I decided to try and tackle to the home business world when my first baby was only about 9 months old. I had actually tried to go back to my previous career a few months prior, but it was just a horrible experience for us both. Looking back I now realise I hadn't even gotten the hang of being a mum yet, let alone throw a high pressure job back into the mix. What was I thinking? Anyway, I learned a great lesson from all of that and that is to take your time and find a situation you and your baby are going to be comfortable with.
Now, I love being able to spend time with my little girl and earn money from home. My husband was also pretty impressed when the money started coming in, but it didn't always run so smoothly.
Sometimes in the beginning I struggled to do all that I wanted to do in one day. Such as keep the baby happy, do some housework, cooking, answering emails and then keep clients happy! Occasionally I questioned myself as to why I was actually doing all this.
So, I took a step back and started talking to some other successful work-at-home mums and asked them how they are managing to be a Super-Mum? And you know what the answer was from all of them? I'M NOT! . But they also had another common theme - Good Time Management.
Now remembering I had only been a Mum for less than a year, so perhaps to many of you this is not so surprising, and I guess it wasn't totally a shock for me either, but it just hadn't occurred to me that it was as simple as organising my day like I once did at work. So here's what I did from that day onwards:
1. I wrote a daily plan of action - with the assumption that this plan would be VERY FLEXIBLE. At least that's one thing I had learned since becoming a mum, you need to be flexible and not get too stressed if you're late, not dressed correctly or have a bit of vomit on your new jumper. Anyway, babies actually do like routine, so once you start getting into the swing of things you'll find you'll be happier and calmer and so will the bubba.
2. Next thing to do it set a goal for how many hours you'd liek to work each day. You may have to adjust this as you settle into a routine. I aim for 4-5 hours a day spread out over day and night, but only for 4 days a week, but often that will spread out to 5 days. Think about maybe a relative like your Mum or mother in-law who will act as a babysitter once or twice a week for a few hours.
3. My average day looks like this:
8am - 11:30am The mornings are pretty cruisy just getting dressed, having breakfast, doing some chores around the house and playing. I may check some emails and check the diary for the day, but I'll leave the more serious work for later.
11:30 - 1:30pm This is my most productive work time most days because my daughter sleeps. I try and stay focused at the task at hand and leave any unfinished housework or cooking etc. as this is purely WORK TIME.
1:30pm - 4:30pm STOP WORK and focus on the baby again! Try and do something worthwhile and enjoy your time together. Get out of the house and go shopping and the park or visit some friends.
4:30pm - 5:30pm Afternoon naps can sometimes be 30 minutes and if I'm lucky 1 hour. In this time I go back into my office and check emails and do anything that can be done relatively quickly. I never start big projects at this time.
5:30pm - 7:30pm This is an interesting part of the day! It's screaming time! ... bath-time, dinner-time (for kids, animals and adults) and sleep-time ... aaahhhh!
7:30pm Onwards: A couple of night's a week when it's quiet and my husband goes to the gym I like to do a few extra hours of work on my business.
If my days don't go to plan, I just focus on the good things that did happen that day. Was it that I was able to watch my gorgeous little girl having an awesome time on the swings? Or was I in fits of laughter while she chased the cat around the house all while throwing clothes everywhere.
I honestly believe the online world has been a blessing for Mums in particular. It's helps us be able to reach that ever elusive life balance. Without it many of us would go back to work and grumble while we worked for crappy money and an ungrateful boss, but now we're able to earn amazing money all while being able to experience priceless moments with our gorgeous family. What memories do you want to reflect on in 10 years time?
And finally HAVE FUN! Kids do it all day long and it'd be wise to learn a thing or two from them!
Now, I love being able to spend time with my little girl and earn money from home. My husband was also pretty impressed when the money started coming in, but it didn't always run so smoothly.
Sometimes in the beginning I struggled to do all that I wanted to do in one day. Such as keep the baby happy, do some housework, cooking, answering emails and then keep clients happy! Occasionally I questioned myself as to why I was actually doing all this.
So, I took a step back and started talking to some other successful work-at-home mums and asked them how they are managing to be a Super-Mum? And you know what the answer was from all of them? I'M NOT! . But they also had another common theme - Good Time Management.
Now remembering I had only been a Mum for less than a year, so perhaps to many of you this is not so surprising, and I guess it wasn't totally a shock for me either, but it just hadn't occurred to me that it was as simple as organising my day like I once did at work. So here's what I did from that day onwards:
1. I wrote a daily plan of action - with the assumption that this plan would be VERY FLEXIBLE. At least that's one thing I had learned since becoming a mum, you need to be flexible and not get too stressed if you're late, not dressed correctly or have a bit of vomit on your new jumper. Anyway, babies actually do like routine, so once you start getting into the swing of things you'll find you'll be happier and calmer and so will the bubba.
2. Next thing to do it set a goal for how many hours you'd liek to work each day. You may have to adjust this as you settle into a routine. I aim for 4-5 hours a day spread out over day and night, but only for 4 days a week, but often that will spread out to 5 days. Think about maybe a relative like your Mum or mother in-law who will act as a babysitter once or twice a week for a few hours.
3. My average day looks like this:
8am - 11:30am The mornings are pretty cruisy just getting dressed, having breakfast, doing some chores around the house and playing. I may check some emails and check the diary for the day, but I'll leave the more serious work for later.
11:30 - 1:30pm This is my most productive work time most days because my daughter sleeps. I try and stay focused at the task at hand and leave any unfinished housework or cooking etc. as this is purely WORK TIME.
1:30pm - 4:30pm STOP WORK and focus on the baby again! Try and do something worthwhile and enjoy your time together. Get out of the house and go shopping and the park or visit some friends.
4:30pm - 5:30pm Afternoon naps can sometimes be 30 minutes and if I'm lucky 1 hour. In this time I go back into my office and check emails and do anything that can be done relatively quickly. I never start big projects at this time.
5:30pm - 7:30pm This is an interesting part of the day! It's screaming time! ... bath-time, dinner-time (for kids, animals and adults) and sleep-time ... aaahhhh!
7:30pm Onwards: A couple of night's a week when it's quiet and my husband goes to the gym I like to do a few extra hours of work on my business.
If my days don't go to plan, I just focus on the good things that did happen that day. Was it that I was able to watch my gorgeous little girl having an awesome time on the swings? Or was I in fits of laughter while she chased the cat around the house all while throwing clothes everywhere.
I honestly believe the online world has been a blessing for Mums in particular. It's helps us be able to reach that ever elusive life balance. Without it many of us would go back to work and grumble while we worked for crappy money and an ungrateful boss, but now we're able to earn amazing money all while being able to experience priceless moments with our gorgeous family. What memories do you want to reflect on in 10 years time?
And finally HAVE FUN! Kids do it all day long and it'd be wise to learn a thing or two from them!
About the Author:
Tracey Dornelles is a full-time mum and founder of Mums Mean Business a marketing company designed to help mums create their own home business in the personal development industry.
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