As work-from-home-moms, we all understand the struggle of balancing business responsibilities with family life. It’s all too easy to find ourselves spending too much time on our phones, trying to manage our businesses remotely. I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve faced this challenge myself, and while I’ve made progress, there’s always room for improvement. Finding resources that cater to our unique situation can be difficult, but it’s essential for reclaiming our time and achieving a better balance between work and family.
After struggling to find the right resources to streamline my business operations, I decided to create my own. These are my top three hacks for running an efficient business, and it’s crucial because we all know the frustration of feeling like there’s never enough time to accomplish everything. Whether it’s a few hours of uninterrupted time while the kids are at school or unexpected breaks in your schedule, having efficient systems in place is essential for maximizing productivity as work-from-home-moms. It’s about acquiring the necessary skills to manage your business effectively amidst the demands of family life.
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Strategies For Work From Home Moms To Master Efficiency
The skills required for work-from-home-moms are distinct from those of traditional business owners. We must excel at running our businesses within small time frames, whether it’s by dedicating early mornings or late nights, multitasking during the day, or efficiently time blocking. Some may have larger chunks of time as their children grow, yet still struggle to accomplish tasks efficiently within those periods. It’s about adapting and mastering strategies to maximize productivity in limited time increments, a skill set unique to the dynamic world of working from home while managing family responsibilities.
Ensuring an efficient business operation is absolutely essential. I believe in transparency regarding my time management strategies, especially with the constant presence of small kids at home. Over time, I’ve meticulously crafted systems that streamline the management of motherhood, affording me precious time to dedicate to my business endeavors. By establishing routines such as early bedtimes and early mornings, I maximize every available moment for productivity.
Reliable Support
Moreover, I’ve cultivated a reliable support network, including my husband, whose unwavering assistance is invaluable in balancing family and business responsibilities. It’s been a journey of dedication and hard work to devise effective systems that enable seamless transitions between familial and professional duties, ensuring a successful juggle of the “mom baton.”
Despite the support and assistance I receive, maintaining an efficient business remains crucial. When examining my responsibilities, it’s evident that running the business and generating income for my family constitute only a small portion of my overall tasks. With that in mind, I’m eager to share my three hacks with you to help you be more successful work-from-home-moms. Let’s delve into them without further delay.
Our Resilience In Being Work From Home Moms
Witnessing the resilience of work-from-home-moms within Systemize Your Life who navigate challenges and share their strategies for regaining momentum after setbacks is incredibly inspiring. It underscores the unpredictability of life, including unforeseen events like the COVID-19 pandemic or unexpected disruptions in childcare. This blog post underscores the importance of equipping oneself with effective tools and approaches to steer the ship of family life through both everyday routines and unexpected disruptions.
When addressing the importance of efficiently managing a home-based business as mothers, it’s vital to acknowledge the diverse circumstances and priorities that shape each individual’s approach. Factors such as the specific needs of our children and the varied work schedules of our spouses significantly influence how we organize and prioritize our tasks.
For instance, in my case, my husband’s role as a firefighter often entails long and demanding shifts, necessitating careful planning and organization to manage both household and business responsibilities effectively during those times. Conversely, when he’s home for extended periods, we collaboratively manage our respective business commitments alongside our family responsibilities. This dynamic illustrates the nuanced and adaptable nature of managing a business from home as work-from-home-moms, where flexibility and strategic planning are key to success amidst ever-changing circumstances.
Navigating Life’s Curveballs As Work-From-Home Moms
The reality for some of us is having partners with varying work schedules, ranging from traditional nine-to-five jobs to roles that demand extensive evening commitments, like teaching or coaching. This diversity in schedules can present unique challenges, such as the “Disneyland dad” effect on weekends when routines may unravel amid the desire for leisure time. As work-from-home-moms, we must navigate these differing dynamics while also attending to the individual needs of our families and the specific demands of our businesses and personal aspirations.
Regardless of the season of life you find yourself in, your ability to take on additional responsibilities hinges greatly on prioritizing your health. If you’re not sleeping well, eating properly, or getting enough exercise, these factors can significantly impact your capacity to manage your home, marriage, children, and business effectively. When discussing the importance of running an efficient business, it’s crucial to recognize that your needs may differ significantly from those of others.
“Regardless of the season of life you find yourself in, your ability to take on additional responsibilities hinges greatly on prioritizing your health.”
The Social Media Framework
I learned this lesson the hard way when I first started my business as a work-from-home-mom. Initially, I thought I could manage by multitasking, wearing my baby on my back, and squeezing tasks into the cracks of my day. However, I soon realized that as a work-from-home mom, there were three essential things I needed in order to effectively handle the demands of my business and everything else on my plate.
