10 Ways That Work At Home Mums Can Stay On Top

When you work at home, people will often think that you’re living the dream. And while in a lot of ways you are – without sounding ungrateful, that’s not always the case.

It’s definitely great that you get to be your own boss, set your working hours, and be in control of the money that you make. But when you do run your own business, stress and pressure come along with it too. You still get that guilty feeling of wanting to spend time with your family, but still needing to work. So sometimes, you’re working at crazy hours of the day, just to find a balance. And we all know how much of a hot topic balance is at the moment. It’s something that we should all be able to find, yet not all of us can! However, that doesn’t mean that working from home has to be hard.

As a work at home mum, you definitely get the best of both worlds. And you have absolute freedom to set up your days as you choose. But, sometimes the stress and pressure can take over and you’re left feeling burnt out and helpless. We’ve all been there.

Now, you may be thinking of quitting, but that may not be the only option you have. Instead, you may just need to make a few tweaks to your day for things to work out better. That, combined with a few hints and ‘me moments’, will make working at home an absolute dream.

1. Know Your Difficulties

So the best thing to do to get yourself off on the right foot with this journey, is to be very clear about what causes you problems. Think about what your triggers are when you find it hard to stay on track or when you get stressed. Whether it’s poor time management, too heavy a workload, or too many distractions. Highlighting your difficulties will help you to put them right.

2. Set Working Hours

If you are someone that struggles with productivity, setting work hours can help you. Not only do you feel like you know where you are and what you’re doing everyday, but you will also be more productive knowing you only have so much time to get things done.

3. Create An Office Space

Another thing that can help with this is having a dedicated functional office space to work in. When you have that room in your house to work from, you can cut distractions, and know that you are in complete work mode when you are in that space.

4. Don’t Multitask

You may feel super productive when you’re doing a lot of things at once, but you’re not. This is killing your productivity. So stop trying to do everything at once. Instead, break down your day into sections so that you can dedicate your time to the right things, at the right time.

5. Stick To A Schedule

Now, if you’re wondering how you’re ever going to make that work, scheduling can help. Sure, you may not like the idea of being tied into a routine, but this can help you to really feel as if you’re in control of your life and everything is going well. If you’re struggling to balance your chores and work, then coming up with a cleaning schedule can help. That way, you won’t get distracted by putting washing on or hoovering when you know you have so much work to do.

6. Hire Some Help

However, if you really do find it all too hard to balance both, something’s got to give. Now, you know you need to do your work. But at the same time you really won’t want to be living in a mess! So, don’t kill yourself trying to do both – hire some help instead. Getting a cleaner in can really make a huge difference to your quality of life. Even hiring a virtual assistant to take some of the workload from you can also mean that you’re able to find a better balance.

7. Get Out Of The House

Something else that may really help you to feel on top here, is to get out of the house a few times a week where you can. It can really help with cabin fever. Go take an hour and work from a local coffee shop, or find a co-working space that you can work from when you feel the need.

8. Have Your Me Time

So now, on a less productivity and routine note, you should also think about getting your own personal time in. Reclaiming your ‘me time’ can feel really tough. But it does give you that balance and that key relaxation time. So now that you’ve got a better routine in place and you’re feeling productive, spend some time each day or each week to yourself, reading, having a bath, or whatever suits you best.

9. Take Care Of Yourself

As a step on from that, you’re going to want to make sure that you’re able to make sure that you look and feel good. How many times have you had an unproductive and destructive day and you know it’s because you feel off? Well, this is why taking care of yourself, pampering, and exercising really helps you to feel your best. So find a product that helps to treat acne or join an exercise class. While this is kind of ‘me time’, it also really contributes to your calm on a daily basis.

10. Make A Change

Finally, you’re going to want to accept that it’s actually okay to admit that you’re not okay? Sound confusing? Well, sometimes, when you’re struggling or we feel like we’re off track, we keep it in. But that doesn’t help anyone. Instead, you’ll want to make sure that you acknowledge how you’re feeling. Because when you recognise your feelings, you can them start to make a change and get yourself back on track and headed in the right direction. Sometimes, this ability to take action really helps you to feel so much more in control of your lifestyle too.

~A~

* Collaborative post