I love my kids and I love my business, there is absolutely no reason why both can’t exist at the same time. But, I’ll confess that sometimes it can be challenging working at home with kids. I am sure WAHM mums can relate. It is massively shocking to me that many corporate businesses still discriminate against mums. I was unfairly dismissed from my corporate job and given hush money because as a mum I just didn’t fit into their “picture” of what they wanted their company to look like.
Working from home and running a business does provide a really great solution for mums who want a career, and want to see their kids growing up. But it can be tricky with distraction and noise levels! So, here are my top tips for handling working from home with kids.
Make Early Mornings or Late Nights your Friend
Everyone has a different energy pattern, some people are early birds and some late night owls. It’s important to identify which one you are and play to your strengths. Have you ever heard the phrase “can’t beat them, join them”? Well, this applies to working at home with kids. The fact is, you are not going to be at your most productive during the day when your kids are awake wanting your attention.
So, carve out time when they are asleep to get your most important tasks done. Allow yourself to enjoy those little, special moments with your kids during the day. Release any guilt you have about not working on your business, because you know that you have that time carved out already.
It can be easy to fall into a trap of feeling guilty all the time. When you are with your kids you feel guilty about not working on the business, when you are working on your business you feel guilty about not being with your kids. Drop this now! This isn’t serving you at all. Carve out time for both and enjoy being in the moment fully, knowing you have time dedicated for both areas.
Play Dates & Childminders
Occasionally you are going to need to carve out a little extra time for the business. This is when play dates and childminders are very handy! If your partner is around, you can also get them to take the kids out for the afternoon. Planning ahead is key here.
I personally am not a massive planner, I like to move pretty intuitively, but, I also do have an idea about the activities coming up and if I’m going to need some extra quiet time I account for that and organize the week with play dates and childminders.
Designate a Quiet Zone
Your family also need to respect and understand what you are doing. Explain to them that this is very important for the future of everyone. And that one thing they can do which will be very helpful is to avoid screaming, shouting and playing in x area of the house. Approaching the situation like this enables everyone to feel like they are supporting their future as well.
Chunk your Tasks and Stay Focused
Running a business requires you to wear a lot of different hats. From finance to marketing, operations, customer support and sales, there are so many responsibilities to handle. Being a parent is very similar. Your attention is usually split in a million different directions. Lump these together and you have got yourself into major overwhelm. So, chunk your tasks together.
For example, you could have one day a week where you get all of your business finance and planning done. Another day where you get all of your writing + creative stuff done. Proper planning and chunking your tasks together means you won’t feel overwhelmed and you will also feel happy that you are getting everything done and moving forwards in your business.
Are you a parent who is working from home? Let us know your top tips & tricks in the comment section below or @thinkproductive
By Natasha Stewart
Natasha Stewart is the founder of Business Jump, a devoted mumma of two who loves all things horses, nature & clean-eating. With an advanced diploma in visual communications and years of tried and tested experience in online marketing, Natasha helps mums who want to live a life with freedom and profit, build a successful business.