Friends, being a work at home mom is flipping hard. This isn’t going to be some Mommy Wars post about how being a work at home mom is harder and/or better than being a work outside the home mom or a stay at home mom. I’ve been all three, and they’re all hard and best when they’re best for your family. Now that we’ve covered what this post is not, let’s get back to what it is. Since being a work at home mom is so hard, I’ve decided to share this series filled with my favorite work at home mom tips! These are the tips and tricks that I use on a daily basis to survive this hectic life as a work at home mom while homeschooling and parenting two children with special needs.
The timing for this couldn’t be more perfect because I am also going to be launching my new e-book Thriving as a Work at Home Mom very soon. Be sure to stay posted here for more info! So to kick off this series I’ll be sharing my top 5 tips for working at home successfully.
Be sure to also read the rest of the series:
Day 2: Handling Pregnancy As a Work at Home Mom!
Day 3: Answering “What Do You Do?” as a Work at Home Mom
Day 4: Balancing Homeschooling With Work at Home
Day 5: How My Children’s Special Needs Lead to Working at Home
Top Tips For Work At Home Moms
Keep Your Work A Priority
This can be extremely difficult to do. When you have a baby that’s teething and a preschooler that’s driving you up the wall, sitting down to get work done can be the last thing on your mind. When you’re up until 4 AM breastfeeding the baby it can be really hard to get up at six to finish up that client project. Make yourself anyways. Especially working at home it can be easy to take a “quick break” to switch the laundry and let it take over your whole day. Try to keep your work a priority by scheduling regular times for your work activities. I spend a weekend evening writing and scheduling out blog posts. I have my client meetings on Monday and Tuesday afternoons. When I sit down at my desk I know exactly what my goals are, so it makes it that much easier to stay focused and get it done.
Get Support
Mamas, I can’t say this one enough. You cannot do this thing alone. Whether it’s from your husband, friends, or other family members, every work at home mom needs somebody there that is going to cheer her on and occasionally pick up the slack she’ll drop. Chris makes dinner almost every night, and he even does the dishes. My best friend keeps up to date with every small accomplishment I make with my business and she’s the first person to cheer me on when I want to give up. If you try to survive life as a work at home mom without support, you’re going to burn out, and fast. We don’t want that to happen! So get your hubby on board. Tell your best friend and your kids about your work. Ask your mom to babysit the kids for a few hours so you can get uninterrupted time to focus. The earlier that you get your family and friends on board, the better for everyone’s sanity!
Have Clear (Realistic) Expectations
Work at home moms are notoriously optimistic about our time. We think that we’ll for sure have time to keep up with the laundry, help our kids with their school work, finish a client’s project, have a meeting, nurse the baby every hour, pick up the groceries, and have dinner on the table at 6. I hate to break it to you, but that probably won’t happen. Sometimes we set goals that are completely out of reach, and then when we don’t reach them we feel constantly behind. That’s not a great place to be. When you’re setting your goals or planning your schedule, be realistic. I have client meetings Mondays and Tuesdays, and I know that because of that I don’t get a lot of writing done those days. I have a moms group that meets on Thursdays, so we do a lighter day of homeschool and I schedule out social media that day because it takes up the least amount of time. Look at your time available and set expectations that are realistic so that you can feel like a success every single day.
There you have it! Those are my top three tips for work at home moms. Stay tuned the rest of this week for more tips on specific work at home mom situations including working at home during pregnancy and working at home while homeschooling!
For more fun five day series, be sure to check out the other Summer Hopscotch Posts by the other fabulous iHomeschool Network Bloggers by clicking on the picture below!
And don’t forget to check out the rest of the posts in the series!
Day Two: Handling Pregnancy as a Work at Home Mom
Day Three: Answering “What Do You Do?” as a Work at Home Mom
Day Four: Balancing Homeschooling with Work at Home
Day Five: How My Special Needs Children Lead to Working From Home
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