Work At Home Mom Time Management Tips

How many times have you heard “you work at home, must be nice” or “that’s got to be cushy” or something to that effect? The sad fact is that many people fail to realize how difficult it can be to be a WAHM and just assume it is the land of milk and honey. But, they seem to over look the fact that you have your children, to take care of, a house that needs to stay clean, a dog that has to go out and dinner isn’t going to cook itself. Oh, and wait, you have to work too.

While it’s true that it is not the easiest thing to do, it is my no means impossible, either. WAHMs really can find time to get it all done by using some simple time management tricks. One of the most essential items that every WAHM needs to have is a planner. And the first thing you need to schedule time for is your family, after all, that is why you are home, isn’t it? Now that you know the time you have to speed working, you will have to stay focused. It is very easy to let other things get in the way when you are a WAHM.

Try to group several like things together if you have the type of work that requires varied tasks. For example, if you are doing direct sales and you have to a team to manage under you, set aside a time during the week for, say, training. Instead of using up 20 minutes her and 15 minutes there throughout the week, designate one day for that purpose. If you have a lot of phone calls or emails to respond to, set aside an hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon to take care of them. Using that technique, you will find that you will actually get more done and will feel less scattered as well.

If at all possible, you may want to consider hiring someone for a few of your duties. A virtual assistant, for example will cut out the time you spend returning phone calls or on your website. This will give you more time to do the tasks that make you money and usually freelance or virtual assistance will work for a reasonable fee.

Also, when making your schedule, put aside some time to do your household chores. If you plan your weekly menu and go shopping once, you will save a lot of time on quick trips to the market which always seem to take longer than they should, especially if you have little ones to take with you. When you plan your meals, look for opportunities to cook once and eat twice. For example, if you have spaghetti one day and sloppy joes the next, scramble all the hamburger at once so all you have to do is put the mix in with the hamburger. Or, when you make meatloaf or lasagna, make two of the, and freeze the other.

And probably the most important thing of all is to schedule time for you. Ask your spouse to help you out with the vacuum, or to bath the children while you clean up dinner dishes. Also, don’t forget that children love to help. Give them little chores to do that are appropriate for their ages. A child as young as fifteen months can help put away toys while older ones can wash windows or help cook dinner. Make sure you take time for a break. Walk away from your work for a few minutes everyday. Everybody needs a break and just because your office happens to be in your home doesn’t mean you are not worthy of having one.