It’s 10am and I’m hanging out for a Mars Bar. It’s ridiculous because I just finished breakfast not 1 hour ago. What’s the deal?
According to this article in The Glow, my looming deadlines and multi-tasking tendancies may well be to blame. But is ‘Rushing Women’s Syndrome really a ‘thing?’
Lisa Curry blamed it for ending her marriage and although many are skeptical, Dr Libby Weaver says: ‘Too many women today live in a constant state of “fight or flight”.’
She says that if you’re tired, stressed and craving sugar, you may well be suffering from Rushing Women’s Syndrome. And if I took a moment to focus on myself (in between nappy changes, school lunches, play dates, conference calls and client demands), I would have to admit, I’m guilty as charged.
It was actually our family GP who pointed it out… I took our 2 year old in to see him with a cough and ended up walking out with a prescription for myself. ‘He’s just fine but you, on the other hand, if you don’t mind me saying… you look terrible,’ he said and I was too tired to disagree. It was confession time; I’d been suffering from a UTI for weeks and hadn’t had time to book myself in for an appointment.
Here’s what I learnt – Looking after yourself isn’t selfish… it’s strategic. I wasn’t functioning on all 4 cylinders, so to speak and I was just making things worse… for myself and everyone around me. So, scheduling in some ‘me’ time has become priority. I still feel guilty about it but I feel so much better for it!
And now for some timely advice from the CEO of YouTube Susan Wojcicki; working mother who just happens to be pregnant with her 5th child! (From Mamamia)
1. She doesn’t do unnecessary guilt.
Susan loves her work, and she loves her family, and she does her best to balance the two. When talking about trying to find that balance with the media, she is refreshingly guilt free – and doesn’t beat herself up for doing her best.
In various interviews, Wojcicki has stated that she always tries to get home by 6pm every day to spend time with her family.
“I’m going to do my best to try and balance it, and come up with something that I think works for both my family and office,” she told re/code when asked if she would take time off after having her fifth child. “I think it’s important to have a balance. It’s important for the family and the baby to have time. And on the other hand, I have a lot of things happening at YouTube, and I love working here.”
2. She supports other women.
Wojcicki supports other working mothers.
One of Susan’s former colleagues, Sheryl Sandberg (you might know her from such little-known projects as being the chief operating officer of Facebook and author of Lean In) has talked Wojcicki up in the past.
“Susan is not only a great executive,” Sandberg says, “but a great friend to me and many women. She offered valuable guidance.”
In a career advice section with Glamour, Wojcicki also encouraged other women to think about balancing babies and work. “Don’t forget that it gets easier!” she said. “Having a child is a big life change, but the really hectic period is relatively short… You can get through it.”
3. She encourages women to take chances.
Her closing piece of advice to Glamour readers in May, was: “Don’t overplan your life. Joining Google when I was four months pregnant was a bit of a leap, but sometimes you have to do the right thing for you right now.”
4. She’s the “mum” at Google.
Wojcicki calls herself the “mom of Google”. Fast Company reports that not only was she the first employee of the tech company to have a baby (probably because she joined when she was already pregnant) but she also designed Google’s “progressive” in-house daycare centre for employees with kids.
Google topped Fortune’s Best Companies to Work For this year, thanks to a “family first” philosophy including daycare centres for “Googler kids”, five-month paid maternity leave, baby bonuses, and highchairs in all company cafes.