The Wixii™ Project: Kate Cihon

Name: Kate Cihon

Location: Denver, CO

Professional Industry: Finance and Insurance

Company: Randy Kilgore & Company

Job Title: Vice President

WIXII-ISM™ FROM KATE CIHON: 

“Having children has encouraged me to work smarter, not harder, and maximize the time I’m in the office.”

PERSONAL INFORMATION:

Meet our featured Wixii™, Kate Cihon.  She is in her 30s and mother to Reed (1) and a Baby Girl (due in March).  She and her husband, Matt, were married 5 years before they welcomed their first child into the world.  She received a B.A. in French and a B.S. in Advertising from the University of Colorado at Boulder.  In her role as Vice President, she is responsible for finance- and insurance-related sales and client service at the company her father started in 1980, Randy Kilgore & Company.  Being self-employed (i.e., income is commission driven) allows her the flexibility needed to be a mother and business woman simultaneously.  Her husband has a career in medical device sales.

As an equal breadwinner and majority caregiver, she devotes 40+ hours per week to her career and would rate her work-life satisfaction level as an 8 on a scale of 1-10 (10 being highest).  She describes the policies of her workplace as extremely work-life friendly; however, because she is self-employed, it makes it challenging to turn-off work while at home.  In the household, she handles 60% of the caregiving and cooking, 80% of the cleaning, laundry, and shopping, and 70% of the children’s school and extracurricular activities.

To maintain her own well-being, she prays/meditates and connects with loved ones on a daily basis.  On a weekly basis, she strives to exercise and eat well.  Monthly, she pursues hobbies, catches up on sleep, spends time with friends, and enjoys a little pampering.  Travel occurs annually.  She also volunteers approximately 10 hours per month by serving on the Board of Directors for the Junior League of Denver.

WORK-LIFE MIX:

My current work-life mix is possible (manageable) because of…

My husband, my mother, and a great daycare facility make the mix manageable.  My mother takes Reed on Mondays, which she loves!  Tuesdays – Thursdays, Reed is in an in-home daycare that is just across the street from our house.  It’s a loving, nurturing environment and we feel so lucky to have found a great place to care for our little guy.  My husband is a great contributor—especially, when we have communicated clearly about what needs to be done.

Also, I work from home 3 days/week.  On the days I am in the office, I am able to bring Reed, who is always enthusiastically welcomed by Grandpa.

In what ways did your work-life mix change after having children?

Prior to having a child, I was a mover and shaker and devoted lots of my time and attention to my career.  Now that Reed is my priority, work has taken a back seat.  I used to have lots of evening work appointments and now those are rare.  Having children has encouraged me to work smarter, not harder, and maximize the time I’m in the office.

I made a career switch about 3 years before becoming a parent.  In my prior life, I lived in New York City and worked in Public Relations for Victoria Secret.  When I moved back to Colorado and joined the family business, I was excited to apply my people- and information-oriented skill-set to another industry (I consider myself an educator).  I did not realize it at the time, but in switching industries, I also switched to a career with tremendous flexibility, which has become such a blessing as a parent.  I love that I can squeeze-in a Target run at 2:00pm on a weekday, if I need!

What has surprised you most about juggling work and family?

Before I had children I would think, “really, how hard can it be?!”  And, in reality, it’s much, much harder than anticipated.  Little ones are a lot more demanding than I could have anticipated.  They don’t understand that Mommy is on the phone and can’t pick you up, or that Mommy needs to work on her laptop and you can’t press all the buttons at the same time!

Describe a current “day in your life” from waketime to bedtime:

5:45/6:00am: Wake-up, get Reed changed and dressed.

6:30-7:30am: Try to get ready while entertaining Reed.

7:30am: Daycare drop-off for Reed, breakfast on the go for me.

7:45-5:00pm: Work, meet clients, emails phone calls, etc.

5:15/5:30pm: Daycare pick-up and dinner preparation.

5:45/6:00pm: Dinner with family.

6:30/7:30pm: Playtime/bath time.

7:45/8:00pm: Bedtime for Reed.

8:30pm: Tidy-up house, pack Reed’s lunch for next day, clean-up after dinner.

8:30/9:00pm: Maybe 1 hour of TV.

10:00pm: Bedtime for husband and me.

On a daily basis, I am energized/motivated/inspired by:

Other moms!  It gives me comfort knowing that nobody’s perfect and that “doing it all” and “having it all” are both myths.  Knowing that other moms struggle with balance is helpful.  Many of my friends had children around the same time, so they are of great comfort and support (especially, those who had children a couple of months ahead of me).

On a daily basis, I am drained/frustrated by:

People who don’t understand how challenging it is to “balance it all” – children, work, life in general.  Often times at work or with other commitments, I encounter people who do not understand that I may be overtired because I’ve been up all night caring for my child.  Or, that I haven’t had a moment to myself in 2 weeks!  It’s helpful knowing that other moms struggle with these same things, though.

What do you wish you could change about your current work-life mix?

I need to hire an assistant at work.  I have a hard time letting go of certain responsibilities and finding the right person takes time.  If I could delegate more of my time-consuming work tasks such as running quotes, booking and confirming appointments and spreadsheets, I would be freed up to have more face time with clients and also devote more time to family.

What does “having it all” mean to you?

To me, “having it all” means balancing a happy family and fulfilling work life/career.  But, nobody can do it alone, it takes a village!

Do you think that you “have it all”?

I think I have the potential to have it all, but I’m still figuring it out.  Plus, when we welcome our baby girl in a few weeks, it will all change again.  Even though it’s challenging, I’m loving every moment and still feel fulfilled.

WIXII™ WISDOM:

Share your key(s) to maintaining order (“managing it all”) and any tools you highly recommend:

To do lists for work and specific project lists for around the house help me stay on track.  And, even small things, like making lunch for Reed and packing-up work stuff the night before, help me maintain a more manageable morning routine.

Baby Connect is an amazing app for the first year of life!  It helped me stay on a schedule with Reed.

What advice would you give a pre-child version of yourself?

Travel!!!  Go do things by yourself!!  Take the day off, really, it’s OK!  You can send those emails and do that work later.

WIXII’S™ LAST STAND:

Is there anything else you would like to share regarding your work-life mix?