are systematically arranged.

7. Lessen MULTI-TASKING

mom_is_the_master_of_multitasking_post_card-rb538d4574d4243398de0799f1c8d1071_vgbaq_8byvr_512I assume most moms are great in multi-tasking since we are used to juggle homemaking, motherhood, work and others. There’s nothing wrong with this, but, there are times when the quality of our work is compromised. In my case, I’m used to do four to five tasks all at the same time – watch tv, update my FB account or Instagram, feed my daughter, answer phone calls, answer text messages. My husband strongly admires how I do this but, as of now, I no longer find it healthy for me. I am so bored when I only do two things at the same time. This year, I want to learn how to “focus” on one task. But, of course, if badly needed I will still do multi-tasking but will definitely lessen it. (photo source: www.zazzle.com)

8. Be independent of HOUSEHELP

It’s great to have helpers in the house. And, I highly salute them for the kind of service they render. But, it’s important that you are still the one in-charge in supervising, checking and double-checking their work most especially when it comes to your kid’s utensils and other things. I come up with this because out-of-the-blue, my maid demanded for a 22-day vacation leave with one-day notice. So imagine the tasks that I have to do all by myself now. But, it’s okay, I can manage, remember, I have a talent in multi-tasking. =)

9. Turn the NEGATIVE to POSITIVE

Whenever I discipline my daughter I normally tell her these words “No” and “Don’t” and it’s only now I realized that those negative words affected her way of thinking and dealing with other kids. I’ll start to be more positive now in explaining to her why I don’t allow her in doing certain things. I think expressing my disapproval positively  is doable and will be more beneficial to her well-being.

10. Be BETTER

be better

This is my yearly resolution. It’s my aim and prayer to be better than who or what I was yesterday – better wife, better mom, and better individual.  I honestly don’t compete with other people since I only compete with my old self. As we gain wisdom from our life experiences and  acquire learning  from our own mistakes, and from the mistakes of others, we tend to improve ourselves in the process and be better.
(photo source: feelgoodways.blogspot.com)

Here are the top ten of my resolutions, there are still other things that I want to change and improve on myself. I’m keeping my fingers crossed hoping that I can follow and embrace all of these.

For more mommy resolutions that are worth sticking for the entire 2014, please visit Green Cross Alcohol Philippines Mommy PROs.

Mommy PROs
is a mini-magazine website where you can find content about caring for your little ones and yourself with different categories about babies, parenting, food and lifestyle . So what are you waiting for, head on to Green Cross FB page and hit like to access Mommy PROs for great insights and tips from Green Cross and their partner moms.

14 comments
    1. Try it sis! It somehow makes you feel good at the end of the year knowing that you accomplish it.

  1. I love reading your new year’s resolution. All are very practical and does not require physical strength but inner strength and discipline to pause and give time to those who most deserved it — Family. May your family be blessed this 2014! 🙂

  2. You are not alone 🙂 I think it’s motherly instinct to feel that way. As much as we can we want to spend more quality time with our kid(s) but the reality is we have other things to do to, so it is best for us to let our kinds know and be transparent to them when it comes to our errands and stuff like that.

  3. Most of your new year resolutions are almost the same with mine! (except for the daughter and wife one since I’m still not married x))

    It’s really hard to accomplish new year’s resolution but I hope you manage to fulfill yours! I haven’t made up mine either but it worries me I won’t be able to do them. Haha!

    1. I think it greatly helps that you list them down. It’s like making a pact to yourself evidenced by writing.

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