You can’t find your keys,
you can’t find the time to find your keys.
You can’t do Tableau,
you can’t be a data analyst,
you can’t be a good mom,
you can’t >copy paste whatever you want here<
You hear the announcement.
It’s your stop.
You get off the train and pass by Coles.
Her milk is almost over,
so are her nappies.
You add to the mental grocery list;
and suddenly remember where you left your keys.
But you can’t do Tableau.
You don’t have imposter syndrome,
you’re just not that smart.
But you have a PhD!
You have experience
You have >copy paste whatever you want here<
Your mind plays ping pong with positive and negative thoughts.
This is not a post about data. Think re-joining the workforce after a longish career and maternity break. Think knowledge transfer. Some of us like to ease into the whole rejoining-the-workforce-after-maternity-leave thing. More like entering a pool one rung at a time, whereas some like to plunge headfirst. For me, it felt like plunging headfirst into ice cold water. It was highly discomforting but exhilarating at the same time. Here are a few things I did to dial down the discomfort and up the exhilaration:
Build a support system
Make a conscious effort to build a network of support around you. Support can be mental, physical, emotional. It takes a lot to get back to work after a mat leave. Make sure you don’t have to do it alone. Support from my spouse was essential. During the last few weeks, I would come to office about an hour early and leave an hour late. It helped me catch up on assignments. Baby and home duties were completely taken over by the Hubby. During Dashboard Week at the Data School, I enrolled for a tiffin service near home. We picked up homemade food that was delicious, healthy and needed no effort from our side (other than taking a small detour from my way back from work to pick up the food). It saved us loads of time and more importantly, eliminated the need for the headspace needed for food preps. And while I’m on the topic of food, for all the weeks of training other than Dashboard Week, I learnt to be smart about my family dinner options. I learnt to make quick but healthy meals that required minimum prep. They weren’t my most fav dishes, but they got the job done – that of manageable dinners.
Learn to let go
Absolutely essential. While Hubby is taking care of baby while you finish stuff in the office, don’t think about things like, has she been fed yet, and did she get her fav bath crayon or did she cry when Daddy couldn’t find it (it was under the sink and Daddy probably forgot where it was). Focus on your work and learn to forget about the things you cannot control. You know that your child is in super-duper safe hands and it’s going to be ok if she doesn’t get her fav bath crayon once in a while. She might just find another toy to play with in its absence. So, let go and focus on your task.
Take Care of Yourself
Data school training is intense, and exhilarating. There is so much you learn in a span of 4 months; you are made market ready. To be made market- ready is not a small feat. And the Data School has perfected it to the T. For any high intensity exercise, you must make sure you are taking care of yourself. After all, you wouldn’t pump in the gym without enough warmups and protein shakes, would you? Same thing applies here. Learn to listen to your body and mind. If it’s asking you to take a break, find the time over the weekend to wind down. If that requires you to cancel plans with family or friends, know that its ok to do that as long as it happens once in a while. Just don’t make it into a regular thing. And if you find that you need more rest and less social outings, make sure you don’t commit to them in the first place.
Play by your strengths
More than once, you will question your abilities to perform. It can take you down a morbid path of self-doubt which can spiral out of control. You may even question your abilities to perform any other random duties and wonder if you are capable of being good at anything at all.
When things got really tough, I would remind myself of the things I have achieved in the past. This helped me steer clear of the train of endless dark thoughts. Fall back on your past wins to provide you with the strength to carry on and be self-aware. Don’t jump onto that train of dark thoughts!
There are some things in life you have to experience yourself to really understand them: sky diving, bungee jumping, coming back to work from mat leave…no one knows what you are talking about until they experience it themselves. If you do happen to experience it, remember, there are many others who have done it in the past and you can always learn from their collective knowledge.
