Time Management Tips for Work at Home Moms
Making the Most of Your Work Day
Perhaps the most important skill a work-at-home mom needs to possess is the skill of successful time management. Learn how to organize your day so that it will flow more smoothly, you will get more done, and create a more peaceful atmosphere for you and your family.
Separate Work Place
A significant risk of running a business out of your home is burn-out. It is easy to feel like you are always at work when it is all around you. Try limiting your work area to one or two rooms, and shut the door when not in use. If you run a business that must consume large portions of your home, like a home daycare, make an effort to put away daycare items at the end of each day, and find a way to store them out of sight. This way, your home will be more relaxing and you can concentrate on enjoying your family on your off hours.
Schedule Your Day
One of the great things about working from home is the ability to be flexible, so you may resist scheduling your days thinking that a schedule will only box you in. On the contrary! Think of a schedule as a tool you can use to organize your day so that the 24 hours you have work to your advantage. Your schedule serves you, not the other way around. By having a plan each day, more will get accomplished, and you will be able to feel more relaxed knowing that everything will be done in due time.
Babysitter or Daycare For Part of Work Day
It can be difficult to get much accomplished with an active youngster under foot. Even a few hours of uninterrupted time can greatly increase your productivity. If a babysitter is cost prohibitive, consider enlisting the help of a mother’s helper. A mother’s helper is usually a pre-teen girl, or young teenager, who comes into your home, with you nearby, and entertains your children for a couple of hours. This usually costs much less, and benefits both you and your helper. You get the time you need to get things done, and she gets valuable childcare experience for when she is old enough to babysit on her own.
Limit Interruptions
It can be difficult to concentrate on your work when the phone is ringing, visitors are at your door, and the baby is crying in the other room. Determine your work hours, as much as possible, by taking into consideration when your home is at its busiest. Let the answering machine screen your calls for you. Tell friends and neighbors that during certain hours you are unavailable for visits. Break for an hour or so when the kids get home from school to get them settled. You can’t completely eliminate disruptions, but many of your daily interruptions can be anticipated, and managed, so as not to throw you completely off track.
Healthy Diet, Exercise Reduce Stress
As a work at home mother, you lead a very demanding life! It is vital for your emotional and physical well-being to take care of yourself. Eat a healthy diet, exercise, and work to reduce stress as much as possible. Also, don’t forget to take time for yourself. Do something you enjoy, take a relaxing bath, go out on a date night with your husband. Regardless of what you choose to do, make it a point to leave work, and household responsibilities, at home.
Working from home will be much more rewarding for you, and your family, when your time is managed sufficiently to make the most of the hours in your day.
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