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Finding the Family Balance

June 12th, 2011

Working from home has its own special set of challenges that are often elusive to those who have not attempted it. Being a mother adds to this challenge in ways that many overlook. Finding a way to balance the needs of your children with working effectively enough to pay the bills every week, can be an overwhelming task filled with guilt and frustration. There are a few things that you can do to help master your time and keep your children from feeling as though they don’t rank on the priority list. The little things you do with your children will make all the difference to them and restore some peace in the house allowing you to work freely.

One of the fastest ways to show your children that even though you are busy much of the time they are very important to you is by scheduling them in. If you do not already have a calendar system for your family, now is the time to start one. This should not be filled with your work tasks and all the deadlines you might have in front of you. This calendar should be listing all the things that will be important to you child. This is not to say that you should simply list all the soccer games and the school events on the calendar. In order to establish a happy medium with your children where they allow you to do your work during the day because they know they rank in your importance scale you need to make the effort to show them.

Choosing events each week that are just about your family and then sticking to them is important. One night a week could be movie night. This should be displayed with style on the calendar you put out for the family. You should do it up big this night for spending time with the kids, turning off the phone and the computer. Pop up some pop corn and let the kids pick out the movie at the beginning of the week so they have something to look forward to. This is just one thing you could list as a family event that they can anticipate. The children will be more likely to let you do your work if they know they will have your attention at this time for fun. You could even do a big breakfast Sunday where the kids get to pick the food and help you cook it.

These snippets of time that you set aside just for your family will show them you find them to be important enough to shut off the computer and the telephone and focus only on their needs. This could even be small amounts of time set aside such as a 30 minute special lunch just for the kids. Find the balance and show the children how much you enjoy the time spent with them and they will be more agreeable while you are trying to accomplish work related goals the rest of the time.

Article by Mandi Raymond of Mommy Update. Meeting place for parents and parents to be.

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5 Tips For Work At Home Moms

May 28th, 2011

Work at home moms are faced with many challenges. On top of having to get work done for her business, she must also take care of the children and complete housework. Without some great tips for work at home moms like utilizing time management skills, work at home moms often feel overwhelmed. It’s no wonder every once in a while the car insurance bill is forgotten. When you have good time management skills, then you will be better apt to handle the day and make sure you get work done.

1. Time Management Tips

The most important of all the tips for work at home moms is time management tips. It cannot be stressed enough how important it is for a work at home mom to have a schedule. Block out specific times to complete work, specific times to do household chores, and even carve out time to play with the kids. When your children know you will have an hour or so devoted just to them, they will be less apt to disturb you when you are working.

2. Organization Tips

Organization should also be at the top of list of tips for work at home moms. Items looked at every day should be neatly organized on shelves on the desk. Papers, books, and manuals not accessed on a daily basis should be categorized into folders and placed into a filing cabinet. Designate a folder for each client, customer, or business to store all printouts and references. Create email folders for each of your clients and store all emails to and from that client in the respected folder. Finally, create folders in your computer for each client to save documents or spreadsheets in. This will make it easy for you to locate items you need.

3. Productivity Tips

Having designated a certain period for work and organized your workflow based on the previous tip, you will find your productivity increasing. If you have young children, you may have to work in the evenings after they have gone to bed, instead of during the day when they are active and want your attention. One of the best tips for work at home moms is to get an hour of work done first thing each morning before checking your emails or going to your social networks.

4. Summer Survival Tips

Summer survival tips are some of the most sought after tips for work at home moms because when the kids are home all day, a work at home mom often has to change her schedule around. Block out enough time to work, spend time with the kids, and get housework done. Many work at home moms will work early in the morning, before the kids wake up, or will work late at night after they’ve gone to bed. Take your laptop outside and get some work done as the children play.

Hopefully, with these four tips in place, you’ll find that working at home isn’t such a headache at all. You’ll be able to keep both your clients and family happy with these time-management and workflow organization tips, and earn a little side-income as well.

