I cut my weekly work hours down from 70 to 20 after realizing the impact it had on my kid, and it's put me on a better career path

• Bridgette Borst Ombres left her full-time job after she saw her daughter imitating her work habits.
• She transformed her side hustle into her main source of income and has better work-life balance.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Bridgette Borst Ombres, the 35-year-old founder of The Commsultant based in Pittsburgh. It has been edited for length and clarity.

This story is part of "How the Pandemic Changed My Career," an Insider series documenting the moves and moments that shaped people's careers over the last two years.

At the beginning of the pandemic, my husband and I were working full time and had a 2-year-old.

I was working as the vice president of communications and strategic partnerships at an IT company, which was very busy at the height of the pandemic. The IT companies were trying to get businesses all over the country back up and running, and they were trying to help businesses provide remote access to data and files for their employees so they could work from home.

I was on the frontlines and particularly busy, working 60 to 70 hours a week trying to communicate to internal and external audiences office policies, back-to-work plans, and other changes as they were evolving

On top of working, I also had a side hustle as a PR consultant. I've done consulting on and off for several years, but it became more regular in 2018. I was wearing that hat while wearing other hats as mom and serving as her at-home preschool teacher.

My parents moved in with us for the first two months of the pandemic. They were pretty much helping us manage our life and spearheading much of the house-management responsibilities because my husband, who's also in tech, and I were working far more than 40 hours a week.

At the six-month mark of the pandemic, I was at a breaking point

The cherry on top for me was the fact that my daughter was imitating me in ways that I didn't like. She had some of her stuffed animals sitting around her and pretended she was on the phone and she said, "Oh, sorry about that background noise. I've got a little one here with me." She was repeating what she'd heard me say on so many Zoom calls.

And then I heard her say to her baby dolls and her stuffed animals, "Shh, mommy's on a call. Just a little bit longer. Mommy's on a call."

I thought, gosh, this is unfair to her. We're doing the best we can to survive each day, but when I take a hard look at my priorities, she's my priority. Something's got to give.

The pandemic made me realize that consulting work allowed me the flexibility that I needed and wanted for my family

I decided to make that my primary source of income and have remained working about 20 hours a week since September 2020, when I stepped down from my full-time role.

When I was working full time, my employer was very supportive and offered flexibility. But there were a lot of responsibilities that came with the nature of my role as head of communications.

I'm a former television news reporter, so I know about working at a high-demand job outside 9-to-5 hours. I've been working in some area of communications for 15 years, but this was a new level of work stress, a new level of juggling.

Now, I specialize in media strategy, thought leadership, and communications planning for companies in blockchain, AR, cleantech, and emerging technologies

I'm choosing to be very selective about who I work with, because I know what it's like to be stressed out, burned out, overworked, and have way too much on my plate.

And I don't want to ever get back to that point again. My daughter's now 4. At some point, I'll work more than 20 hours a week, I imagine, but I'm choosing not to do that right now.

I've always worked for a company, and this was the first time I was betting on myself

I work around my daughter's schedule and have seen a lot more work-life balance. I typically work from 4 a.m. to 6:30 a.m. about five or six days a week. I also work Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays while she's at preschool. I work from approximately 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays.

When I first transitioned from corporate America, I felt this huge burden lifted

We had a routine when I was a full-time worker. The night before, I'd have to research and prep activities for the next working day to keep my toddler engaged. We did it to survive the next day, but that didn't mean things were OK or working.

When I started working part time, I felt so much joy and gratitude for the opportunity to be able to spend more time with my family.

I started making healthier choices. I started prioritizing my physical health, my mental health, my emotional health. And I also started getting more involved in the community.

We did a Valentine's card exchange among the kids in our neighborhood. We had a Fourth of July parade with kids on our street. They decorated their bikes and their wagons and their scooters.

I started taking more interest in fostering relationships with my neighbors because I had a little more time to do so.

This career pivot put into sharp focus that there's more to life than work

And there's more to me than just my job, and my health and my relationship with my husband and daughter are the most important things in the world to me.

My career pivot completely changed the trajectory of my career. I was on a career path to become a chief marketing officer at a business-to-business company. I've gotten more comfortable saying "no" to the projects or things that don't align with my values or feel right. I've learned how valuable time really is. The career pivot has forced me to lean into (the right) challenges, get creative, and take more risks.

This has been really hard, but my story is not a unique one — there are moms and parents and caregivers out there who are juggling this and so much more.

My advice for others is if family, friends, or neighbors offer to help with childcare, meals, laundry, shoveling the driveway — accept the help. We could all use an extra set of hands at times.

Also, try to move your body for at least 20 minutes five times a week — exercise is important. Rest is important. Eating well is important. You can't pour from an empty cup.