Working Mum Series: Corporate Style Story

Happy February everyone. I’m kicking off this month with a new Working Mum Series interview with Cyran from Corporate Style Story. Cyran is a Head of Legal, and mum to gorgeous girl – Poppy. I’ve followed her blog and Instagram since I first started mine, and what I love most about it is how real, but inspirational she is. Whilst the core focus is on work wear, Cyran gives a great balanced view of her life too. Her stories often feature her ‘off duty’ and on holidays, and her blog is is a fabulous curation of posts from work wear essentials to new years resolutions.

Here Cyran gives us an insight into what it takes to be a working mum in the ‘City’. I absolutely love this interview, and I know it will resonate with so many of you. Cyran’s advice on ‘self care’ in the last question is spot on. All too often as mums we forget to take a second to ourselves. But, by actually doing just that, we might be a better person/colleague/wife. So if you do one thing after reading this – go and make yourself a cup of tea and take a second for you.

Hope you enjoy

Lisa

xoxo

 

CityRunMum talks to Cyran, from Corporate Style Story

Blog – corporatestylestory.com

IG – @corporatestylestory

Twitter – @_Cyran

1.Please introduce yourself – what is your job, how many children you have, where you are from etc

I’m Cyran, I have a daughter named Poppy who has just turned 4, she is full of life and she often features on Instagram Stories with me. I’m a born and bred Londoner – I’m originally from South London and now live just north of London. I’m currently Head of Legal for a technology company, I’m kicking off my own start-up and I have the blog – I’m one of those people with 3 jobs I suppose, but that won’t be forever!

2. How many days/hours a week do you work?

I think it’s easier to answer the question ‘when am I not working?’. Being a mother is a 24/7/365 undertaking, add in a demanding career or business and it’s more important for me to learn how to set boundaries so that I can actually answer that question without sounding like a crazy person.

3. Describe a typical working day in your household (i.e. morning routines with nursery/school drop offs to evening)

A typical morning for us involves my husband’s alarm going off at 5am which sometimes wakes me up. If it doesn’t, I try and get out of bed by 6:00am. If I get up at 6:30am things are a bit of a rush but it can be done! I’ve just started adding in a morning meditation to my morning routine. At this point it’s definitely a practice starting at 5 minutes and I’m aiming to increase that to 20 minutes each morning ideally. Slowly but surely. Poppy wants to get herself dressed nowadays so I allow enough time for that. I also try to make sure she eats lots for breakfast because her day is quite long and I worry that there might be a time when she won’t like what’s on offer at nursery. She almost always has scrambled or boiled eggs and toast and perhaps an oat bar. She and I don’t like milk so that rules out cereal (which would be much quicker of course!).We leave the house at 7:15am and arrive at nursery at about 8am. The school gates open at 8:20am and I have enough time to take her in and get to the office at 9am. It’s usually always me that does drop offs, which I’m really grateful for. The school start time was a big factor in choosing her nursery, 8:20am means I can speak to her teacher if I need to and see her into the class which is important to us both. My day can be really varied, I can be in the office, at our client’s offices, working from home or occasionally at court. I collect Poppy and go home to sort dinner, usually assisted by a recipe box to make my life easier! Bedtime is Daddy’s responsibility usually, bath, teeth, a good few books and bed. I usually carry on working in the evening until about 9/10ish. I try to down tools and have a glass of wine and catch-up with my husband. I may squeeze in some form of exercise in there somewhere, usually about 30 minutes. What I’ve described above, is a good, everything-running-to-plan kinda day. This certainly is not everyday.

4. How do you balance working life with motherhood? And what/who do you rely on to make it work?

I really believe that it takes a village to raise a child and in the beginning I relied on my mum big time, she was a massive help when I initially started back to work after maternity leave. Nowadays, I rely on my sisters and my best friend for occasional babysitting and the odd day during the school holidays. Balancing work and motherhood is a learned skill, I am definitely much better at it now, but that’s because I feel much more comfortable leaving Poppy for short periods of time when necessary. I didn’t spend a night away from here until she was over 2 years old. Logistically, I use Hello Fresh for dinner, a cleaner to keep on top of things domestically and I try and outsource as much as I can because when I’m at home I want to spend time with Poppy and my husband and when she goes to sleep, I want to spend time on my business.

5. What is the best thing about being a working mum?

I’m so grateful that I really love my working life, I’ve totally created something that works for us all and I’m really proud of that. I go to work happy and it’s really important to me that I show Poppy that your “job” or whatever you decide to do to make money can be something that you love and enjoy. It doesn’t have to be a slog or something you do that just pays the bills, where you can’t wait for the weekend. I will always encourage her to do what makes her happy and if I’m an example of that, hopefully she’ll never work a day in her life.

 

6. And the hardest?

Guilt. When I first started work, I felt so guilty for leaving her (even though it was with my own mother), it was literally the hardest thing. Before I returned to work I decided that in order to maintain the bond between Poppy and I, I would continue to breastfeed, to co-sleep and babywear to make up the time that I was away from her. It was tough in the beginning, because I was working far too much to prove myself, hardly sleeping because I was sharing my bed with this fidgety little person and breastfeeding and babywearing and it was exhausting. I thought I was going to lose my mind! But I’m glad I put the effort in in the early years because it does get easier and I can see that my gorgeous girl is securely attached and confident and it makes me so proud to have done all of that whilst working.

