Maybe your Work From Home day is very different from mine, maybe you even have childcare to help you get through it. Regardless we as busy work-from-home moms need to maximize effectiveness when it comes to preparing for work so we can get that precious time back with our children.
Life with young children changes often as they grow. I used to put our baby in her bouncer beside my desk and watch her quietly and happily play while I worked. I didn’t know it then but those were the easy days.
When our daughter was one she took two naps so I had two focused work blocks. Now that our daughter is two I need to rise early and work before she wakes up. Some days that just doesn’t work as she is still not sleeping through the night. Now she has one nap so I have one focused work block during that time. When she is napping well I get a two-hour block. A two-hour block to write content, check emails, do admin, study, and marketing. It’s very little time to get everything done.
I’ve had to learn to be more effective and strategic and while it’s hard that’s a good thing.
Why Bother With Preparing for Work?
How I prepare for work makes all the difference in how much I get done and even how I feel. After all, how discouraging is it to feel exhausted and like you are working so hard but with very little to show for it?
I cannot tell you the best way to prepare for your work as every family schedule and work schedule will be different but I pray this post will give you ideas on time management and help you be as effective as you can be with the little work time you have.
I’m passionate about this because I know how fast time with our children goes and I don’t want you to miss that precious time by being distracted with work. There are many different ways to go about your day. Find what works for you and you’ll be able to go through your work block renewed with a positive attitude.
For me, a great work-from-home day starts the evening before.
How I Prepare For Work With My Evening Routine
- Close Up The Office and Review
I take a few minutes after family dinner to close up the office. This is time for my husband to spend a few focused minutes with our daughter. I do the bookkeeping for the day for our family cafe business and review my schedule for the next day. Having just this short amount of time helps me focus the next day because I already know what I need to do. It’s written down and tracked so I can jump right in.
At the end of your workday close up shop. Don’t take the work struggles into your personal life. Past experiences have taught me that the line between work and home can get too blurred and stressful if we don’t set healthy boundaries.
- Focused Family Time
Then we have more focused family time to read the Bible, watch a cooking show, and do our daughter’s bedtime routine. After our daughter is in bed I read and sometimes look at my vision board for inspiration. Having this relaxing time and inspirational time where I let go of thinking about work helps me be more refreshed the next time.
When we are “on” all the time we don’t have time to think or come up with new creative ideas so time away from our work is super important.
- Put The House To Bed
Something I truly dislike is waking up feeling already behind for the day. This is why in the evening I “put the house to bed” too. What does that mean? I pick up any items that are left out on the floor- toys, shoes, etc. I try to wash the dishes before our daughter is in bed but if there are still dishes scattered around I at least put them in the sink. I wipe down counters, put blankets back in the basket, etc.
I even like to set the laundry basket beside the washer so I’m ready to start a load in the morning. It only takes a few minutes but makes the house feel fresh in the morning for a new day. I can also make a list of the things I need to do the next day so I can get it out of my head and on paper.
Bedtime- I try to promptly go to bed at 9 pm now as I’m rising early. If sleep is a struggle we need to work on it as a lack of sleep will impact our work effectiveness. Performance issues can arise quickly with our work and every other area of life if we’re exhausted. And yes I know how super challenging that can be with young children.
Now on to the mornings…
How I Prepare For Work With My Morning Routine
My morning routine is split up. I have my quiet time before our daughter is up. Then I exercise and get dressed later when our daughter is awake. This works better for me because it gives me more work time in the mornings. When I wake up I go immediately into the home office. I turn on our therapy light which mimics sunlight to get my body to wake up as it’s still dark outside. I read the bible, journal, and pray. This allows me to face the day calmly. I also start drinking water during this time.
After that, I immediately turn to my computer and jump into blog writing. This takes discipline as I often have other things I want to do but I need to get my writing done first. It’s the priority for my work.
What makes it easier is having a system in place so I’m not steering at a blank page or wondering what I need to write and do. We’ll get into that next.
And I do work better for the rest of the day if I get ready and get dressed after that.
Afternoons Matter Too!
