Dr. Jill Biden Discusses Managing Her Duties, Mom Guilt, and Her Post-It Note Habit

Updated on August 02, 2022 23:29 PM by Anna P

Introduction

Dr. Jill Biden is indeed a mother, grandma, teacher, and the first lady of the United States — and she still gets seven-and-a-half hours of sleep every night. If she does not seem to, she claims to have "mastered the art of the snooze."

She tells the magazine

In a new cover story for Real Simple, the first lady says she sleeps well "most nights," but that if she's been trying to teach all day and has an event with the head of state that night, she might take a nap.

"I can sleep for 20 minutes and wake up feeling completely refreshed. "

Despite her hectic schedule

Dr. Biden insists she wouldn't have it any other way, despite her busy schedule. Recognizing that she changed a great deal by becoming the first first lady in history to work outside of the White House, Biden says she "knew" she could "make things work."

The first lady said

"I think people were a little skeptical," the first lady said of her decision to work as an English professor at Northern Virginia Local College while continuing to serve as the first lady.

This is exactly what I intend to do

"Could I do it because I was the first to try? But I was certain that I wanted to teach. So I told myself, 'This is what I want to do.' We must figure it out.' I knew I was capable of doing both. I'd done it as a second lady, and my staff had told me, 'There's no way you can do this,' until they saw that I could. I saw it work back then, and I knew we could accomplish it now."

Dr. Biden said

Dr. Biden, like any working mother, admits to feeling guilty on occasion — but the guilt extends to both her children and her students. "You're constantly wondering, 'Did I devote enough time to his game?' Alternatively, 'Should I have said that?' You're constantly questioning yourself because you want to be the best mother and teacher you can be. You're wondering, 'Did I pay enough attention to that student?"

Dr. Biden's statement

So, to accomplish all of the above — and more — Dr. Biden tells Real Simple she's devised a novel method of soliciting assistance from others: delegation via Post-it notes. Dr. Biden says she is responsible for the main dish at almost every large dinner she and her hubby host, but she enlists help from others.

She says

"I know what I'm going to start serving, so I make Post-it notes with things like 'Fill the glasses with ice,' 'Light the candles,' and put them on the cabinet above my kitchen counter," she says. "Then I put out the salad bowl with vegetables or lemons or whatever needs to be cut, and everything was set up so that when someone does come in, they do whatever they desire."

According to the outlet

Her Post-it note habit extends to other areas of her home life as well: "I put a message on Joe's mirror when I need to reach him. It could be something as simple as 'I missed you or 'I hope you get whatever you're working on."

She tells Real Simple

"You can't do anything haphazardly," she says to Real Simple. "You must have a reason for doing it, and it must be well-organized. That is the key to it all."Showing up" is another of the first lady's favorite phrases, she says.