Welcome to my world! You’re now home, with your kiddos all day, you’re in charge of their education, and you’re working from home. Some of you are pulling your hair out and wondering if it’ll ever grow back. Some of you have considered taking up stock in wine. Others have found VERY cool hiding places in your house to “escape” for a few minutes/hours (please share your spots… please). BUT what maybe some haven’t quite figured out is “How To Run a Business While Kids are Running Around”.
Can I be honest, I sometimes just sit back and laugh at myself because there are days I literally have zero idea how I do it all. Honestly, I’d love to say I sit down and knock out 8 hours of work in one sitting each day but that thought makes me laugh even more because that’s simply unrealistic. For me, I’m a stay at home/homeschooling mom all the time. That means I have an hour here, twenty minutes there. Sometimes I only have a quick ten minutes to tackle a task from my to-do list.
With the kid running around all the time it begs the question: How To Run a Business While Kids are Running Around. Below we’ll talk about some things you can do to help feel in control of all the situations happening around you.
Let’s talk “getting organized” so that you can Run a Business While Kids are Running Around
1. Work together
First and foremost, you are desperately just trying to get some work done. Whether you are running your own business or you’re working your job remotely from home it can be stressful. When the kids are driving you bonkers, when they just won’t let you sit for a few minutes to work. When they just want something again and again it’s time to create some “work together” time. I have clients with kid’s of all ages and this is something that works for all sorts of kiddo ages.
For me, like while I’m trying to type up this blog and he simply refuses to take his rest time it could be stressful. I obviously can’t “skip” some of my tasks. What can be done is to involve the kiddo in the work that needs done. This kid can’t write yet, but he can scribble and “take notes”. If i’m at my desk and he simply won’t allow work time I’ll move to our bar top and include him in what I’m doing. I’ll dictate “notes” to him and he’ll write them down and he gets a kick out of it.
Some other ideas for “work together” times
- Give them their tablet and let them sit next to you while you’re working. Nine times out of ten they simply want to feel included.
- If they are super little, give them an unattached keyboard and let them pretend type.
- Let them do homework with you while you work.
- Give them a brand new/special coloring/activity book to work on while you sit together.
- If your kiddos are older you can always assign them “tasks” during your work time so they feel as though they are being useful.
Kids want to be included and feel like they are important. You have tasks to complete and they want to be around you constantly. This easy compromise saves a lot of stress. This “work together” tactic works wonders for those momma’s who are working their full time jobs remotely right now too.
2. Plan ahead
Another “mompreneur” hack is to plan ahead! Sure, you can’t write in your planner that between 10-12 mom gets dedicated work time. I mean you can if your spouse is home and willing to fully watch the kids. But let’s be real, that usually backfires on us.No, i’m not bashing spouses… but I’m being honest! Kids still want mom over anyone else. What I do mean is that, if you know the kids can study independently between 9-9:30am you can schedule yourself a thirty minute window of email answer/social media sharing/blog writing/etc time.
Planning ahead also means that you come prepared with a “list” of tasks that need done. Having a to-do list at your fingertips can mean the difference between getting tasks accomplished successfully or wasting time scrolling through social media. With a list of tasks you eliminate the piddling around and simply accomplish tasks more quickly.
Before you turn off the lights at night and crawl into your nice warm bed, put together a list of tasks. These are tasks that you need to accomplish in your business for the next day.
3. Shop Online
Ok, so let your kids work with you, work from a list, all fine and dandy. But what about those days where you just have errand after errand after errand and you simply can’t carve out any work time for your business? Well the good news is, especially right now, you can’t just aimlessly right around doing errands because most places are closed. But for those of you who are still making trips to the stores you could easily swap out those trips with online shopping and delivery.
NO, I’m not sitting here saying “stay inside for the good of the community”. You do what’s best for you and your family!
What I am saying is that if you swapped out the grocery store run with home delivered groceries you:
- Free up the time it takes to get the kids dressed
- Bundle them into the car
- Get them out of the car
- Wonder around the store picking up things not on your list
- Pay
- Put the kids and groceries back in the car
- Drive home
- Unload said kids and groceries
- Then put them away
With Grocery Delivery it’s simply:
- Order what is needed online
- Wait for them to arrive
- Put them away
See how much less time that could take?
