Modern Mompreneur: How To Manage Your Time
I am a WAHM and I need help structuring my day. My daughter is four-months old and I have worked at home since about her 12th week. I wanted to get advice from other WAHM’s on how you do it– work for a corporation, run a business, while managing the laundry, play time, nursing etc.
This message pierced my heart because my greatest frustrations as a Modern Mompreneur have come from trying too hard to fit my work and motherhood into a perfect picture of tidiness: tidy schedule, tidy work, tidy house.
Multi-tasking is highly overrated.
I think it’s the number one cause of that common complaint mothers have of working hard all day and nothing ever seeming to get done. I’m not saying you shouldn’t do the laundry or make a meal for your family. I’m saying you can work differently.
When my son was about eight-months old I started using a babysitter two days a week. He now goes to school three days a week. During the time he’s out of the house, I only do work-related activities. No grocery shopping, no laundry, no cleaning. I keep a list (which I’ve usually made the night before) of what needs to get done that day for my business. I’m careful to keep this list short, because it’s also frustrating to have a list that’s never finished.
In terms of working through your day, I recommend “batching” your activities so that you do one thing at a time. I try to do “focus” work, such as writing, in the mornings when I’m fresh. I do phone calls and appointments in the afternoon. In the evenings, after my son goes to bed, I often host my teleseminars, or clear my email inbox.
The weekends, usually Saturday morning, are spent catching up with the housework. I do laundry, we clean the bathrooms and sometimes on Sundays I’ll make a meal that can be reheated and served again over the course of another day or two. This strategy also gives me another set of hands on deck since my husband is home to help.
Whatever you do, try to complete each project you’re focusing on, whether it be doing the laundry or writing an article. Projects tend to pile on top of each other if they remain unfinished.
Photo by hotblack.
cassy on June 22nd, 2008 10:42 pm
Well,its not really easy to be a working mom,theres many thing to think but i do agree that managing your time is the best way to handle the situation.
Leave a Reply