If you are currently working at home or trying to transition into a work at home career, you may need some help figuring out how to stay focused. I have listed a few things that help me stay sane, organized and on top of things!
Scheduling:
Start a schedule that works for you and try to stick with that schedule as much as possible. People that work out side of the home have a schedule (usually determined and reinforced by a manager) and so should you! My schedule looks something like this: (On the days I’m not cleaning houses) I get up and get myself ready for the day. I then wake up the girls and get them dressed, teeth brushed, hair done and make a small breakfast. I then drop my oldest off to school and come home. Once I get home, I sit down and make a “to do” list. Making a to-do list is very helpful when you work at home. You can download the “to-do” list I made and use every day for free on my Printables post. I like making a list because when you work at home because its very easy to get distracted by life and housework and forget what you needed to do.. this helps you get things done that are important and its always fun checking the things off as you get them done. It makes me feel much more productive! Once my “to do” list is made I get to work. I try to get a few hours of work done first thing in the morning while my daughter is watching cartoons or playing. Usually around 10 am I take a break from working and play! You can’t work from home with out having some fun in your day. I usually take from 10-1 as a 3 hour break from working and play with my youngest, I take her for a walk or to the park, play in the pool, whatever she wants to do basically and usually around noon I start lunch. We eat lunch together and then I take and hour or so to clean my house. I load my dishwasher, load my washing machine, vacuum, dust, whatever housework it is I need to do for the day I get it done around this time. Once the house work is finished I get back to work for a few hours before I have to pick my other daughter up from school. I can usually finish up my “to do” list at this time. Around 4:00 pm my husband gets home and I’m home with my other daughter and I usually stop what ever I’m working on to spend time with him and the girls. I usually finish my “work” day at this time unless I have a lot of work to do and in that case he will take over in caring for the kids so I can do finish what I am doing. Once I am done I shut down the computer and have family time.
Having a good schedule or routine that works for you and your family will help you out a lot! Keep in mind that you do have a life and responsibilities so you cannot always stick to your schedule but the lovely thing about working at home is you can be flexible to do things when YOU need to or when you have the time to.
Your Space:
Set up an office space for yourself. I have my home office set up in my spare bedroom with my desk, printer, phone, paper, pens, crafting supplies ect. and I can lock the door when I need to. This comes in handy when I need to have a quiet environment for phone calls. The great thing about my office is, the 2 windows I have I can see the entire back yard so the kids can play and I can still see and hear everything they are doing. I also have a space in my living room where I have a lounge chair next to an outlet so I can work on the laptop while the kids are playing. They usually occupy themselves if they see mom working. Also, If the kids want me to be outside with them,I have a huge extension cord that reaches out to my patio so I can bring the computer outside to my patio table and get some work done if I need to.
Be Flexible:
No matter what you are doing, working at home, you need to have flexibility. If you have small children like I do you know how fast their wants, needs, and attention spans change daily! You have to be able to adapt to the constant changes and still stay focused. It can be frustrating when you are in the middle of writing something and one of the kids wants a snack or some juice or to go outside and you have to stop what you are doing to help them. Just take the 5-10 minutes you need to help them with whatever they need, remind them that mommy is working and try to get back to work. Remember the main reason you are working at home is to better their lives so take time out to enjoy them every day and enjoy the fact that you can work at home! Don’t get stressed out and give up.. you can do this! 🙂
The Ultimate WAH Mom 