Back to work and feeling knackkered - coping tips?!

[sazzerbear]

Have recently returned to work after spell as SAHM. ONly doing 3 part days so far and feeling absolutely knackkered after work, childcare, domestic chores etc etc. I know this is normal, but any tips for coping please? TIA

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How long have you been back? I went back 4 days a week after a year off 4 days a week and it prob took about 2 months to get into it. As it is a questiom of adapting your body clock to different rhythm it may take a bit longer If you have been out of office for a while as will take longer. Also 3 days a week can Be quite tough as often a lot to pack into those days.To be honest going to bed as early as i can (which meant letting anything that wasn't strictly necessary slide) and caffeiene helped. It did get easier but I was shocked at how long It took to adjust as it's not like you are doing nothing if sahm.

Regular snacks (preferably fruit and nut or low gi stuff rather than chocolate), loads of water( I know I said caffeine earlier but one shot first thing to moderate getting hooked) and some b vitamins might help too .

Looking after yourself physically and mentally is key. Healthy eating, exercise (even just a brisk walk or a daily 10 min stretch) and some 'me time' every day, no matter how brief. Limit drinking during the week and get your beauty sleep!

Oh, and lower your domestic standards and do the bare minimum, or you'll spend your weekends cleaning. Hire a cleaner if you can afford it...?

Areyou trying to do everything... When I went back to work I made everyone else pitch in and our standards slipped a bit.

I'm afraid I've just had to get used to feeling pretty knackered all the time now. It's just a normal part of my existence now and I've kind of accepted that it will be for a couple more years.

That said, there are things you can do to mitigate it. I always do online supermarket shopping, an hour in the supermarket is wasted time IMO, I can usually find time during my working day to do the shop online (quite often have lists of basics saved and just add a few extra things to vary the meals)

I also meal plan a lot so I don't have to think about what we're having and I'm always sure we've got what we need in when I do the online shop. I also don't do long involved meals. I have a friend who still tries to do gourmet food all the time, but for us, we've got used to pasta I can whip up in about 15 mins (dh is a useless cook) or something similar. I've also got pretty good at doing at least one meal a week in the slow cooker (chuck everything in in the morning, hey presto, cooked meal ready in the evening!)

In terms of domestic stuff, I work long hours, 12-13 hour shifts, with an hour (at least) commute each side of that, but I only work three days a week, so I try on my days off to schedule one task per day off iyswim... ie Monday, tues, weds at work, Thurs hoovering, Friday cleaning bathroom, sat change beds, Sunday do nothing

I also rope dh in more than I used to. He's a bit useless (I think he does that on purpose so I'll take over!) but there's no reason he can't wash the kitchen floor on a Saturday morning or whatever, despite how much he moans about it.

I try and do washing overnight, chuck a load in before going to bed, and either sling it on the line in the morning if the weather's going to be ok, or hang it on the dryer in the kitchen before I go to work. I've also drastically reduced how much ironing I do... don't bother with sheets, etc, only really iron cotton shirts and anything that really needs it. Most things will do with a shake and a smooth down. Dh irons his own work shirts.

Sorry, that's an awful lot of stuff in there, but I hope some helps.

I don't want to sound nihilistic, but I do think sometimes you have to accept that being a working mother esp when your dcs are young is tiring too and the quicker you accept it, the easier it is to work within those limitations. Don't try and be superwoman, don't try to be a domestic Goddess... just get through it the best you can until the dcs can start chipping in. DS is going to be wielding a hoover as soon as he's big enough

Great advice ladies, thanks! Only been back a week, I feel such a wuss as my hours are nothing compared to some hours mums have to do! DH works odd shifts inc nights so sometimes he's around and sometimes not so I guess i'll have to try and not be a control freak like normal (god knows how i'm gonna cope with jobshare ) and do the minimum!

I think any new job is tiring for 3 weeks until you get used to it, so i expect you will feel less tired in a couple of weeks!

As has been said, don't do what I did and eat chocolate, I thought I could get away with it by still bf but 1 1/2 stone later I can tell you the real answer is noooooooooo, step away from the vending machine!

I just bore with it really, was working 4 days a week, DS was still waking 4 times a night, it was completely horrible but I gritted my teeth as had to pay the mortgage etc. and believed it would get better. Luckily, it did but it did take about 6 months to improve. Most of that was due to DS' problems sleeping, though.

One thing that helped was realising that just because I was tired I was not completely and utterly rubbish at work, although a little poorer performing than before DS. But I still struggle with perfectionist issues.