It's Summer! The kids are out of school, the weather is hot, and you've still got to get important work done. I get it! This is my life, sound like yours too? If so, you've come to the right place. My kids have been out of school for a whole week now, and after ONE day, I realized it's a whole new ball game!
Gone are the days of having 7 quiet hours to do what I needed to do. Gone are the days of having coffee with a potential client and a networking lunch meeting. Mom guilt will hit BIG time if I'm gone too much. Even though I am am a working mom, I still consider myself a stay-at home mom...and I like it that way. So how am I going to hustle and play with my kids this summer?
Well, after the first crazy Monday of Summer, I realized I had to have a plan. I have to be prepared, yet flexible. So I did some researching. Yes, I had to research how to plan and to be organized, HA! Luckily my genius friend, Barbara Nixon had 5 days of FB live videos that tackled the questions how to manage your time. I followed some of her advice and it worked.
So I'm gonna share with you things I've discovered and things I've been taught to help manage the crazy summer for a work-at-home parent!
ONE: Schedule Days off! As of right now, I leave Monday's and Friday open. I don't schedule meetings or sessions on these days. That doesn't mean I won't work. I just want to leave those days open to take a day trip to the beach or to Six Flags. If those things don't happen, I will always have work to do. I just don't want to have to sacrifice fun family time because I have a session.
TWO: Time blocking: This is so obvious, but I honestly had never thought about it. Some of you may already do this. You simply block out work times, summer fun time, even personal time. I have even started to block out lunch times. I actually do this with different color highlighters. And yes, I'm old school, I actually have a planner that I write things down in. I don't know why, I just hate using my phone!
THREE: This is a tip I got from my friend Barbara Nixon in the UK. Make a list and turn off the devices and notifications. I am SO bad about letting any little ding distract me...I'm like, "Squirrel!" If I'm honest, I'm still working on this one, but I have become aware how easily a social media notification or text can sidetrack me. So shut down other browsers and turn off the cell phone and check off your to-do list! This is great advice throughout the year, but especially in the Summer as I may try to cram a days work into 3 hours because I need to get my kids to get out of the house!!!
Four: Stop procrastination! Y'all...this is ME! I've always joked that I procrastinate because I work best under pressure! I mean, I kinda do. But I digress...there is no time for procrastination in the Summer months if you don't want your kids to go crazy. There is just no way I could work a day non-stop. If I did, I would have SO many interruptions from my kids AND I would be a babbling mess, Like Goldy Hawn in "Overboard". Did I just age myself? Yeah...I totally did!
Anyway, one way to stop the procrastination is to tidy your workspace. My workspace is in my bedroom. So I open up the curtains, make the bed, pic up any mess, and turn on some good music...probably from the 90s. There is a statistic that you are 75% more productive in a tidy/beautiful workspace. So that is my main suggestion to stop procrastination. Another thing I do to get to work, is to drink Spark from Advocare...I LOVE me some Spark...I'll admit it, I'm a bit of an addict. It's OK though, it's got vitamins in it! (wink).
FIVE: Be Flexible. We've got our goals in our to-do lists, we've blocked off time, and we've scheduled days for fun, but life is going to come up. You'll be in "the zone" working, then all of a sudden your 7 year old will come barging into your room {during your scheduled work) in tears!! True story! What do you do? Quickly appease her and go back to work? Maybe...but I remember reading some time ago that giving you child your undivided attention for 10-15 minutes can make the biggest difference.
Also, this very morning, my schedule was delayed about 2 hours...My kids and I enjoyed a movie and cuddle on the couch. I still got everything done I wanted too, but I was on a 2 hour delay. Thank goodness it was Friday and I didn't schedule any meetings so I could do just that! ;)
So there's my tips! If I can help even one parent who is working from home this summer, than my job here is done! ;)
Happy Summer y'all..stay cool!
Oh! Also, come back here soon and tell me how these tips worked for ya!!
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