HomeWorking Mom Lifestyle

THE BALANCING ACT: HANDLING WORK AND FAMILY

One of the hardest skills to master when you are working from home is to find a good balance between work and home life. Since you are working in the same place where you play with the kids, cook dinner and do your housework, it’s hard to separate the two. That’s when you end up doing laundry when you should be finishing a report, or spend your evening working because you walked over to check your email.

But, this picture is not bleak! It is hard to manage all your priorities and isn’t it better to do it all under one roof? When everything you have to do is in one place, the possibilities are endless. Afterall, the President of the United States does it!

One of the best things you can do to balance work and home life is to define your workspace. Set up a little home office of sorts, even if it’s just a bedroom corner. Having a defined space will make it much easier for both you and the rest of your family to determine when you’re working and when you’re “just Mom”. If you can set up in a room that allows you to shut a door, even better. It will keep distractions to a minimum and makes it easy for even the youngest child to know that Mommy is working and shouldn’t be disturbed.

Setting a schedule of when you work and when you are available for the rest of the family is another great tool. Sit down with your significant other and come up with a few blocks of time each day or week that you can work uninterrupted. Sure you may need to check email or take care of some simple tasks outside of those blocks of time, but having a few hours each week when you can expect to work uninterrupted (while hubby takes the kids to the park or plays with them) will allow you to get the majority of your work done.

At the same time, set aside some time to be spent with just the family. Don’t forget to give yourself one or two days a week off from working at home – yes, that means no email or instant messaging. Once you have a schedule in place, do your best to stick to it.

Set some rules for the rest of the family. Make sure they know this is serious work you are doing and that you expect their support. For example, if the rule is don’t bother mom while she’s working unless it’s an emergency, don’t let them interrupt you to find out what’s for dinner. If you stand your ground on your work rules, they will quickly become habits for you and the rest of the family, making it easier and faster for you to get your work done.

Don’t forget to reexamine every once in a while if you are still achieving a good balance between work and home and adjust accordingly.
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YOU WILL LOVE TO GO TO WORK IN YOUR OWN HOME OFFICE

One of the biggest steps you can take to ensure your success as a homeworking mom is to set up a proper home office. Sure, we often start out working from a laptop on the kitchen table, or on the home computer in a corner of the family room. The problem with this set-up is that the constant interruptions make it hard to get a lot (and sometimes any) work done. It’s time for your very own home office.

If you have an extra room in the house, it is of course ideal to have an entire room dedicated as your home office, but if that’s not an option, don’t despair. Find a room in your house that currently serves a different purpose and set up your home office in it. A spare bedroom, your own bedroom, or even the laundry room are all viable options. Try to find a room with a door you can close and where you can expect to work quietly for at least a few hours per day. It will do wonders for your productivity.

Set up some sort of system for your filing and paperwork. This includes paper files including contracts with clients, marketing and learning materials (CDs, DVDs, and binders), as well as electronic files. A file cabinet or even several storage bins will work well for your paper files. A bookshelf works great for marketing materials. As for your electronic files, set up different sections and folders on your hard drive and in your email software for them. Get in the habit of filing and straightening up your desk and work area before you finish your workday. It will be much easier to get started in the morning if a clean desk welcomes you.

Speaking of desks… You will need some sort of desk and chair in your office. Since you will likely spend quite a few hours each day in front of your computer, be sure to choose a desk and chair that are both comfortable and ergonomic. The last thing you want is a sore back after a long day at “work”.

If the kids will be with you sometimes, fill a “treasure chest” of special toys and activities that they only get to play with while you are working.  Some moms set up little desks for their little ones with paper, safety scissors, tape, a play computer and telephone…use your imagination.

Other than that, keep your office friendly and welcoming. You want this to be a place you are comfortable and happy in – so feel free to decorate and make it your own. Put up pictures of the kids or those from your last vacation. Hang up a motivational poster. Whatever motivates you to work goes. At the same time, keep distractions to a minimum.  Find a good balance and before you know it, you’ll have a home office set up that you love to work in.

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GETTING IT ALL DONE

Your list of things that need to be done seems to be getting longer each day. Here are a few things you can do to get more done in less time. Give them a try and see if there aren’t enough hours in the day after all.

Avoid Productivity Killers

We all have some things that just kill our productivity. This could be anything from having a radio or TV playing while we try to work, to having too big of a to-do list or knowing there is still something on the list you just don’t want to have to do. Find those things that kill your productivity and do your best to get rid of them. Find a quiet place to work or adjust your to-do list. Do whatever it takes to keep you motivated and productive.

Prioritize

Before you start any work, take some time to determine what is most important and most urgent. What will make the biggest difference to your bottom line. Grab a pen and prioritize what you need to get done today and then sort by importance and urgency. A great way to do this is to number the items on your list 1 being the most important, 2 the next important one, etc. Then just work your way down the numbers until you run out of time. This way you know the most important things keep getting done, no matter what.  

Automate

Periodically take a look at what you are doing and see if you can’t automate some of those tasks. There are all kinds of software available that will make your life easier. Set up a helpdesk for customer inquiries and use a shopping cart to have electronic products delivered automatically.

Outsource

If you can’t automate it, see if it you can outsource certain tasks. Anything that’s repetitive, or that you simply don’t enjoy doing is a task that can potentially be outsourced. It may be worth paying someone $10 an hour to take care of those tasks if it allows you to focus on higher paying work, or growing your business. 

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YOU CAN TAKE IT WITH YOU

As a mom you are constantly on the go. After all one of your job descriptions is apparently being a personal driver for your kids. Since you are going to spend a good bit of time each week driving the kids to and from soccer practice and ballet, why not make the most of that time and work on the go? Here are some ideas on how you can make those time slots more productive.

Carry a simple spiral bound notebook and a pen with you and jot down ideas while you’re out and about. You can come up with article ideas, website ideas, networking lists, write down email messages and create your to-do lists in these little notebooks. If you are only carrying a small purse, stick a few blank index cards and a pen in it to take short notes. When you get back to the office, you will have some great outlines to work from.

If you have a laptop, carry it with you and work on articles, reports, training for your team, newsletters, designing sales pieces, and projects while you wait for the kids. You can even read and answer emails. Just save them in your outbox and send them when you get back home. Laptops also work great on longer trips if you’re not the driver. You can get entire products written or reports created on the way to your summer vacation. Arrange to have someone else drive on longer car trips and get to work.

Don’t forget to carry some business cards, brochures or flyers with you whenever you are running errands or driving the kids around. Use the time spent waiting around to meet new people and network with them. Even if they themselves aren’t interested in your business or service, they might just know someone who is.

There’s always something new to learn to take you to the next level with your business. The problem is finding the time to learn it all. Why not use the time you spend driving around to do just that. Pop a CD with the audio files of various courses or learning podcasts that are available online in the car. If you prefer to use an mp3 player, get an adapter for your car. Make it a habit to listen to some learning material on any drive you take. You’ll be amazed how much you can learn in just a few months this way.

The important thing is to remember that you don’t have to be in your office to be working productively. Take advantage of the time you have to spend driving around and waiting around anyway. It will leave you with more time to spend with your family at the end of the day or the end of the week. 

 

 

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