7. How do you unwind?

Balancing motherhood with work can be relentless so what do you do to relax when you’re not at work/with the kid(s)?I’ll be honest, a glass of good red wine makes a regular appearance during the work week. I love eating out and socialising with friends which is probably my favourite things to do and it’s usually full of laughs and helps me decompress. I have recently developed a healthy obsession with skincare products and taking care of my skin, it’s my ‘self-love’ thing. I can also be found dancing either at a class or on a real dancefloor every now and then – dancing is so good for the soul! Thanks to Instagram I have a serious case of Wanderlust now that Poppy is older and I can travel with her more easily, so I spend quite a bit of time researching hotels and planning our next trip.

8. What is your proudest mum moment?

Watching Poppy with her friends or other adults when she thinks I’m not looking. She’s so affectionate and caring. She regularly tells people she loves them which I think is tantamount to how much love she experiences. Of course, watching her sound out and spell her own name in her handwriting also blows my mind.

9. Do you feel that motherhood has changed you, and if so, how?

It’s definitely changed me. I feel more confident. There are lots of instances during motherhood that can have you second guessing yourself and I’ve been through that lots of times and each time I’ve learned to trust my instinct, so I feel like I know myself more. Motherhood needs you change as your child grows and changes so there’s a constant need to evolve and learn, so I’m learning to embrace that too. I also really value the time I get to myself nowadays! It’s rare that I have time on my own to relax or do nothing. It’s such a luxury and I hadn’t appreciated it when I was younger and child-free at all!

10. What do you feel are the biggest challenges facing working mums at the moment?

Women being pushed out of their jobs when they are pregnant or when they return from maternity leave; lack of affordable childcare; and lack of female/working mother representation at senior and board level. All three of these things impact female representation in the workplace. Lack of female representation at board level means that these instances of pushing women out of their jobs doesn’t change any time soon.

11. What is your proudest work achievement?

I made a bold decision not to return to the company I worked for before I went on maternity leave. The brand I’d worked for was world-renowned and I was proud to work there. I would probably still be there had I decided not to move once I had Poppy to somewhere that was willing to be more flexible and offer more opportunities for progression. I moved to a much smaller company to be their only lawyer and built a new team, new processes and have advised the business through some major changes since I joined. I’ve learned so much as a result of challenging myself that I know I made the right decision at that time. I‘m proud to have taken on a role that would encourage me to grow when most people would have advised me to go back to my existing role where I was comfortable doing what I knew for an amazing brand.

12. What does ‘flexible working’ mean to you’?

To me, “work is a thing you do, not a place that you go”. The company I work for basically sells this mantra and technology to its client’s and it’s one of the reasons I work for them. Employees shouldn’t have to go into a physical office to do a job unless the role specifically requires it and there is no workaround. Working flexibly can also mean job shares, working part-time etc., whatever is required to allow that person to do their job with some compromise on how that job is physically carried out. I worked remotely before I had a child, so I see no reason for flexible working to be limited solely to parents either. Allowing your workforce to work flexibly makes financial sense as there are less overheads and improved business continuity. Research has shown that working flexibly leads to a happier, more motivated workforce and I’m keen for more employers to trust that their employers will do the work instead of subscribing to ‘presentism’.

 

13. What are your go to stores/websites/blogs for your working wardrobe, and what are your staple pieces as a working mum?

Brands I love to wear to work are Reiss, Winser London, Karen Millen, Jaeger London, Hobbs and Whistles and I wear these brands on a daily basis – I definitely lean towards British Brands. I also mix in investment pieces from MaxMara, Chloe and Stella McCartney that I will wear for a long time to come. I add in trends with pieces from Topshop, & Other Stories, Marks and Spencer, Zara, Next and other high street stores. As a result of blogging, I’m finding new brands all the time. My go-to piece to wear to work is a blazer, I do love a blazer. I think you can smarten up and otherwise boring outfit with a good blazer and easily incorporate trends with colour and texture. Of course, I love CityRunMum, your blog definitely adds some glamour and creativity and the best inspo with the accessories. And then more seasoned pros like Mary Orton, is definitely serious work wear inspo for me.

 

14. Finally, what advice would you give to new working mums? I.e. those who are just going back to work from maternity leave, setting up their own businesses, or going for a new job?

Make sure you that your job is something you enjoy doing and that you want to spend your time doing after you’ve had your baby. If you don’t, set about changing it. It’s scary and it may take a while, but anything is possible if you set your mind to it. Organisation is key to getting out the door in the mornings, and getting help when you need it (either from your family, a babysitter, a cleaner, or recipe delivery box company) is definitely advised. There isn’t a prize for being a martyr by trying to do it all yourself. Know your limits and look after yourself. Phrases like “you can’t pour from an empty cup” and the reason you’re advised to put your own oxygen mask in the event of an incident on a plane are important messages. I need to make sure I’m doing good, so that I can properly attend to my child and my family and give them the attention and time they need. So however you get in the self-care, my advice is to prioritise that time for you. Lastly, enjoy your baby, like they say, they grow up so fast!