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The Fitness Formula For Frazzled Moms

May 27th, 2011

One kid has decided to demonstrate his artistic ability on the dining room table while the other is climbing on the cabinet demanding a snack. (He assures you he is starving; after all it’s been a whole twenty minutes since his last one!) What should you do first? Get the snack? Clean the table? Give some discipline? Pull your hair out? Book a getaway trip to Cancun?

No doubt, being a mom is incredibly demanding and stressful. You pour your energy out all day into others and barely have time to take care of yourself mentally and physically. The ironic challenge is that the less time you have to take care of yourself, the more you need it. Finding a way to exercise and stay fit throughout the chaos is essential. It keeps your self-confidence up; a must to keep your sanity throughout motherhood! It releases endorphins, the feel-good hormone that combats stress and creates a sense of well-being.

Here are three simple ways you can ensure you as a busy mom take good physical care of yourself and stay fit.

1- Cleanersize! Yes, I created a new word there. Cleanersizing is cleaning and exercising at the same time. Jog in place and move your arms while you dust, do laundry, vacuum, etc. You may feel a little awkward at first. You may even feel so goofy you laugh at yourself. But hey, that releases endorphins too!

2-Involve the kids. Part of the challenge is in trying to juggle the cleaning, your work, and the kids. You know time with them is precious and fleeting. You also know you need to take time to exercise. Combine the two. Play a game to see who can run across the yard the fastest. (You might want to let them win, but don’t worry, you’ll still be getting your exercise.) Crank up some tunes and have a dance off. Relive your own childhood memories with jump rope hula hoop and hop scotch. Your kids will love it and will be eager to turn off the TV and enjoy family exercise!

3-Trade off with another mom. As helpful as the first two tips are, the fact still remains that you need a little time to yourself. You need to occasionally go for a jog around the park by yourself, free from the kids and out of the house. Guess what? Other moms you know need this too! Work out a system with another mom where you watch her kids while she exercises and then does the same for you. Not only is this a great way of getting some much needed exercise and alone time, it will also help form a closer friendship with other moms. Some hectic day down the line, you’ll need that. So will she.

Don’t let the stresses of motherhood distract you from taking care of yourself. Use these tips to keep in shape, get the blood flowing, and release the endorphins!

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Why Time Management is Important for Work at Home Moms

May 11th, 2011

Unlike in the corporate world where the work hours are set, working from home offers moms a flexible schedule. While this can be beneficial to them, it can make things harder for them when it comes to time management. Without proper time management, work at home moms will have a hard time carrying out their activities and this will affect their performance and productivity. It is therefore important that moms ensure they have set up specific rules and regulations that will help them manage their time well.

One of the main things they should do is to have a smooth transition from being a stay at home mom to a work at home mom. Without this transition, the mom will have a hard time making a distinction between home chores and her work. This will only pressure them because they will be adding themselves more responsibilities. For this reason, they should ensure they have set apart the time they need to work and the time they can engage in other housework activities.

While at home it is easy to get derailed by the family members, especially children. In order to avoid this, they need to make sure they have prepared the family members for this process. While most of them may have a hard time understanding the fact that mom is at home but not spending time with them, they will eventually get past it. The best thing they can do is explain to them in advance and even give them a schedule of their activities to help them understand.

One other important thing to keep in mind is delegation. Moms should try their best to delegate some of the household chores as this will provide them with adequate time to work and at the same time, they will be teaching their children how to be responsible. They should also learn how to structure their day in a manner that everyone is comfortable but that works for them and their work. To help them deal with this, Work at home moms should create a chore chart, which will list all members of the family and the chores they are required to carry out at specific times.

This will help them develop a routine, but work-at-home moms are required to stay creative. This means that they should change some aspects of the routine as time goes by so that they cater for the changing needs of the family. It is also recommended that they know the needs of their families so that they can come up with a time management schedule that works. While considering the family needs, they should also make sure they have also factored in their needs.

With the right time management practices, the work-at-home moms will have an easier time planning their day. They will also achieve a balance between the home chores and their work, without interfering with their performance at home and at work. They will also be able to spend adequate time with the other family members, without making them feel neglected. Time management is the key to become successful when working at home.

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