Becoming a Digital Mum: Like Robocop but with a smartphone and a pack of wet wipes.
Well, I’ve just reached the end of a very intense period of my life training to become a Digital Mum. Digital Mum, you say? Think Robocop, but armed with a smartphone and a pack of wet wipes, ready to clean dirty faces and engage key influencers where we see them, coming to the social media channels of an SME near you soon!
OK, let me take you back a bit. I was, like a lot of women, frantically spinning the plates of family and career, and desperately trying not to let either crash to the floor and smash into a million pieces. I had three fantastic children and a career in media education, both of which brought their own, but very different demands. A 50 minute commute into work each morning was a literal white-knuckle ride of mounting stress and frustration, as my hands tightened their grip on the steering wheel and I joined the back of the endless queue of red tail lights trying to negotiate their way through the roadworks that are otherwise known as the A23. Dead time. Thinking time. I sat. I gripped. I thought. And what I thought was this: how much more pleasant life would be if I didn’t have to spend my life choking on traffic fumes; how much happier I would be if the daily school drop-off wasn’t accompanied by the sound of screeching car tyres and the smack of a misplaced, top-of-the-head kiss goodbye; how much more productive I could be if I wasn’t constantly running just to stand still. Things had to change. My job wouldn’t change; my family life wouldn’t change; so I had to change.
That is how I started out as a Digital Mum-to-be, training to be a Social Media Manager. I was assigned a client, TutorMapper, an ingenious new start-up that acts as an aggregator for high quality tutoring agencies, who only recruit their tutors after a rigorous selection process of face-to-face interviews and enhanced DSB checks. Then, you can find an excellent tutor close to where you live, which makes the whole process much more convenient for everyone. Simple!
And what a six months it’s been! it hasn’t all been plain sailing…dealing with three children during the long summer school holidays while keeping channels active and assignments completed brought it’s own unique challenges, but it also brought unexpected highs. Who knew I’d get so excited when one of my tweets gained nearly 9000 impressions in one afternoon? Actually, my family knew, because I kept telling them every time my phone trilled with another engagement (I think there may have been a knuckle-bump too!)
And now I’m at the end of the course, and I’m continuing work as a Social Media Manager for the quite brilliant and terrifyingly young, Max, and his brainchild TutorMapper. A PhD student, a tutor and a business owner…and I thought I was spinning plates! Honestly, if anyone’s looking for a tutor for their child, check us out — I’d recommend TutorMapper even if I wasn’t working for them!
So, the future’s looking brighter and a lot calmer than it was before I’d started the course. I get to walk my youngest to school every morning and pick her up every afternoon. I get to spend an indulgent hour at tea-time listening to my elder two tell me about their day, and not once have I secretly panicked that I should be doing something else. Oh, and there’s one more thing. Becoming a Digital Mum has improved things in the bedroom! OK, stand down ASA, this isn’t some claim of false advertising, but I have it on good authority (my partner) that I no longer grind my teeth at night!
So there you have it. The decision to overhaul my life was not an easy decision, but it was the best decision I’ve made. I now work, and I have a family, and rather than feeling that I am failing at both, I’m now enjoying them again, hugely. So to sign-off in the style of a Digital Mum Social Media Manager, #JustDoIt…oh, hang on, I think that’s been taken. #ThisGirlCan…erm….#feelthefearanddoitanyway…oh, I’m piggy-backing on all of these! Become a Digital Mum — you won’t regret it!
