This Mom of Six Shares Her Time Management Tips for Succeeding in a Busy Work-From-Home Role

Thomasa Gonzalez has worked remote at times throughout her career in IT. But in her role as a Data Architect at BNSF Logistics, she’s felt especially supported in the COVID-era switch to working from home once again. 

“BNSF has been great. They provided assistance to make sure we had what we needed to be successful in our day-to-day operations,” she said. “I’m grateful to be part of a company where team collaboration is outstanding.”

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Between the support from her employer and the tricks she’s learned from her past work-from-home experience, she’s finding the transition not only manageable, but an even more efficient way to achieve her work goals. That’s huge, because this mother of six values her time away from technology in order to achieve balance and avoid burn out. 

So, how does she manage a whirlwind job, mothering six children and finding time to dedicate to her love of outdoor photography? Recently, Gonzalez shared with us a breakdown of her day, her work-life balance tips and her best advice for working parents who are currently stationed at a home office. 

Tell me a bit about your current role. What are your priorities? 

I am responsible for designing, creating, deploying and managing the company’s many data needs. My current priority is data architecture and data management for Quest, a proprietary internal software.

Paint a picture of a typical day for me. What’s the first thing you do when you wake up and the last thing you do before you go to sleep?

6:00 a.m.: Start getting ready for my day (COFFEE, COFFEE, and more COFFEE).

7:30 a.m.: Check processes and emails.

8:15 a.m.: Daily standup meeting.

8:30 a.m.: Meetings, support and coding.

12:00 p.m.: Walk one mile and eat lunch.

1:00 p.m.: More meetings, more support and more coding.

5:00 p.m.: Planning for the next day, including work items that were not completed or need to be addressed, notes for the upcoming meetings, issues or bugs that need to be addressed and more.

6:30 p.m.: Check on our garden, exercise, prepare dinner, family dinnertime and clean the kitchen.

9:00 p.m.: Prepare for bed and maybe watch a show or movie.

What does “balance” mean to you, and in what ways do you feel like you’ve achieved it? 

I believe balance is fully applying yourself in all you do but also giving back to yourself. I have been a part of many successful implementations, but without giving back to yourself, you will lack the necessary balance and can burn out. 

Keeping this balance is an everyday struggle for me. Some days I have it and some days I don’t. I can easily work well into our family hours, so I have to put a lot of effort into keeping a work and life balance. I am happy to be part of a company that understands the importance of balance!

Attaining work-life balance can’t be done solo. What people, resources, and tools do you rely on to get it all done? 

My family and shutting off electronics! My mother will call me on her way home from work daily, which reminds me that it’s closing time. I am blessed to have these daily calls with her. 

My family also spends a lot of time outdoors which allows me to unplug. Evenings are spent in our garden or swimming. Weekends are spent at the lake or relaxing in the pool. We have a large family and dinner is our daily quality time!