How to Rock Working From Home with Kids
If the COVID pandemic has taught us anything, it has shown the world how hard being a working parent truly is. There have been a few perks such as no early daycare drop-offs or sitting in traffic with a cranky toddler. Plus of course we get to be around our children everyday… yea I know, you feel the mom guilt right now because you DON’T love every single second of that. It’s okay, I don’t think any mom does.
The reality is…
The reality is, things are changing. There will be things that shift from this experience. One of those things may be that working from home becomes more of a standard practice. If this happens, and daycares and schools are not ready to have kids back yet, are you happy with how things are going at home?
The whole 9-5 working from home bit doesn’t really work right now, let’s just be honest. I am sure many of you are getting up before the kids to answer emails, hopping onto Zoom meetings during nap time, and staying up late to hit a deadline. That’s how we are making it work so that the laundry gets done and the kids have bath time. It may feel a little chaotic, but truthfully, you are making time work for you without knowing it. You just need to perfect your systems!
Figuring out an intricate system that works for you is tough but totally possible. It took me years to come up with the systems that I use today. But when I follow my systems, I am able to run a full-time business, watch my kids, take care of the household tasks, have dinner on the table by 6, and make my clients happy.
I want to encourage you to think of your life as an independent business.
You are a real person with a family who works odd hours but you get the job DONE. Think of your “employer” as your “client”. Put out your finest work for them, but ultimately on a schedule that works for YOU and your family. You can have both, but you have to be unapologetically protective of your time.
Of course, there are going to be some meetings or deadlines you have to hit, and you will work that into your plan. But you should no longer be a slave to thinking you need to be online for 8 hours a day. You should no longer have to tell your kids “no” and “be quiet” over and over. And you should NOT feel bad about it!
I hope this blog post gave you some motivation and ideas for helping to manage this new life we are all facing. But if you feel like you may want a little extra help, you should check out my Planning & Time Management Workshop.
I break down all my systems, help you come up with a master plan and shift your mindset to be a bad-ass Boss Mom who is in charge of her time.
Rock on! - Steph