Like never before, moms are running to the workforce…at home! With the influx of working moms from the house, the need to balance your work and home life has never been greater.
I was a full time public school teacher with small children of my own. Life was hectic! I remember rushing to drop the kids off in the morning and making it to school just in time to care for 25 precious fifth graders.
After school, my youngest was dropped off at my classroom and I immediately rushed to pick up my oldest from daycare. At the time, my planning period at school was spent pumping- preparing for my baby’s meal the next day.
Can you see the tired in my eyes? Needless to say, I was stressed and completely spent!
I reached my breaking point and my husband stepped in. “It’s time for you to consider staying home with the kids until they are older,” he said. It was music to my ears!
It goes without saying that money was tight. By stepping back form teaching, I had cut out household income in half. Then, something amazing happened.
It was my husband’s idea… and what a great idea it was! He saw a potential “side gig” that would give me some extra spending money, but it quickly turned into a full time job with a full time income. I felt incredibly blessed!
And yet, now I had to find a way to balance my home and work life…when work was literally in my home.
Over the past 5 years, I’ve learned a few things. Here’s the simple tips any MOM ENTREPRENEUR can use to help balance work and home life.
Keep it Simple to Balance Work & Home Life
You may have heard it said, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!” This simple thought is so true when it comes to being a Mom Entrepreneur and balance in your work and home life.
As a mom, you know when something just isn’t working. You troubleshoot, try out other options, and adjust until everyone is peachy king!
On the same note, when something is working well…..LEAVE IT ALONE! There is no reason to make extra work for yourself.
Mom’s make great stay-at-home entrepreneurs because their need to work super hard to keep everyone in their circle “peachy king” is illuminated through their excellent customer service and building of long term customers.
Cypress King, The Mom Entrepreneur
5 Ways to Keep it Simple
- Use the trainings and tools offered by your company or mentor.
- Find someone in your company that is successful and copy them.
- Follow your gut- don’t overthink it. If it’s working, let it be.
- When in doubt, err on the side of compassion (more on this later).
By complicating your work life, you are taking away from your family. Trust me, I have been there! I learned the hard way that there is only so much time in the day and it shouldn’t be spent fixing things that never should have been messed with in the first place.
Stay Organized to Balance Work & Home Life
Even as I am typing this, I feel unqualified to be talking about organization. The truth is, if ANYONE understands the need for organization, its yours truly! Organization is absolutely essential when balancing your work and home life.
Looking back over the last few years, I can point to several situations that pushed my stress over the edge, took valuable time away from my family, and made my work experience almost intolerable… want to guess what they all had in common?
If you guessed lack of organization, you would be dead on!
Everyone has their own organizational preferences. The key here is to find what works for you and stick with it.
Tips to BALANCE work and home life using organization
- Write things down
- Don’t procrastinate
- Make schedules and deadlines
- Give everything a home
- Declutter regularly
- Keep only what you need
Put Family First to Balance Work & Home Life
As much as I love my children and appreciate the unwavering support of my husband, I have been guilty of placing them on the back burner to make another sale, satisfy another customer, or book another party.
From experience I can tell you that neglecting to put your family first will lead to burn-out! Read my post entitled 5 Warning Signs that Burn-Out is on the Way.
As much as I hate to admit it, I got to a place with my job that forced me to take a step back- to remember why I started this in the first place.
The line between work and home can get blurry, and having Clear Boundaries will be key in how you balance your work and home life.
Here are a few tips to help
- Keep a Well Thought Out To-Do List – I can’t emphasize this enough! Making and keeping your to-do list will not only give you peace of mind, but help you balance your work and family to your full potential!
- Assign Yourself One-On-One Time with Your Kids – This doesn’t have to happen every day and is beneficial in the long run!
- Set office Hours (or Specific Working Times) – Honestly, this is one of the hardest things to do. It is also the most beneficial to keeping family first.
Love What You Do
Someone much smarter than me once said, “If momma’s not happy, ain’t nobody happy!” Although this was probably meant to be pointed towards couples or children, it couldn’t be more true for balancing your home and work life.
In the past, after a bad day at work… I would find myself taking it out on my family. As I matured I learned to leave work at work, disconnecting it from home.
It didn’t take long after becoming an Mom Entrepreneur for reality to hit me- there is no real disconnect between work & home when you WORK FROM HOME!
That being said, I highly recommend loving what you do. The truth of the matter is that if you’re a Mom Entrepreneur, the stresses of balancing work and home life will at some point cause you to question it all.
The key is not to lose the love you have for your job and family!
I highly recommend the following components to your work and home life
- Find ways to show gratitude to your family (for putting up with your schedule) and to your customers (for making it possible).
- Always err on the side of compassion. There is a deep satisfaction that comes from knowing that your actions were based on love and compassion. Take the time off to make an impromptu park trip and mail that extra package even though you knew the customer was wrong, because these are things that really matter.
Being a mom & running a small business can be challenging... 