Mom, Entrepreneur, Doer of things: setting boundaries

Outside of being a Mom, I am also my own CEO, have a Masters in GSD (aka Getting Shit Done) and a I’m certified list-maker and taskmaster. What I DON’T want to be is a Muber driver (aka Mom Uber), a personal chef, or a housekeeper - easier said than done when you don’t have an office job. In order to avoid falling into any of those categories, I’ve learned there are a few boundaries you need not only in order to GSD, but also to maintain your sanity. These are Mom 101’s, but it’s important to keep in mind as reminders.

1. I am not your personal chef - hell, I’m not even that great a good cook
   I don’t mind making dinner, I do enjoy having a glass of wine and listening to NPR, but not everything I make is going to actually be edible. In order to balance NOT having chili on the menu every other night, I do like to experiment with plant-based recipes and things that aren’t chili. If you don’t like it, Cereal and Sandwiches are calling your name and you can make them yourself.
   

2. I am NOT your goddamn Muber
   I am not available on a whim to pick you up from the skate park, or your friend’s house that you decided to go to after school or take all of your friends to an unplanned trip to Fly High. Sure, all of those are easy enough for me to do both distance and time-wise, but it’s annoying that because I don’t have a set schedule my kids think I can.
   

3. There is a limit to my cleaning up
   It KILLS me to have dishes in the sink or to have beds unmade, but I’ve had to go Elsa on some of those things and Let It Go (by the way forgive me, I hated Frozen). By the time I help my husband get the kids out of the door for school, take the dog to see his dog friends and check my Instas, it’s 10AM. I know it seems easy enough, but cleaning up, making beds and putting shit away trickles into the 12PM hour, and I lose half my day. I’m going to just have to deal with the fact that half of my house looks like the set of Breaking Bad.
   

4. I love you, but leave me alone
   My family often needs a gentle reminder that I need my Me time. I can’t do all the things at the same time I’m doing all the things. Because I don’t necessarily have set hours, I may or may not be available, even if I’m not working. I need my me time to do me: Hair did, pilates, eating bon-bons, oh, and trying to build a successful business that does not entail spending hours on Zoom calls discussing KPIs and Benchmarks, circling back or putting a pin in it.