[Day 2]-Blogathon-Book review-Drop the ball

Book Name: Drop the ball

Author: Tiffany Dufu 

About the author:

Tiffany is the most sought after speaker in women leadership. She is the launch team member of Lean In and also the chief leadership officer of Levo (Courtesy from the book).

 What is so interesting about the book?

It is all about the real experiences! Also it is  not about someone having  the life all easy like a cake walk but is about someone who has her own difficulties and responsibilities to tackle and also was trying to find  ways to balance work and the life. While reading through the lines, I felt Tiffany was just echoing the minds of many working moms. While reading her experiences   ,I nodded myself and said, oh yeah ,I have been there!!!Every page of the book, easily helps to correlate with our own life experiences!

 

Tiffany joins the workforce after maternity with the hope that it would all turn easy to tackle things, only to be left with a never ending, piling work on either sides! She starts with an acronym HCD(home control disease).Most women want to control everything at home in their own ways, leading them to this HCD. While during this process they get into “Life go round” meaning  how much ever they try to knock off the pending works they still feel they have some more of work piled up and feel left out. It was a battle for Tifanny to cook, clean, work and take care of her one year old kid Kofi .It dawns to her that how people in the middle management take decisions to quit during this phase because they could neither handle both work and home nor in a position to spend a hefty amount to hire a helping maid!

 

Finally she puts herself into an exercise of “What matters to her the most in the life” and finds answers for the same ,which helps her to stay focused on her priorities.  She then sits with an excel which she calls as MEL(Management excel list) and lists the tasks and tries to map the ownership amongst the husband and her. During the exercise ,she was appearing as the primary owner for most of the tasks.She then sits with her husband Kojo,to redefine the excel and map the tasks against each other. .During the process, she also finds, it is ok to not map ownership of certain tasks that is of no importance or that which would not make great significance. She always felt that her husband does not shoulder her in any household chores and was always   glued to his couch watching TV. But while during the MEL redefinition   , she understands ,his contribution towards home appeared significant…She also understands that getting help from her husband brings innovative solutions for the work. .From there on the journey of sharing the work between the husband and her starts.

 

With all the juggling journey, she realizes, one  cannot have it all.. We have to drop the ball ,  by delegating it with Joy to others.. Even with her husband staying abroad for a considerable period, she gladly drops the ball with a joy of delegation for her husband to pick the tasks…

 

She also points about recruiting a village who would help you when you are in dire need. Like taking care of the kid or helping to pick the kid  from the school when both are parents are stuck with work. The first set of people in the village, would be your family(not necessarily biological) who can help you by providing solution to any issues or to whom you can leave your kid, when you have an important work at office,the second set of people would be your neighbors  and the third set of people are unpaid mothers also known as stay-at-home mothers, these people help you greatly about happenings in the school and keep you abreast with the trend.

 Lastly she states 4 must go points for one’s wellbeing!

 1.Go to gym-to build your exercise routine.

2.Go to lunch-This helps in networking

3.Go to events-This creates visibility

4.Go to sleep-This helps you to stay fresh and feel focused.

 

So after reading the book,the crux of the message hit me hard , on how the society sees women to play a multifaceted roles in personal and professional life but in reality,we know that it is highly impossible. .A women can be peaceful at work when her “All in partner”(husband) steps up and takes equal responsibility! And yes it is always good to drop a ball for others to pick rather having it all in our plate!