Finding a little balance this week

Many mompreneurs will find themselves playing double duty this week with children at home from school, and a partial business week to manage. As a work at home mom, juggling both tasks can be daunting. I have some advice on how to keep both your work and children happy this week!

Create a Prioritized To Do List

• Writing all of your tasks down is the first key to getting organized, as a chaotic house can often cause even the best multi-tasker to be forgetful. Next, the more important part is prioritizing.
• Divide your tasks between high-priority and Moderate tasks. Next, further divide your high-priority tasks into quick tasks and tasks that require your undivided attention.
• Plan to complete all of your high-priority critical tasks in the quietest part of the day, and always place them ahead of all other tasks.

By handling the most important items first, you will be better able to manage less demanding tasks even if you have interruptions or some level of chaos.

Schedule in Time for Interruptions

• Give yourself extra time with every task. If a task would normally take you half an hour, give yourself an hour, allowing time for interruptions. This will keep your stress level down if you do get interrupted, and you’ll gain additional time if you don’t get interrupted.
• Plan scheduled breaks for meals with your children. By planning meal times, you will be able to escape feelings of guilt, and you will get a much needed break in order to return to your work with a fresh mind.

Work While the Kids are Sleeping

• The key to working while your kids are sleeping is choosing either the morning hours, or the later hours in the evening for completing tasks that require your undivided attention. If you are most efficient in the morning, start your day before your children wake up, and remember to plan for taking a break when your children up. Therefore, schedule tasks that are manageable within that time frame. If you are more of a night-owl on the other hand, extend your sleep as late as possible in the morning in order to stay alert towards the evening, and make the most out of your quiet hours.

Put Your Kids to Work

• The holidays can be a great time to teach children about what their mom does for work, and to inspire children to develop their passions. While you work, a great way to get children excited for the new year is to have them outline their goals. If your children are old enough, have them put together a business plan of how they plan to make money from their passions in the new year. This will fuel a child's entrepreneurial spirit, and will allow them to set their own goals outside of school.
• If your children are younger in age, have them engage in projects just the way you do. Have them select projects and create a list of tasks for those projects. Then, set up a work station in your home office, and have your children work on their projects, just as you get your work done.

Depending on your child's age, this may only give you 45 minutes of uninterrupted time, however this may an excellent time to get all of your lower-priority tasks out of the way.