Breaking routines from a working mom's perspective

Ok, I am going to be real here.

I cannot tell you how many articles I have read on the proper routines led by CEOs. Maybe I am just over-opinionated on the matter, or maybe it hits a soft-spot because I’m a CEO who does not follow those routines—but documenting your daily activities and crediting your success to following the same order of activities followed by other people (who likely have read the same articles as we have) seems like overstated BS to me.

I also don’t think that if you start mimicking their routines, you’ll morph into a CEO sometime in your life. How many of us actually become CEOs, and why do so many people strive to become them? It’s not all it’s cracked up to be (granted, I am a tired founder. Maybe I’ll feel differently when this baby grows up a little).

This job is hard. I am a natural-born leader with a one-track mind for my objectives and some days, this still feels like more than I can handle. And I still have a hard time even calling myself a CEO. Titles are weird. I welcome the title of Founder, because that is what I am to my core. I’m a starter and I stick to it. But being a CEO? Yikes, man. YIKES.

Back to routines. I am all for finding a rhythm that works for your life. That’s really what these so-called routines are anyway. Life throws us way too many curve-balls to commit to routines. And if you’re a parent of human children, then forget it.

Get up at 4 am? Ha! I do get up at 4 am, but it’s usually because my 3-year-old had a nightmare, and seeing how I probably went to bed at midnight (because that’s MY time to work in peace, paint my nails and watch The Bachelor), I am going right back to sleep with my toddler’s feet in my back.

My rhythm starts with waking up just in time to get my oldest to kindergarten, then with a large pot of coffee in my pajamas. My husband starts his shift at noon so we are a backwards family and spend mornings together instead of evenings. I work from home when I can, and go to meetings when I need to, and typically make it to the gym at 4ish for a break in my work day (moreso because their kid center closes at 8 and I will not miss out on 2 hours of free childcare). Odd schedule and not at all what typical CEOs practice, but hey. I’m a mom to small children and I gotta do what I gotta do.

Moral of the story is to find your own rhythm and not let these repetitive “what successful people do” blogs make you feel like you can’t succeed because you operate differently. You do you, and be confident enough to claim your own success on your own timeline. From my hot minute experience being in this role, the biggest thing I have learned is that good leaders are a compilation of the people they surround themselves with, which is actually the case for all people but is especially true for people in leadership. So really, your team is your key to success—not your routine.