PLUS I promise you will save yourself anywhere from $30-$100 because you aren’t picking up this and that while you’re at the store.
It’s truly a win win!
4. Cut Down On Repetitive Tasks
Don’t look at me like I’m crazy just yet, hear me out. You are doing some things throughout your day that simply are unnecessary. YES, I said it, you are doing unnecessary tasks multiple times a day. I’ve been there, I’ve done it, I’ve washed my dishes six or seven times a day.
There were days where I picked up every toy my kid had pulled out when he moved to a new room. Tasks that simply didn’t need to happen, that I was doing, was sucking time away from other things that needed my attention. You must learn to cut down on the things that don’t matter throughout your day. You learn to put the priority things first and leave all the fluff for later.
Figuring out what tasks can be done on certain days may look like this:
- Doing laundry on Wednesdays and Sundays
- Deep cleaning the house on Sunday’s (bathrooms, floors, sheet changes, etc)
- Setting up your week on Sundays- To-Do’s, meal plans, school activities for the kiddos
- Meal prepping snacks for the kids on Monday so they have grab and go options that don’t require your attention during the week
- Setting out clothes for kiddos for the week
At first you may not find extra “hours” here or there. You might start out with simply twenty extra minutes here or there.
But you must remember that every little step counts towards the bigger picture.
5. Ask For Help
I saved this for last because for a mom it’s usually the hardest part to do. We are very independent people. Taking on tasks and conquering them is something we do without blinking. We juggle multiple things a day and it’s just second nature to us. That being said we all need help now and then.
Right now asking for help may mean asking older kids to lend a hand with smaller ones. It may mean asking your spouse for an hour of time where you get to hide in your favorite hiding spot to work. If you have grandparents living with you it may mean asking them for some help as well. Whatever you can do to help balance out the tasks and have a smidge of focused work time for yourself matters.
Some things you may ask for help with:
- Switching the laundry
- Folding the laundry
- Making a meal
- Doing the dishes
- Watching kiddos
- Cleaning up around the house
- Playing a game with the kiddos
- Giving the kids a bath
- Yard work
The list could be much longer but you get the idea.
Sometimes it’s just nice to have a little help so you can get that smidge of work done. The work that requires your undivided attention.
The mom life + biz life combo can be a tricky one to master, but it’s NOT impossible.
I HIGHLY encourage you to take a good long look at your week, then break it down to your individual days. You can start to identify areas where you can eliminate unnecessary activities in order to refocus on the bigger picture. Then you will be able to take that BIG idea that you have been stewing on and turn it into something even BIGGER.
BUT—You MUST remember. We all have the exact same amount of hours in our days. You are no more busy than any other overly exhausted mom on this planet. It’s simply a matter of how you choose to spend the time you have each day. But now you have some tools that will help you figure out How To Run a Business While Kids are Running Around.
Download Your Worksheet Here
You are about to be AMAZED by how much spare time you actually have in your day!
Rather than saying “I just don’t have time” or “I’m just so busy” I want you to try to find just twenty minutes in your day where you can begin to cultivate some of your dreams.
What can you eliminate right off that bat that you KNOW isn’t something that “needs” done every single day?
Other Blogs OR Info You May Fine Helpful
(ALL FREE)
7 Day Build Your Online Business Free Course
How Do I Make Time To Run A Business
This post is similar to my post today! You have some great tips — yours are more focused on the kids and my post is more about the parents. You have some great ideas — I would try to utilize some of them. Thanks for sharing!
These are great tips that are especially useful for so many of us moms right now!
We full time homeschool and work from home as well! Such great tips! Love it 🙌🏻
This is perfect for work at home mamas – Thanks for sharing
I love these tips! I find automating my schedule with laundry and grocery pick up are game changers. I hope to get a grocery delivery subscription soon!
You always have great tips. We all know that sometimes when we are with our kids we really can’t work but you had these tips that really help
These are some great tips. Thank you!
Great tips! The working together one is helpful!
Asking for help is so hard to do! I feel like I am supposed to do it all, but I have to reach out when needed. It’s important.