Afternoon routines can also make a huge difference in how your work-from-home day goes. I talk about that here Productive Afternoon Routine for Work From Home Moms. Meal plan so you have healthy lunches and take a lunch break in the afternoons and restore. My daughter and I like to eat outside and get some sunshine.
Systems and Routines and Resources
Systems, templates, calendars, online project management software, we have so many resources we can use to help us get our work done fast and effectively.
I use and love Notion to manage work and home. I have a content calendar on Notion so I know exactly what blog post I need to work on each morning. I leave it open so I can just click on the tab and check.
For Search Engine Optimization with the blog, I use RankIQ. I cannot recommend RankIQ highly enough and I have been blogging for over 10 years so I know a thing or two about blogging resources. I also have RankIQ open with my blog keyword for the post. I can see what key phrases I need to add, check the title I’ve chosen for effectiveness, and check the recommended word count.
This helps me jump into my writing time rather than trying to figure out what I should write about. I do that work ahead of time.
It’s Like A Power Up
This also makes me feel like I have a huge headstart when I have my focused work blog during our daughter’s nap time because the post is already started. I need to finish writing, edit, do the graphics, and optimize. Sometimes it takes me more than one day to complete a post during these short times but it allows me to get more done.
Use whatever templates and systems you can find to make your work easier, more effective, and quicker.
Weekly Admin And Reset
Aside from morning and evening routines that help me refocus I also need weekly admin and reset times. These help me set up my work week so I know what’s going on and when.
I prefer Fridays for admin and catch-up tasks. My goal each week is to create 3 quality blog posts. I was struggling to publish 1 per week but with Rank IQ and my new schedule, I’m making it happen. My goal is to finish all three blog posts and have them posted or scheduled by Wednesday. This leaves me Thursday and Friday for Admin, courses, and digital product work. I am also working towards 3 times per week of posting on Instagram and Facebook and two pins per weekday.
I know I have to be diligent to get all this done at the beginning of the week if I want time to get to my other projects. I’m studying to acquire the necessary skills to move the business forward and to show our daughter to never stop learning.
I try to keep Fridays clear of deeper work tasks so I can catch up on financial tracking, content planning, and any other admin tasks. This is usually the day I like to plan for play dates for our daughter too as I know I will be finished with most of my work. It’s the day to wrap up for the week in the home office. Then I am completely clocked out of work tasks until Sunday.
Evaluate
The weekends are a great time to evaluate if personal life and social life are balanced in a healthy way with work life. Sunday night is a great time to see if I have the right mindset to start a new week or if I’m feeling extra drained. If the latter, I may need to schedule a backup alarm and also enough time in the week to restore myself to my to-do list. Don’t overpack your schedule. Be ambitious but extra time is good. We know life with children can be unpredictable.
On Sundays, we spend time together as a family but I also use them as reset days. I do some cleaning and set up my week so I know what tasks I will be working on and what content I need to write. It makes me feel like I’m starting out ahead and ready to dive in.
I would love to hear- how do you prepare for your work blocks or your work-from-home mom day.? The future of work looks to focus more on remote work. It’s hard to take time away from our children but if we can work effectively the payoff will be keeping up with our work experience and showing them they can do hard things.
A little preparation can go a long way in making work-from-home life better. Whether you are in a new role, a new job, starting a new business, or just moving your current job to home it’s a new challenge. Challenges are hard but so good for us. You do have relevant skills for the workplace as a mom.
Real Life Gets Real
Check out the work category here on the blog for more work-from-home tips. While I’ve worked from home for over 10 years having our daughter has made it more challenging but as I mentioned it has taught me to work more effectively. Still, there are hard days. Our daughter has been having meltdowns today and I’ve written some of this post with her playing with a calculator on my desk while sitting on my lap. Sometimes we just have to do what we have to do.
I used to work with a team and I feel fortunate now to be doing my own thing and not have to check a Slack message or get ready for online meetings. However, I have to be accountable to myself. Working from home takes discipline. Being a parent takes discipline. But I feel blessed and pray I can bless others too on this journey while I learn new skills in the world of work, the world of parenting, and beyond.
If you’re not working from home but have been thinking about it pray if the right time is now. Being home with our daughter is the hardest but best thing I do. I believe in you Momma. You’ve got this!
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