I’
ve been a work-from-home mom for nearly 3.5 years. Up
until a while back, I didn’t give myself credit where credit was due. I
downplayed my job, not even mentioning it to people unless they specifically
asked. But as I’ve rolled it over in my mind and began to see the importance of
my current occupation, I’ve decided that working from home with two small
children for over three years is an area where I can encourage and speak truth
to other mommas through.
I am employed by a company called SimplifyChurch – which
happens to be owned and operated by my brother-in-law. I work as an Account
Manager and currently do all bookkeeping for 19 churches and two Christian
non-profits. So 21 clients total...which is quite a few! I work anywhere from
20-30 hours a week, depending on the week (beginning of the month being the
busiest). When I began this career journey three years ago, my job looked very
different. I didn’t start out in the exact role I have now and also did not
work as many hours. As I have changed and shifted in my role at work, it’s
changed my life at home, too. Working from home with small children has been
far from easy, but I’m thankful to be able to work and care for my kiddos at
the same time.
If you are a fellow momma in the trenches who needs some
direction or encouragement, here’s some tips on how I survive working at home
with littles!
1. Find a rhythm that works for your family. I
think small children and routine go hand-in-hand, so it’s important if you have
to find time to work, you keep it consistent and on routine. My kids know our routine
and many days, follow it without being told. Keeping things consistent and
routine for the kids helps them to know what to expect and what’s coming next
in their day. Also, I share a typical day for us at the end of this post, so
you can see exactly what our routine is!
2.
Learn to work efficiently and quickly. There’s
no getting around this one. With kids to tend to and a house to care for, all
while working, you have to learn to utilize your work time. Finding those
pockets of time – screen time, naptime, early mornings, late evenings – is
essential for getting things done. I did some evaluating of my day over the
last few weeks, typically I would get about 20 minutes of uninterrupted work
time first thing in the morning and then again right after lunch. Other than those
golden 20 minutes, I was interrupted the remainder of the day at least every 10
minutes or so. You will learn to utilize your time quickly and efficiently to
get your work completed. Good thing as mommas, we are already amazing multitaskers
and know how to get a job done!
3.
Keep boundaries. This goes for anyone working
from home. With access to the computer and work so easily at hand, it’s easy to
get sucked in and think “I’ll just finish one more thing” when another two
hours passes. Set your work hours and stick to them. When work time is over,
shift into focusing on the kids and home, keep the work stuff for your work
hours.
4.
Be honest with your employer and/or clients. One
of the best things about my job is the flexibility. Without that piece, I would
never be able to handle my job with my kids at home. But one thing I am sure to
do is be honest with my employer and my clients about what my work day looks
like. All of my clients know I have two kids at home with me. I try to let them
all know this once they become my client and should we chat on the phone, I
remind them they may hear little voices in the background. Because I have an
awesome job with awesome clients (many of whom are in the same stage of life as
me), this hasn’t been a huge deal. In fact, most of my clients enjoy hearing
the little voices behind me! But I would not recommend working a job that
wouldn’t be flexible and understanding of interruptions and distractions from
your kids.
5.
Give yourself (and your kids) grace. You can’t
expect kids to be patient and wait for two hours while you work. It’s just not
who they are – and they shouldn’t have to do that unless in extreme
circumstance. I remember one time, Cooper dropped a 5lb weight on Becca’s toe
while I was on the phone with a client. She was screaming, he was crying too
and I was about to lose my cool. Thankfully, my client also had small children
and told me to call him back when I got everyone calmed down. Give yourself
grace while you try to parent and work and do all the things at the same time. They
will get sick at inopportune moments and they will need approximately one
million things while you are on a deadline. Let them be kids, don’t expect them
to not need you while you are working. Give them grace and do your best to be
flexible (preaching to myself here for sure!).
A typical day for us is below. It’s
not fancy or exciting, but here is how I usually break up our day!
5-7am: I get up early and shower,
read my Bible, pray, and then read from my stack of current books. I also
sometimes will go upstairs after I’ve finished those things and start working.
It depends on my workload for the day/week.
7-8am: The kids get up around 7
and we have breakfast, watch some hockey highlights from the night before (or
cartoons once hockey season is over).
8-8:30am: At this point, we head
upstairs. The kids brush their teeth and get their clothes changed. I will also
finish getting ready if need be. Usually by this point, I am fielding messages
and emails from work while getting the kids and myself ready.
8:30-10:30am: Work time! I will
work, the kids will play and watch some TV. On Monday & Wednesday, I do
take Cooper to preschool so that cuts into my work time. But as soon as we get
home, Becca & I go right upstairs! I try to also do at least one load of laundry
a day, which I attempt to start during this time.
10:30-noon: Both the kids & I
are ready for a break by this point. Two hours is plenty of independent time for
them and they are ready for some attention. We use this time for errands, playing
downstairs or outside and also lunch. After lunch, we head back upstairs.
Noon-2pm: Work Time! Second block
of work for me for the day. I put Becca down for a nap around 12:45 and do my
best to wrap up work by 2pm. Cooper enjoys a good hour of playing with his toys
without Becca interrupting him! I typically try to schedule any phone calls for
around 1pm, as I know Becca is usually asleep and Cooper does a great job of
entertaining himself for a while.
After 2pm, I tackle the household
chores for the day (I follow a cleaning routine), get dinner prepped, play with
the kids, finish laundry, run more errands, play outside, etc. Occasionally, I
will still have emails to answer, calls to make or messages from co-workers
coming in. I do take those and try to respond to everything until around 3pm –
I can do most of it from my phone. After 3pm, I wait until the following day to
respond.
See? Nothing special. But we have
a solid routine in place, which allows us freedom to enjoy the time that I am
not working. It can be done, my friends! I do not do it well every day. Many
days I struggle with the balancing act. This season I am in now is far easier
than when Becca was a baby. I did not keep up well with work and life during that
season, but we are in a good spot now. As always, we will be adjusting soon as
summer is approaching and then adjusting again in August when Cooper heads to
kindergarten. As soon as we get a rhythm down, something changes.
Hang in there, fellow work-at-home
mommas! If God has called you to this, He will guide you through it. Submit
your day to Him and allow Him to direct and walk with you.
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