This dependable working mom has been Connected Women’s Events Administrator since the team’s early days. She shares her time management and focus hacks, and how she͛’s able to achieve work-life balance with a growing family.

Titled “Meet the Connected Women Team,” this series gives the readers a peek into what goes on in the days of the people behind Connected Women. From the everyday to inspirational, the series aims to highlight the team and their various backgrounds and talents, and share a bit of the diversity we experience every day. 

Here is a typical day for this busy, working mom:

4 AM: Wake up, make some formula milk for Isha, my baby, and go back to bed.

7 AM: Browse the internet, check my social media accounts, and look for any urgent work message in Slack while waiting for my baby to wake up to cuddle and bond with her.  I really love mornings like this with Isha and my husband. This is also the time when I plan or check on my weekly budget.

7:30 AM: Make the bed and pick up all the clutter of toys, books etc from last night. Then I give my baby her vitamins and head to the kitchen.

8 AM: Check for something to eat or cook something. Then I have breakfast with the family, usually with Isha, my father, nephew, and niece. My husband works in Manila as a Civil Engineer, so he is home on weekends only.

8:30 AM: Start cleaning and decluttering the house, starting in the bedroom all the way to the kitchen.

9 AM: If it’s a weekday, my work starts at 9 AM. I open Slack and Outlook to check for emails. Start catching up on messages and check-in with the team about tasks for the day. If it’s a weekend, I go out and buy some food to cook for lunch with Isha and Gorlyn, my niece.

9:30 AM – 12 NN: Work with content team and start drafting any edited articles on WordPress; look for an ideal featured image; do the Yoast SEO then once it’s ready, will show it to Precy for final checking or signoff. If all good, will publish it in Connected Women website. On a weekend, I usually do some house chores or play with my baby and give her a bath.

12 NN: Rest for a little bit and take a bath. Then I eat lunch with my family; sometimes we go out to have lunch.

1 PM – 5 PM: Back to work, now working with events team. Doing some event reminder email, following up emails and doing the attendees list and badges for the participants. We have events every month, like networking or a workshop for women entrepreneurs, fresh graduates, home makers or professionals.

During weekends, I go to the mall together with Isha and Aljon, my husband, to spend some quality time after a week of hard work. We do some shopping for our necessities and grab a snack or early dinner . We also let our little one play in the mini play grounds in the mall. I find it very enjoyable for her playing and interacting with other kids.

5 PM: Time for a quick snack or mini break and go to the kitchen and have a quick chat with my father or brothers.

5:15 PM: Start to prepare the newsletter in Mailchimp – let Miss Gina add her blurb and signoff. Prepare the list of recipients and if all good, hit send!

6 PM: Finish my tasks for today and say good night to the team.

6:15 PM: Rest for a little while, watch TV or YouTube, chat with friends or go outside the house for a quick walk if it’s not dark yet.

7 PM: Prep for dinner time and eat with the whole family.

8 PM – 9 PM: Time to freshen up and prep Isha for bed. Then have a video call with husband to check how his day was.

10 PM: Time to pray and sleep.

Impact Of Social Media

“Facebook has been a big part of my life as it’s a tool that I can use to communicate with my family or friends abroad,” says Moren. “It helps me get in touch with them despite of being away; I can easily see what’s up and can see new pictures or videos of them. Another thing is it helps me express myself easily. It also serves as my ‘diary’ where I put all the memories like pictures of special occasions, milestones of my baby and inspirational quotes with friends.”

Perks Of Being A Remote Worker

“Being able to work from home is great,” shares this working mom. “You get to do the things you love, spend more time with family, and you also have the flexibility to bring your work anywhere as long as there’s WiFi.”

“Plus, if you are an introvert like me, you won’t be forced to go to a mandatory meeting or reporting. Haha! You only have to be online and do it virtually,” says Moren with a smile.

“You also don’t have to wake up early for a long commute and become hassled with heavy traffic or sometimes stress when all the jeepneys are full and you are running late for work,” she adds.

Favorite Time Management And Productivity Hacks

“For me being productive is being able to do more work or chores at home,” says Moren. “I love the feeling of accomplishing more, but there are times I also procrastinate especially when I am sleepy or tired.”

“For me I find it helpful to keep other gadgets away from my work place so I won’t be distracted to check on my social media profiles, personal emails or text messages. I also like playing music that relaxes me and allows me to focus more.”

“At work, we also report on our to do list—we only write down five to six things per day and you can prioritise the most important things. I also find it easy to start on the small tasks then go down to the difficult and time-consuming tasks. If I feel unproductive, I like to take a short break and go outside of my workplace.”

Her other tip involves drinking water. “Drink a lot of water because being hydrated also helps you be focused and avoid headache,” she says.