Balancing Home and Family
Are you having trouble balancing work and family? Sometimes, being a work at home mom can feel like walking on a tight-rope!
Balancing work and family can be overwhelming, but it can be done. The following are some tips to help keep you balanced – and sane!
As a work at home mom, you have the ability to set your own hours, so take advantage of that right now. If you can handle some tasks at “odd hours”, you will have more family time during the day.
Are you a morning person? If so, try to get up an hour before your family to take advantage of some “quiet time” to focus on your business; night owls can take care of emails and other administrative tasks after they have put their children to bed.
You will find that you really enjoy working in the "quiet hours" and your productivity at these times will be at least double.
Just be sure to have your to do list or schedule ready ahead, and set your alarm if you need to to get up. If you are a morning person, try to go to bed at a decent hour - that late movie might be tempting but is it really what you want to do (unless you are do for a break - if you are - take it).
If you are an evening person, be sure to get to bed in enough time that you aren't dragged out during the days. If you can get someone in to look after the kids for a few hours in the morning to buy you a little more rest, so that you can work longer at your peak time, look into it. Maybe you can do a trade with another mom.
If you pick your children up from school, use the time you spend waiting for them to get out of class to return customer phone calls.
Save customer calls for waiting time though, never make calls when you are driving. Multitasking can be a useful tool, but there are going to be times when balancing work and family means choosing one or the other.
I like to use "down time" for brainstorming, de-stressing and sorting out my thoughts as well. It works great if I am alone, as soon as the kids arrive, forget it. But that is the point, right?
During the week, when schedules are busiest, plan speedy dinners. Let your kids help out in the kitchen while you cook – you’ll be spending time together and teaching them skills they will need.
There are plenty of cookbooks out there dedicated to “kid friendly recipes” if you need some inspiration on what to make. And do ahead during your "home hours" when ever you can. Make use of tupperware or storage to chop veggies and make snacks that the kids can get themselves, use a crockpot and put it on the morning. Stuff like that.
Blending family time and work time is a good way to be succesful in balancing work and family, by getting your children involved in your business. Smaller children can affix the stamps or mailing labels; older children can help hang flyers; and teenagers can take on some administrative tasks such as data entry.
Do things that put you "out there" and don't require much thinking when the kids are home. I like to pack orders in the kitchen when they are home. Although it makes a mess, it buys me hours of thinking time during the day, and I am much more available than I am when I am "playing" at the computer.
Set aside some time each day to spend with your children with no distractions. You don’t have to go anywhere special; the time can be spent reading a book or playing a game. The point is just to let your children know that they come first, and the business comes second.
You will be amazed at how little time it actually takes to make them feel important. It will relieve you of guilty feelings when you "have" to work, it will make them much more cooperative during these times as well. And all of you will have some great family memories instead of just "work" memories. You can get those working outside of the home.
Balancing work and family is certainly a challenge as the nature of work at home is a blending of the two.
But remember – you became a work at home mom so you could be there for your family. Don’t forget to take some time out to enjoy them!
Balancing work and family can be overwhelming, but it can be done. The following are some tips to help keep you balanced – and sane!
As a work at home mom, you have the ability to set your own hours, so take advantage of that right now. If you can handle some tasks at “odd hours”, you will have more family time during the day.
Are you a morning person? If so, try to get up an hour before your family to take advantage of some “quiet time” to focus on your business; night owls can take care of emails and other administrative tasks after they have put their children to bed.
You will find that you really enjoy working in the "quiet hours" and your productivity at these times will be at least double.
Just be sure to have your to do list or schedule ready ahead, and set your alarm if you need to to get up. If you are a morning person, try to go to bed at a decent hour - that late movie might be tempting but is it really what you want to do (unless you are do for a break - if you are - take it).
If you are an evening person, be sure to get to bed in enough time that you aren't dragged out during the days. If you can get someone in to look after the kids for a few hours in the morning to buy you a little more rest, so that you can work longer at your peak time, look into it. Maybe you can do a trade with another mom.
If you pick your children up from school, use the time you spend waiting for them to get out of class to return customer phone calls.
Save customer calls for waiting time though, never make calls when you are driving. Multitasking can be a useful tool, but there are going to be times when balancing work and family means choosing one or the other.
I like to use "down time" for brainstorming, de-stressing and sorting out my thoughts as well. It works great if I am alone, as soon as the kids arrive, forget it. But that is the point, right?
During the week, when schedules are busiest, plan speedy dinners. Let your kids help out in the kitchen while you cook – you’ll be spending time together and teaching them skills they will need.
There are plenty of cookbooks out there dedicated to “kid friendly recipes” if you need some inspiration on what to make. And do ahead during your "home hours" when ever you can. Make use of tupperware or storage to chop veggies and make snacks that the kids can get themselves, use a crockpot and put it on the morning. Stuff like that.
Blending family time and work time is a good way to be succesful in balancing work and family, by getting your children involved in your business. Smaller children can affix the stamps or mailing labels; older children can help hang flyers; and teenagers can take on some administrative tasks such as data entry.
Do things that put you "out there" and don't require much thinking when the kids are home. I like to pack orders in the kitchen when they are home. Although it makes a mess, it buys me hours of thinking time during the day, and I am much more available than I am when I am "playing" at the computer.
Set aside some time each day to spend with your children with no distractions. You don’t have to go anywhere special; the time can be spent reading a book or playing a game. The point is just to let your children know that they come first, and the business comes second.
You will be amazed at how little time it actually takes to make them feel important. It will relieve you of guilty feelings when you "have" to work, it will make them much more cooperative during these times as well. And all of you will have some great family memories instead of just "work" memories. You can get those working outside of the home.
Balancing work and family is certainly a challenge as the nature of work at home is a blending of the two.
But remember – you became a work at home mom so you could be there for your family. Don’t forget to take some time out to enjoy them!
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