Do you work from your home office as a Virtual Assistant, Web Developer, Business Coach, Fill-in-the-Blanks here? Do you find that balancing your business and home can sometimes feel like an exercise in futility?
Life is a balancing act for many people, but this is especially true for working moms, particularly those who work in their own home office. Trying to juggle your work-from-home business, your duties as a wife, and the responsibilities to your children can be challenging and overwhelming. However, with some careful planning you can wake up each day looking forward to the upcoming challenges with a serene mind.
Try these tips to effectively cope with the pressures and demands of your incredibly busy life:
1. Separate your family time and office time. Set proper boundaries to provide adequate attention to each of your roles. No scheduling solution is perfect, but the effort alone will pay big dividends in your stress level and effectiveness as a parent, wife, and career woman.
When you're in the office, concentrate on work. Similarly, leave work at work when you come out of your office for the evening and give your family your undivided attention. You'll get more done in less time and feel less stressed. In our home, "family time" is sancrosant and my clients, friends and other family members know that there are certain hours in the early evening that we do not answer the telephone, the front door or emails. Now, there are times when a time-sensitive project may require that this rule be temporarily waived, but it is rare. Family time is family time.
2. Make plans with your kids for the weekend. Allow your children to choose the activity they wish on the weekend. This communicates value to your children and lets them know that they're important to you. During this time, focus exclusively on them and enjoy your time together. Shut down the Blackberry, ignore the siren call of the ringing phone and value your family time. You won't be able to get those lost moments back.
3. Enjoy dinner together as a family. Discuss your day and enjoy family togetherness over your evening meal and around the dining table. Television off!
4. Show your children what you do. Let your children know about your business, why it's important to you, and why it's important to them. The more they know about how mom spends her day, the more accepting they'll be of your absence while you're at work in your home office. As the owner of a multi-VA (Virtual Assistance) firm I have had one or two team members tell me that they are actually training their children to work with them on some projects where confidentiality is not an issue. I think this is a terrific idea!
5. Find hobbies that you all enjoy. If your children are passionate about something that you also enjoy, this gives you an outlet to experience regular quality time with them and rejuvenating recreation at the same time.
6. Get to know your child's friends. Organize a sleepover and get to know who your kids hang out with. Get to know their friends' parents. Take an active role in encouraging your children to hang around with positive people that can fuel their growth.
7. Go on a family vacation once a year. Choose a destination that you and your kids all agree on. Make sure the vacation offers something enjoyable for everyone. Most importantly, leave office work at the office. This communicates to your children that they are valuable to you. When you are packing for your trip, even if it is what my husband calls a "staycation" meaning that we may just be traveling a couple of hours to our favorite Bed and Breakfast, make a decision to NOT pack the laptop, the netbook, the MacBook or any other work tools that will distract you. You may have a little seperation anxiety but it will pass and the family memories will make your unease momentary.
8. Hire a house cleaning service for the household work. If the pressure in your office is too much or your time is spread too thin, hire a housekeeper for the household chores. Do whatever it takes to spend lots of quality time with your spouse and children. Hire someone to do the mundane work so you can do the most important work of all: being a loving parent to your children. Before you reject this idea as being too expensive, consider this. If you are billing $65 per hour for your services, why in the world would you spend those billable hours doing work that you can pay somebody $15 - $25 an hour for tasks that are done in a matter of two or three hours each week? You will be less stressed, your home will be tidy and your family will have more of your attention. The good kind! As Martha Stewart says, "It's a good thing".
By following these tips, you can bring sanity to a world that was once filled with constant chaos. You can juggle your business and family life if you make decisions that are consistent with your values, plan your time carefully, and use your resources on the priorities that are most important.
For more work from home tips, check out my last post, "Work From Home Time Wasters".
Denise Griffitts is an online entrepreneur and is the Founder and CEO of Your Office On The Web, a website design and development company and Your Virtual Assistant, a multi-VA firm. She is a globally recognized Virtual Assistance Industry Expert who helps entrepreneurs build and grow their online business. She also teaches new virtual assistants how to become highly technically savvy in their chosen field.
To train with Denise Griffitts to become a highly competent and sought after Virtual Assistant please visit Virtual Assistance University or Ask Denise Griffitts.com.