Perhaps
becoming a work from home mum didn't end up being as leisurely as you expected?
Did you plan ahead and think that, all through the week, you'd just look after
your kids, do the washing, keep the house clean, prepare lovely meals for
dinner, get some shopping done, meet up with your friends, get some physical
exercises done daily, and work your business leisurely amongst all these other
tasks? Perhaps you even achieved all of these, in a somewhat chaotic manner,
for a couple of weeks (maybe months), and suddenly noticed that you were
totally overwhelmed, disorganised and stressed out?
I have had
this personal experience, and I have spoken with many other work at home mums
who have reached the same lack of control and efficiency, in their two central
roles as a mother and business entrepreneur. When I began my home business, I
had the belief that I could just wing it and use my multi-tasking talents to
juggle everything at once and get great results. However I didn't - wing it or
get the results that is. And so I thought I would start to just work HARDER.
And believe me, I can work hard. I can work like a machine. And I actually
don't mind it. But my goals do, because as I work hard instead of smart,
they're not getting realised.
I've taken
back control since then. I have 5 rules which I follow, and these allow me to
be a successful home business owner and work at home mum, without the overwhelm
and stress. So here are my 5 rules:
1. I commit
to a strict schedule. Yes, you read this right! Though I value the flexibility
I gain while working from home, I only use it when I really need to. When you
understand what you must do and accomplish at any particular time, and you have
a deadline for it, you take action and get it done! I have meticulously planned
a schedule for each week to allow for quality time with my kids, catching up
with friends, and each of my business responsibilities. I am clear on what
times work best for enjoying and nurturing my kids, and I also know the best
times for focus and productivity in my home business.
2. I get
leverage on my efforts. I focus on processes and results that I can duplicate.
I collaborate with colleagues so that I can get double or triple back from my
contribution and efforts. I establish procedures that are likely to be used
widely across various tasks (I regularly begin new projects from skeletons from
prior projects). I find automated resources that I can set up once with the
purpose of saving me time and effort. Fortunately, my primary home business
opportunity arrived with automated systems for managing and marketing my
business, and a highly leveraged profit structure - which helps immensely.
3. I manage
my expectations. Like most work at home mums who start a business for the very
first time, I was full of belief and ambition. However, I completely
underestimated the amount of devotion and persistence that would be required to
realise all my objectives. While I still prefer to maintain a high level of
confidence, focus and optimism (and put some significant energy into developing
my success mindset), I also manage my expectation by following a rational
business plan, by closely monitoring my progress, and by consistently assessing
how effective my strategies are for reaching my goals.
4. I get help.
I employ a professional virtual assistant for my home business and she does a
superb job at managing all those tasks that are time-consuming and don't need
my skills. My children go to child care 2 days each week, which I believe is
the ideal balance for them to be sociable, stimulated and independent. During
those two days, I put all my attention into my home business. My spouse is also
very involved, and there are set periods of time where I work at home while he
takes care of our kids. This works for all of us, and allows me to avoid the
unproductive multi-tasking.
5. I take
care of myself. As a hard-working machine, there are times when you don't eat
even if you're hungry, and you don't sleep even if you're tired. That's only
sustainable for real machines, and doesn't work even for the most ambitious
work at home mums! If I nurture my body, mind and spirit, I am also more
empowered. So I allocate some time for sleeping, eating, relaxing, keeping fit
and for my personal development.
These 5
rules enable me to create balance and productivity in my life and business, and
I trust that work at home mums can implement these and get the benefits of
being well-planned, relaxed, productive, healthy, and successful.
Justine
Simard is an online business and network marketing coach. To learn from Justine
Simard and tap into the most powerful and profitable marketing systems and
online business industry, visit Work At Home Mums. Also visit Justine Simard's
Official Blog for Online Business Resources, internet marketing
training, personal development and success strategies, and inspiration for
online entrepreneurs.
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