What I've learned about balancing life while working as a mom.
Life balance can be tricky, right? As I first thought of this topic, I contemplated how priorities shifted during the recent pandemic. Then, I quickly realized that it's about working from home and creating a manageable AND enjoyable lifestyle. We work in many environments where we bring our kiddos or find creative time to work on projects and meet deadlines. Below are a few tips to get you started by creating the life you want.
In a world where we are on the go, we only work on cell phones or tablets. I say this because those screens are small, and life is WAY BIGGER than sitting in front of that screen without being smart about it.
Practice Self-care Before working.
What is self-care? Self-care is simply taking care of yourself to fill your cup. There are many ways to practice self-care in mind, body, and spirit categories.
Mind self-care ideas: reading a book, cleaning your workspace, writing tasks less, and setting priorities for the workweek.
Body self-care ideas: exercise, drink water, dress up a bit, and wear laced shoes. It's a mind game when you dress your body and lace up your shoes even if you're not leaving the house.
Spirit care ideas: step outside for fresh air or listen to nature sounds. If you attend church, take a moment to read your Bible.
I've learned from experience and many books that practicing self-care before starting work allows us to manage the tasks more adaptively than just jumping in unscrambling to accomplish even one task at a time. Later I can expand my thoughts on self-care, but here are some quick tips to get started.
If this seems overwhelming, pick one thing to do every day before work. The most vital self-care I've done is to get plenty of sleep and drink tons of water.
Create Rituals and audit your time.
As a creative person, this one does not come naturally. Routines can seem tedious or difficult! I challenge you to shift your mindset From doing it because it's necessary. Create the rituals that help you THRIVE. After all, you WANT to succeed.
My business coach tasked me with auditing my time to review it with her after 2 to 3 weeks. I challenge you to do the same. A time audit can prove helpful to set up a block schedule so that you can feel accomplished AND meet your kids' needs.
Here's how you do it:
Set up a spreadsheet that makes sense to you with the hours of the day and the date. Set a few alarm reminders on your phone throughout the day and write them down. What you do in a day is good, whatever the task is, so write it down. Do this for two to three weeks.
Then set up a vision that works for you!
Block scheduling works best for me because I don't feel pressured by the clock. Blocks are typically three hours long, allowing plenty of time for longer tasks or many little ones.
Outsource; ask for help!
Here are a few things you can implement to build your own company or even while you work for someone else. List everything you must do in a day, week, or month. Highlight your top priorities weekly, then your time-consuming tasks with a different color.
Working from home can get lonely- include this in asking for help. If you need to socialize, you can attend networking opportunities, play at the park with your kids, then set aside time to accomplish one task with a set timmer, such as a phone call while your kids wrap up.
Outsource your time-consuming tasks or anything you put off to a family member or friend or put out for hire. Cleaning the house, yard work, errands, and jobs in your business that take so much time are a few ideas.
I hire assistants for specific marketing campaigns or tasks that open up time so that I can put on more business owner or mom hats instead of employee hats.
I have great friends that, every once in a while, I reach out to for help and are happy to help whip my home in shape- look for those friends too!
Do you have more ideas that you've experienced that are not listed? Comment below! I'd like to hear what works for you!
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Ps. Play Hide and seek with your kids as you create concepts, write your to-do list and breathe momentarily.
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