Being a mother is a full-time job. However, you may have made the decision to be a working mom and get a part-time or full-time job to pursue your dreams or keep yourself occupied outside of motherhood. You may be one of the many people who have the luxury of working home which can be convenient when you have children to look after. Aside from cutting out the need for full-time childcare, working from home also makes it more convenient for you to parent and work simultaneously. Having said that, working from home also has its challenges. One of them is that there are far more distractions and you have to try and get work done while attending to hyperactive kids on a daily basis. For this reason, this article is going to give you some practical tips regarding how to get work done from home as a busy mom.
Get Your Kids into a Routine
One of the first steps of successfully working from home as a mother of young kids is getting them into a routine. Without one, it can be difficult to organize yourself and plan your day so that you can get work done alongside taking care of them. If you haven’t yet got the hang of the routine thing, it’s advisable that you begin putting one in place. Some tips for this include choosing a specific bedtime as well as naptimes, sticking to having meals at particular parts of the day, and having similar activities that you repeat on a daily basis such as reading a certain book they like. By doing this, you should be better able to organize yourself, and the kids will also know what to expect every day. Not only will developing a routine for your kids benefit you, but it also serves to benefit your little ones as well. It can help provide comfort, help them learn through repetition, and give them confidence as a result of activities like singing and reading.
Be Flexible
Being flexible is very important as a work from home mom as often, things don’t go according to plan. Although a schedule is important as mentioned in the above point, no matter how much you plan when kids are involved, things sometimes go off course. An example of this is deciding to wake up at 5 am to get an early head start on work only for your child to wake up at 4 am and not take a nap for the next few hours. For this reason, you should try not to put too much pressure on yourself and learn to be flexible when you’re working which could mean working during their nap instead in this scenario. If you have to meet deadlines, try your best to work around the kids and any pleasant chaos they may be causing. This means that you’ll also have to learn the art of improvising even if it means typing with one hand while playing with Legos with the other hand. On days when work and your kids seem impossible, it may be best to let your place of employment or client know that you may need extra time to get your work done.
Try and do a few Hours at Night
Not everyone is good at working through the night, but some have a nocturnal bone in their bodies and are good at pulling all-nighters. If you want to get things done as a working mom and working at night works for you, consider taking naps during the day with the kids and sleeping a little later so that you can get work done in peace. This isn’t an advisable thing to do every night as a full night’s rest is essential when you can manage to get it. However, by working late a few days in a week, you’re more likely to be able to stay on top of your workload, especially on days when things don’t go according to plan. If you aren’t a nighttime person and you find you can’t stay awake to save your life, then perhaps try waking up extra early to get work done before the rest of your household wakes up.
Get Help Where You Can
Being a supermom is great, however, on some days it can seem impossible. On such days, it may be a good idea to ask for help and not be afraid of doing so. You can consider seeking help from family members who are free one or two days a week, even if it’s only for a few hours. If need be, you can also explore the option of putting them in daycare for a few hours while you work. Doing this should be helpful to both you and the little one seeing as you get quiet time and they get the opportunity to interact with other kids.
Do Small Batches at a Time
Instead of trying to do all of your work at once, why not try doing small batches of work at a time? This may be a more realistic way of working, and you may find that by the end of an eight-hour day, you’ve managed to do much more than if you set your mind on working without any interruptions. In between batches, it’s also ideal to try keeping your kids entertained while you work to give you a little more uninterrupted time. Some ideas for activities your kids can do are play dates, art that won’t stain the walls while you aren’t looking, reading, audio books, educational games, playing with toys and of course naps. Working while overseeing their activities may also work as you could, for instance, get a cheap standing desk riser and place it in the living room area to work while they play. This may also be useful as elevating your work desk can prevent any accidents such as juice spills or jello accidents from happening all over your laptop or important documents.
Being a mom full time and working is no easy task. It is possible, however, and many women around the world are finding that they can have both a family and a career at the same time. It does take some practice as well as persistence to get to the point that you can strike a balance between work and motherhood. By organizing yourself and maximizing your time, however, you should be able to excel in both your career and motherhood.