Over the past month I have started to work form home more often.
Here are five necessary routines you need to have when working outside the office to stay motivated and productive as a mom:
Wake Up Early
I’ll be honest… the first week I didn’t do this. I thoroughly enjoyed sleeping in another hour than usual! But then I realized how far behind I was getting by doing so. Suddenly my work routine was out of balance! So alarms started getting set again.
Get Dressed
I don’t care if it’s leggings and a tee-shirt — but the act of changing out of your pajamas does wonders for yourself.
Prioritize Your Day
Just like you would in an office, you should have your tasks ready.
Drink your coffee, orange juice — whatever you need and review your to-do list and label each task with a priority: “A” means it has to be completed today, “B” means it could be done today, and “C” means you can move it until tomorrow.
Tackle all of your “A” items off your list and if you can get to B, or even C, then pat yourself on the back. Allow yourself to know that some days nothing besides the “A” items are gonna get done, and that’s okay!
Also: if you do not know how to batch work yet, I highly recommend giving a listen to this podcast episode by Jenna Kutcher, as I totally agree with this! Once you start going day by day with items then you will start feeling the overwhelm.
Create a space
Now, granted — we HAVE a space with a desk and a printer. It is up on the second floor landing, but that is not where I”m working during the day because I have young kids. I’m working at the kitchen island or the dining table, which allows me to watch the kiddos while work. But you know what I don’t have? I don’t have yesterday’s mail, old dishes, etc. surrounding me before I start because that would distract me.
Give yourself grace.
Working from home WITH KIDS IS HARD.
DO NOT LET ANYONE SAY OTHERWISE.
If you can get through an e-mail without one of your children asking you for a snack, you’ve done more than most working from home moms have so DO NOT FEEL BAD ABOUT YOUR TIME.
The minute I realized I was NOT going to be the same worker as I was in the office, I felt 100 times better about my day and my stress level (and yelling level) reduced significantly. I’m not going to be able to take every phone call, but when I prioritize and know the realistic amount of time I do have to spend without having to serve the kiddos lunch, then I’m doing okay.
