Working Hard or Hardly Working?

I’m working harder than I ever have in my life, but I’m not making money. Does it still count?

Photo by ergonofis on Unsplash

Taking an extra year off work as extended parental leave was the best decision I ever made. I’ve had time with my daughter I’ll never get back. I’ve grown into and embraced my new role as “Mum”. I rediscovered who I was outside of my horrid work persona. I started a hobby for the first time, which turned out to be what I want to do as a career. Life is good.

But all good things must come to an end. It’s coming up to decision time on whether or not to go back to my paid job.

According to a study by UN Women, stay at home parents work the equivalent of 2.5 full-time jobs. Before I was a parent, I would’ve scoffed at that suggestion. These stay at home parents don’t work from home in any paid capacity either; they are strictly raising kids and keeping the household running.

When I broke down my average week, it turns out it’s a completely fair call.

My day typically starts between 6 and 7 am and *finishes* between 7 and 8 pm. By finished, I mean, I get maybe 3 hours before the first wake up of the night, on a good night. My daughter still wakes and feeds anywhere between 2 and 5 times a night, depending on what is happening in her little world. So you could consider me to be “on” anywhere between…