Posts Tagged ‘mom’

When my first baby was about 9 months old I decided I was finally ready to try and add some work into the mix. I finally felt I was now comfortable being a Mum I would do something else to get the brain stimulated again. Before becoming a Mum I had a high pressure job in the media industry working in radio and television in the news departments. I had actually tried reviving that career when my baby was only a bout 4 months old, but only to be totally overwhelmed and racked with guilt because I wanted to spend away from my baby. So here I was 5 months later ready to take on a totally new challenge, running my own online business from home!

Now, I love being able to spend time with my little girl and earn money from home. My husband was also pretty impressed when the money started coming in, but it didn’t always run so smoothly.

I guess you always have to expect an adjustment period when you add a new challenge into the mix. Before I started my business I had the responsibility of looking after the baby, doing some of the housework, playing at the park and some cooking. But now add keeping clients happy and learning about internet marketing - some days felt a bit overwhelming.

This is where I had to stand back and re-evaluate how this new situation was working in our family. I knew I COULD do it all because I was determined and I also saw heaps of other mums juggle everything so well. And that’s when I started asking them, “How do you do it?” I was so impressed at how much more streamlined things became for them with just a couple of changes. The common theme they all talked about was TIME MANAGEMENT!

For many of you Time Management may be a pretty obvious solution, but I swear that “Baby Brain” kind of thinking hadn’t really worn off yet. Sometimes you just need someone to spell it out for you. So from that day on I decided to get better organised:

1. Time to write a FLEXIBLE daily plan. Often with babies things don’t always go to plan, but one thing they do like is routine, so try and stick to your daily plan as much as you can and bubba will be happier, calmer and more confident, which of course makes for one very happy mum.

2. Goal time - I wrote down how many hours of work I would like to achieve each day. Now if this doesn’t work some days remember your plan is flexible, so erhaps you can make it up at night, tomorrow morning or just another day.

3. An average day goes like this:

8am - 11:30am Breakfast time and play time in the mornings. We play, get dressed, eat all together and in this time I check a few things so I know what’s ahead in my day. I may answer some emails etc. while my daughter is playing around me. I don’t do any serious work at this time, because it’s still really baby time. We’ll also probably do some housework or cook something for later.

11:30 - 1:30pm My daughter sleeps and this is when I will put my head down and WORK! I answer emails, make phone calls and do some marketing or training depending what day it is.

1:30pm - 4:30pm This is MOTHER-DAUGHTER time! We will go to the park, go shopping, mothers group or just go visiting a friend. Whatever! Some days I don’t get out of the house, but I try not to stress about it too much because at this age shes still interested in helping mummy hang out washing and chase after the cat!

4:30pm - 5:30pm Depending on how your house works your baby may have an extra sleep in the afternoon. Mine does and I go back to do some extra work at this time.

5:30pm - 7:30pm Most households are a bit crazy at this time and mine is no different. It’s bath-time, dinner-time, (screaming time!) and sleep-time all at once.

7:30pm Onwards: My husband goes to Jiu Jitsu a few nights a week, so depending what night it is I sometimes work a few more hours. I may train some new people or some up with some new marketing ideas.

If my days don’t go to plan, I just focus on the good things that did happen that day. Was it that I was able to watch my gorgeous little girl having an awesome time on the swings? Or was I in fits of laughter while she chased the cat around the house all while throwing clothes everywhere.

I honestly believe the online world has been a blessing for Mums in particular. It’s helps us be able to reach that ever elusive life balance. Without it many of us would go back to work and grumble while we worked for crappy money and an ungrateful boss, but now we’re able to earn amazing money all while being able to experience priceless moments with our gorgeous family. What memories do you want to reflect on in 10 years time?

Use this time wisely and experience the real joys of watching your kids grow up …. and best of all HAVE FUN along the way!