“Jakey, go find something else to do, I am trying to work”, my three year old barked at her little brother. A few days later, she pointed her finger at my laptop and said, “mommy, go work on your ‘peu-ter’” after I told her that I wasn’t going to get out the play-dough for her. (She was clearly hoping that I would get preoccupied so she could grab it on her own.)
While in the back of my mind I knew that I was probably putting in too many hours, it wasn’t until I overheard my “mini-me” bossing everyone in the family around that I realized that I wasn’t the only one who was noticing it.
One of the great things about a work-at-home business is that our work hours can often fluctuate with the needs of our family. One of the biggest problems many home-business owners (including myself) have is slowing down enough to recognize when it is time to slow down.
While I finally recognized that my home-business was starting to affect my kids, I was not willing to slow down during the holidays (the busiest time of year). I consulted with a friend who has had a successful home business for over twenty years and here are some of the suggestions she gave me to find a bit more balance during busy seasons.
1). Find a fellow at-home business-woman and swap childcare with her. When it is your turn to watch the children, you can devote 100% of your time to the kids. Use the time to play fun games, dance, and work on craft projects. When it is your turn to work, you can get more done because you can work without distraction.
2). Try to work mainly while the children are napping or sleeping. Yes, this is easier said than done, but if you plan ahead and focus all of your attention on work-related tasks (vs. checking e-mails, surfing the web, or other things we tend to do during “me-time”) you will accomplish more and your children will be less demanding of your attention.
3). Hire help. You may not think that you earn enough money with your home business to hire an occasional housekeeper or someone to mow the lawns. However, what if you spent the amount of time on your home business that you do cleaning your home? Would you earn more? Try it. You might be surprised at what a tremendous difference a few extra hours can make on your income.
4). Take the children grocery shopping with you, and hire a sitter when you want to work. This was the hardest suggestion for me to adjust to. I would rather endure a root-canal than take my children grocery shopping with me so I would hire a neighbor girl to watch them while I shopped. Now, I hire a sitter, run to a local coffee shop to write and endure the root-canal (errr….shopping trips) with them in tow.
I would love to hear your suggestions too! Post them in the comments section.
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