I am often asked, “how do you do it all?” My response is simple, “a lot of coffee.” In reality it’s way more than that. It’s a lot of coffee AND a lot of wine. But seriously, balancing a life as a full time mommy, wife, daughter, sister, successful career woman, and so many other roles can be more than overwhelming.

As a first time mom, I have found myself telling fibs here and there. “How is she sleeping?” “Oh, great! 8-9 hours a night!” LIE. The truth is, I sacrificed showering this morning to stay in bed an extra fifteen minutes AND this is yesterday’s eyeliner. She slept a total of three hours, waking up every hour when that ugly animal sound machine turned itself off. But, thank you for asking. We’re so lucky. She’s great.

There are a few things I have learned and SWEAR by to manage working full time and being a mommy full time. They were simple changes in our daily life that increase our productivity and decrease our stress.