Work at Home Moms – The Delicate Balance

When you’re a work at home Mom (or Dad) you can sometimes feel torn between two different worlds; your at home business and your duties as a parent.  Balancing that work-time with family-time and parenting can feel overwhelming at times but it can be done successfully.  It’s becoming more and more the “norm” having Moms or Dads work from home while at the same time taking care of their families.  Here are some tips that hopefully will help you balance this situation out while still keeping your sanity!

As a work at home Mom or Dad you have the ability to set your own hours unlike those who work a regular job and have a set schedule of 8 – 5.  Take advantage of these flexible hours whenever you can!

• If possible, get up a couple of hours before the rest of the family.  Take advantage of that quiet time and focus on your business.  If you’re more of a night person, then take care of those administrative tasks after the children go to bed.
• If you pick up your children from school, as opposed to them riding the bus, you can use that time as you’re waiting to make a few phone calls or even make a few notes as to what you’d like to get accomplished the rest of the day.  This is also a great time to listen to some CDs that can help you with your business as well.   I don’t think that I have to mention here that you should not be making phone calls as you’re driving along.  If you can make some quick 5-minute calls while you’re waiting for your children, this could be the ideal time to do so.
• Since you are a work at home Mom, there’s no doubt that part of your responsibility is to make the dinners as well.  Plan dinners that are quick and easy to make.  You can also do this with your children if they’re old enough to help which not only gives you the opportunity to make dinner but have family time in the process.  It’s helpful to pick up some cookbooks as well that have kid-friendly recipes in them.
• If you’re children are old enough, get them involved in your business!  They can put stamps on envelopes or postcards you need to mail out, help hang flyers around the neighborhood or if they’re older, you can even have them do some data entry for you.
• Always set aside time during the day for your children with no distractions. Turn off the phones if you need to.  Spend some time reading or playing a game.  The point is to be sure your children know that they come first, not your business.

And don’t forget, the biggest reason you became a work at home Mom in the first place was to spend time with your children.  Don’t let your business get you so involved that you forget to take some time to enjoy them!

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