No matter how many books we read about being an effective mother (especially if it is our first child), there are no sources that can give us the exact training to prepare us of what is coming. Motherhood is not an exact science – our instincts will lead our way and we have to trust that experience will make us more effective. Being new is not a problem but our reluctance to learn will be the end of us.

When other mothers tell us about the sleepless nights and crying, we seem to accept it but unless we have experienced it, we won’t be able to understand it fully. We may be capable to deal with many difficult people in our workplace but once our child comes out, it is natural that we will be lost and stressed out.
What are the stresses of new mothers? Well, giving birth is an exhausting and emotional experience. Aside from that, we have to adjust with our hormones. If we underwent surgery, recovering from it is another matter not to mention the lack of sleep and establishing breastfeeding. This is not meant to discourage us but we can paint a clear picture out of this so we will know what to expect.
The first few weeks are difficult but if our baby is between 6 to 8 eights, things will be lighter that is if we settled patterns and effective routine. However, if we are still unable to cope up for the longest time and still in difficulty, we should consider some points in coping up. Here are some coping up points that can be effective:

- Set time for ourselves: Even if we have babies, it is important that we reward ourselves by taking a break – no matter how short it is. If we have one or two hours spare time, grab it and have our hair fixed or get a massage.
- Enlist help from others: Being new to everything gives us enough reason to ask help from others especially those that have experiences. We have to utilize the help of the people around us if we do not want to be exhausted.
- Eat well: It is important that we eat well and that means nutritiously especially if we are breastfeeding our baby.
- Exercise: Walking in the park is the simplest form of exercise. If we are worried about our baby, we can bring him/her using the push chair.
If we think that we can cope up with stresses of becoming a new mother, it will happen.

Things happen here in Singapore really fast. If we maintain our usual pace, we will surely be left behind. With this, it is important that we work faster to cope up with our workloads. Being fast doesn’t mean sacrificing quality. We are expected to deliver timely at the same time in good quality. This is really challenging but if we master this art, we will not have problems.

So, how do we double our speed but keep the quality? This is easy for some Singaporeans who are used to the hustle but for those who are not, this is their time to know the secrets on how to work faster but maintain the quality at the same time. Here are some secrets:
- Use timers: Not all people know about the Parkinson’s Law. This Law states that our work enlarges so it can fill the time allocated for it. For example, if have a task and the time is open ended, it will take more time before we complete it. On the other hand, if we set a specific time to accomplish a task, we will work faster to beat the time. This is where the timers come into the picture. We have to use timers so we can track our progress and productivity.

- Think our day ends at 11am: We have to think that our day will end at 11am. This is particularly effective if we want to go home on time. The 11am technique will force us to take action immediately and prioritize things that really count. To make this work, we have to write a list first and think about important things.
- Work at home: Working at home is really a bummer but we can look this differently. We can work at home but only for an hour each day. For example, an hour before going to work, we should have quality thinking time and plan our day. This can make a difference at the end of the day.
- Unimportant tasks within ten: Sometimes, the problem is we do not know how to prioritize things. We have to know that there are far less important things and it pays that we identify it. If we have to do it every day, we should allot at least ten minutes.
With this, we can work faster. We have to observe our pace first. If we truly observed some progress, then this is worth pursuing and sharing to our colleagues who might have the same problem. These secrets can help us achieve high level of effectiveness. No matter what other people say, we should know that we are capable of achieving high level of effectiveness.
