Since I got pregnant in 2016, I knew I would be a different mother from my own mother in every aspect, but the closest one was the issue of presence. My mother worked a lot when I was a child, and I would stay with my grandmother while she was at work since my father also worked a lot. I remember calling my grandmother "mom" and asking, "Mom, is my mother close to coming home?". In my mind and in my heart, I had two mothers, and the one who gave birth to me was rarely home.
Being aware of all the traumas that this caused me, many of which I still try to overcome today, I knew I wouldn't work anytime soon and that I would drop out of college. It was out of the question for me to leave my daughter with my mother while I studied or worked outside. I didn't want that for my little light, just as I didn't want it for myself. So, even while still pregnant, I started researching ways to work from home.
It was difficult to filter all the information I absorbed, just as it was difficult to choose one of the options I found to study. My pregnancy was a bit complicated due to health issues. In the end, everything turned out fine, but at the time, as if the whirlwind of hormones in my body wasn't enough, altering my way of being, I was always tired, nauseous, and completely unfocused. However, even so, in my free and awake time, I was always looking for an alternative to work from home, since my husband had also dropped out of college during that period, in his case, to look for a job, as he was going to be a father.
After about three months since my daughter was born and I was already somewhat adjusted to her schedule, I started studying trading, specifically Forex. I dedicated all my free time to studying Forex, which, for those who don't know, is a type of currency exchange market focused on trading based on the fluctuations of various currencies. However, after a few months of studying, I realized that I wouldn't have enough money to invest in it anytime soon, and the possibilities of managing someone else's account were very remote, bureaucratic, and complicated. After I discovered the stock market, it was only a matter of time until I learned about Bitcoin. So, I started studying the cryptocurrency market and mentioned it to a friend who decided to invest money for me to trade on her behalf. At that time, my daughter was 6 months old, and it was the first time I realized that I was a terrible time manager.
Dealing with a 6-month-old child and managing a trading account in the cryptocurrency market are two things that don't go well together. I felt the need to constantly look at charts, study the best entry and exit opportunities, and determine which cryptocurrencies to invest in. The problem was that I had only a few hours to do so because, even though I took advantage of the moments when my baby was sleeping, my need to always check on her outweighed everything else, and it frequently distracted me. I realized that I was getting easily stressed simply because I couldn't manage my time and handle the tasks of being a mother. A few months later, I ended the partnership with my friend.
When I found Steemit, my little one was almost two years old. As I always enjoyed writing, I thought, "Now it will work! I found something that I will truly enjoy doing, writing about topics I like and earning money." It didn't work out. Once again, my poor time management didn't allow me to focus enough on Steemit to write every day, network, and later on with Hive, it was no different. But that's life, and in my life, my daughter will always be a priority.
Of course, I managed to get a real job at some point in the past few years. When my child was 3 years old, I started working part-time at a telemarketing company. I spent 6 months there and left because I started working as an online social media manager. It has been 3 years now that I have been juggling motherhood, household chores, and my work from home as a social media manager.
I chose to have a few clients so that I can give attention to my daughter and have time for household tasks. It's not easy, I'm still a terrible time manager, and I don't even know if it's possible to be a perfect time manager, but I keep trying to at least organize myself better within the realm of possibility, taking into account that I have ADHD. It's inevitable to leave some things for later, like specific household tasks, but I don't mind doing that as long as I continue to do a good job and be a good mother. So... I think it's clear that this is not a story of how I learned to manage my time or the not-so-good consequences of being a terrible time manager. It's about still struggling to organize my time in the best way possible and dealing with the consequences of not doing it well at this very moment. It's a path that I'm still navigating and won't give up on because I know that not only my financial stability but also my emotional well-being depend on it.
Recently, I started using a planner. In it, I jot down everything important that I need to do for the next day, prioritize those tasks, and as a result, I can better allocate the time I have for the most important actions. Sometimes, I forget to write in the planner, especially when the days are busy. Sometimes, unexpected things come up that weren't on the agenda, but it's like they say: "Just keep swimming."
If you've read this far, I can only say: Thank you. I would appreciate if you could share your thoughts on my story in the comments.
See you soon.