Summer Survival Tips for Work-From-Home Moms
Summer is here, they’re energy has been building, and now, summer is officially underway. If you’re a “Mompreneur” with young kids, like me, this can be an added challenge to running your business from home.
As a high level leader in network marketing, and a homeschool mom with a 3 & 6 year old, these are techniques I have to practice 12 months a year, and I’ve gathered my top tips to help you get through the coming months and feel like a supermom and a super boss mama.
Before I launch into the list, I want to get into your head a little bit. I want you to identify your priorities and give your expectations a little stretch before you run this race.
- There will be days where NONE of “the to-do list” happens, and those days can still be totally awesome.
- Owning that you’re gonna show up, do your best, and enjoy the sunshine is goal #1.
- You are human, you are woman, you are mom, you are running a business. It’s a lot. Acknowledging that and being kind and gentle to yourself on the hard days is going to be the foundation of feeling successful this summer.
- You can do it, you can do it all, you can’t do it all at once, and that’s more than ok.
Without further adieu, here are my top 5 tips for making the most of the months ahead!
- Miracle Morning– It’s not just a book, it’s a life changing practice that I urge you to begin immediately. The statistics supporting this concept are absolutely staggering, if you take a look at the top level executives and most FULFILLED professionals in hundreds of fields, you’ll find that the overwhelming majority practice some form of the Miracle Morning every single day. The concept is simple: wake up about one hour before the rest of your household. This is YOUR time. It can be longer and incorporate a work block, but this is really to get your mindset shifted in to optimum position to handle the challenges and successes the day ahead will bring. It’s unplugged time to really align your mind, body and energy and it will completely change the flow of your days, weeks and month when done consistently. Find all the information you need to create your own Miracle Morning, HERE.
- Time blocking – All hail the mighty SCHEDULE. Oh yes, look at it, maybe it has stickers, highlighters, several different colors of pen, ooooohhhwweeeee, it’s a beaut! …but at the end of the day, how many things are you actually getting done? Do you go back and check? Does the “to-do” list move through the week, barely dented until a deadline is all up in your face and you’re scrambling and your energy is in funkytown? Time blocking is a way to help you stay INTENTIONAL and a way to be with your kids and have fun without work getting in the way! The first block of time you want to set aside is 30 minutes without interruption to lay out the week ahead. Make a list of the things you need time for work, kid time, chores time, self care time, hubby time etc. Then as you go through each day, create “blocks” of “work” time and “kid” time and “chores” time, etc. You can fill individual “to-do” items into the blocks when needed as well. Make sure to pad space in between for when stuff goes sideways, because it always does, and if for some glorious reason it doesn’t then there you’ll be with….omg….MORE TIME!!! This will also help you SAY NO when there is no block available to schedule additional “stuff.”
- Book a sitter or organize a kid swap: Sometimes there are particularly big projects, or you just need a day to catch up with work so you can clear your schedule and start clean. This is when booking a sitter for 3-6 hours can be exceptionally amazing. Even if this isn’t something you can budget weekly, it’s absolutely worth it to make it work monthly. You can also team up with another working mom and split the cost of the sitter. Another option is a “kid swap”! This is a great way to gain 2-3 hours of kid free time a week, for FREE. I’m gonna go out on a limb and guess, as a mama running a biz here in the South Bay, you know OTHER awesome moms who do the same. Well- why not kid swap! You drop yours off at my place for lunch and play time and fun for 2-3 hours on Tuesday, and I’ll bring my brood your way on Thursday for the same! Bonus points here, you are gonna need to sit together with calendars for at least one glass of wine and plot this out so you’d better plan a MNO STAT. Don’t forget local play places with WiFi where you can knock out some “responding to emails” while you guys eat lunch and play! (Great Room Cafe, The Coop and Twinkle Twinkle to name a few.)
- Screen time & camp. The essence of summer. Like the beach and popsicles and and s’mores. It’s gonna happen, your kids are gonna veg out in front of PBS Kids, Netflix or play a game on a tablet for more than the “one show then turn it off” limit at some point this summer, and letting go of judging yourself is the key to making this rewarding for both you and your kids. Sometimes you need 30 minutes to respond to customers, an hour to lead a conference call, 15 minutes to confirm appointments or create content, and that’s ok! Use the time blocking technique discussed in Tip #2. For an extremely helpful resource on shows, apps, movies and more visit: Common Sense Media.
- Ask for help: Seems pretty obvious, right? Usually moms who are also running a business are the “I’ve got this” type, even if we have about 5,000 moments of doubt and frustration every day. We, as women, tend to feel like we need to do it all, and really, we need to share the load with our partners, and our village. People used to be tribal and so much more efficient, we use the term “it takes a village” all the time, but are we really utilizing that village, are we contributing members? Do you ask for help from your friends and offer it when you see them struggling? I think it’s time we re-connected to the ancient ways of truly working together as a community to make our individual lives richer and more fulfilling. Be brave enough to ask for help, and strong enough to reach out when you recognize someone who needs you but may not have the courage to ask.
I hope you found these tips helpful and that you have a wonderful summer making memories with your little ones, while creating abundance and success in your business.
Beth Griffin is a confidence coach, helping busy women get their shift together so they can find more joy in everyday life. She is a homeschooling mother of two who loves playing with makeup, fitness, gardening, and any DIY/craft project she can get her hands on. Learn more here.
