Sometimes we all need some advice “mom-vice”, and who better than Switzerland’s resident working mom, Michèle Krüsi, to drop the secrets you need to know to balance mom guilt, work guilt, dirty home guilt, heck, all the guilts! 

“Let’s keep it real — finding balance is super hard. I’m constantly feeling like I’m not spending enough time with my kid, while also not being able to work as much as I’d like.” See mom’s? It happens to us all. “In my case, it’s not really mom guilt that I feel—it’s more that I adore my child, but I also love my work.” 

Keep reading to make balancing your life just a smidge easier. 

Michèle Krusi’s Holy Trinity to MOM-aging Work

I can pencil you in…

“Organization is key. I always plan my week ahead and usually have a to-do list for each day that I work through. I have a word document where I list all my to-dos for the week and tick them off when done. I also use my iPhone agenda for all private and work appointments  –  that’s it.”

I can’t come to the phone right now…

“I have one fixed day per work week dedicated to spending time with my child, where I don’t work at all. I work four days a week, and if necessary, on weekends or at night. But that day with my child is sacred, and unless there’s an absolute emergency, I won’t work that day — no calls, nothing.”

We need directions to this “village.”

“When my son was born, I originally wanted to start daycare when he turned one, so I kept him at home while also working. That period was really hard for me, and I did feel guilty because I could never give my full attention to either him or my work—I was always stuck in between. That’s why we ended up starting daycare and involving the grandparents much earlier than initially planned, to establish a fixed schedule for workdays and days with him. 

We’re fortunate to have amazing families who support us with childcare during work emergencies, I honestly don’t know what I’d do without them. For me, that was a total game changer.”

“Time is limited, and I simply can’t do everything to the extent that I’d like. But I don’t feel guilty when I’m not with him because I know that even when I’m working, he’s in great hands — whether with his dad, his grandparents, or his friends at daycare. He loves all of those environments, and I believe that being in different surroundings with different people is actually beneficial and healthy for him. For me, it’s more about personally wanting to spend more time with him.”

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