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Creating the Balance Between Work and Home
By MyMommyBiz Guest Author
Rachael Hoffman
When working from home it is
often hard to find a successful balance between your business and your
home. Are you finding balance successfully? Too many work at home moms
are not. If they had a productive business day, often times the house
looks like a tornado hit. On days when cleaning their house is the priority,
they find not much work got done.
So, how do you find that balance?
No, it doesn't involve donning a cape or flying through the air. Organization
and time management are the tools that will make or break you in the game
of balancing your business and home. Below you'll find a few tips for
what seems like the impossible - balancing your business and home successfully.
1. Ditch the late nights
in favor of the early mornings.
Many moms think the only free time they can get to work is late at night,
after all the kids are in bed, and while you can definitely be productive
in business with this method, it can backfire on the home front. Staying
up late means getting less sleep, because as moms, we inevitably have
to arise with the kids every morning. Often times staying up late causes
you to be tired, grumpy and irritable. This is no good for you or your
family. So, try to reverse the schedule. Hit the sheets at a decent hour
and rise earlier than your family in the morning to try and get some work
in before the morning rush. You'll be refreshed and when the kids finally
do come tumbling out of bed, you'll be a lot more able to deal with them
while being in a good mood.
2. An hour of cleaning can
make a huge difference.
There is nothing more stressful than waking up to a house that needs to
be cleaned. Spend an hour each night before you go to bed picking up and
cleaning up. Do the dishes, fold that last load of laundry in the dryer
and pick up the toys off the living room floor. If you have older children,
give them a small chore to do each night that will help, such as bringing
all the dishes in the house to the sink or emptying all the smaller bedroom/bathroom
trash cans into the kitchen one. Just make the house presentable. You'll
sleep better and when you wake up early in the morning to get some work
in, you won't be tripping over book bags in the living room or having
to push aside last night's dishes to get the coffee pot under the tap.
3. Scheduling is what makes
organization possible.
Schedule everything. Get yourself a good day planner and keep it like
the bible for your home. Each weekend, call a family meeting and have
everyone tell you their plans for the next week and pencil them in. Soccer
practice, washing the car, buying a gift for a birthday party, school
meetings, big school reports due… the works. Not only will this give
you a clear view of when you can work, but it also helps you work more
effectively. Note: Scheduling is not as easy when you have children who
are not in school full time. See my other article on Toddling and Business
- How to Make it Happen.
4. Sacrifice will have to
happen.
Still wondering how you can get it all done? Then you may need to do some
sacrificing if you truly wish to find balance. You may need to limit the
time you spend surfing online, visiting message or chat communities. It
may be that you have to give up that extra hour of TV you have become
accustomed to. There is no mom out there with a successful business and
a well run home who hasn't been forced to sacrifice some play time to
do it. Certainly though as moms and people in general, we need those "me"
things. But, be honest with yourself about your time and how much of it
you are truly spending freely.
All in all, there is no magic
formula. Just a dedication to organization and a zealous nature towards
time management. It can be done successfully and there are women out there
achieving the balance. But, it didn't happen for them overnight. Take
small steps to improve your balance and do them consistently, slowly adding
more steps into your routine along the way.
Rachael
is a work at home mom to two children and is adding a third to the mix
soon. She is an independent fundraising specialist for Home and Garden
Party doing fundraisers
for all sizes and types of groups. Rachael can be reached through her
website at http://www.fundraisingwithcandlefundraisers.com
or by email at rae@fundraisingwithcandlefundraisers.com
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