The initial hack I want to share is a social media framework. Regardless of whether you operate a brick-and-mortar store, sell physical products, or work as a direct sales consultant, running your business online is essential. This framework is designed to streamline your social media presence and prevent you from wasting 60-90% of your time on these platforms.
I’ve implemented strict guidelines for my social media usage, focusing solely on activities that contribute to generating income and fostering relationships. I maintain detailed spreadsheets to manage cold and warm leads, networking, and relationship-building efforts, all strategically organized in one location. Continuously monitoring whether a platform is profitable or fostering community growth guides my decisions on where to allocate my time and energy, which is a must as work-from-home-moms.
My Example Of Trial And Error
A prime example of this is my experience with ChelsiJo.co during its initial year as a work-from-home-mom, where I dedicated considerable effort to Instagram marketing. Despite diligently utilizing hashtags, engaging with other accounts, and maintaining consistency, my growth remained disappointingly slow. Frustrated, I resisted the idea of expanding to Facebook due to personal biases against the platform.
After creating my courses, I realized the importance of fostering a vibrant community, which became my primary focus. Consequently, my social media framework shifted, with dedicated attention to nurturing my Facebook group while maintaining a casual presence on Instagram. This strategic approach ensures that my time spent on social platforms is purposeful and efficient, preventing it from becoming a drain on my resources, which we all know are limited as work-from-home-moms.
Regularly deleting social media apps has become a habitual practice for me. This intentional action, typically done on weekends but increasingly during the week as well, serves as both a productivity booster and a means of avoiding unnecessary time consumption. By implementing a similar framework, you can prioritize efficiency in your business endeavors, steering clear of the trap of busyness and comparison often associated with social media.
Mastering Goal Setting And Action Planning As Work From Home Moms
The second hack revolves around goal setting and action planning, a fundamental aspect of running an efficient business as a work-from-home-mom. Despite the initial skepticism surrounding its impact on efficiency, I dedicate a significant chunk of time annually—approximately four to six hours—to establish clear goals and devise actionable plans. Additionally, I allocate around two hours every quarter to reassess and adjust these plans, ensuring that my business remains aligned with my objectives and responsive to changing circumstances.
I’ve eliminated the need for uncertain deliberation and overwhelming considerations by breaking down my goals and action plans into manageable steps. During this dedicated time, typically in January, I carve out a distraction-free environment to allow my thoughts to flow freely. By meticulously documenting and organizing my ideas on paper, I construct a comprehensive action plan that serves as my roadmap for the year ahead.
By prioritizing this process, I avoid succumbing to distractions and shiny object syndrome, recognizing their potential to hinder my progress towards achieving my goals. This disciplined approach ensures that my focus remains steadfast on tasks aligned with my objectives.
With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility
It’s crucial to acknowledge the privilege and opportunity we have as work-from-home-moms to run businesses from home while caring for our families, without facing societal scorn. However, it’s equally important to recognize the responsibility that comes with this privilege. Failing to prioritize and plan our time effectively not only affects our business success but also impacts the trust and harmony within our families. It’s essential to approach our business endeavors with diligence and responsibility to honor the opportunities we’ve been afforded.
It’s important not to take for granted the opportunity to run a business from home while also managing family responsibilities. If you find yourself constantly frustrated with your children, living in a messy house, and relying on fast food for meals, it’s a sign that you need to reassess your priorities and create a plan for efficiency. Operating in a chaotic state without a clear plan not only undermines your business goals but also impacts your overall well-being and the well-being of your family.
If this resonates with you guys as work-from-home-moms, make it a priority to take action right now, especially at the beginning of the year when motivation is high and everyone is focused on improvement. Don’t wait any longer – seize the opportunity to create a plan for efficiency and reclaim control over your business and your life.
Balancing Privilege With Responsibility As Work From Home Moms
Moving on to the third essential component: workflow. After devising a strategy for social media and establishing clear long-term and short-term goals, the subsequent challenge lies in efficiently managing your workload. How do you organize and access all this information on a daily basis? This is where having a well-defined workflow becomes paramount in ensuring productivity and success in your business endeavors.
These are the myriad thoughts that occupy our minds as work-from-home moms: coordinating schedules, preparing bags, planning meals, managing household chores, tending to the garden, keeping track of homeschool lessons, overseeing homework assignments, ensuring laundry is done, handling bill payments, and prioritizing our spouse’s happiness.
So, the final piece of the puzzle as work-from-home-moms is managing our time and tasks effectively within our business. Often, this aspect takes a backseat to the myriad demands of home life. That’s precisely why I’ve developed workflows specifically tailored for work-from-home moms. These workflows are simple, straightforward, and absolutely essential for streamlining your business operations.
My MeisterTask Workflow For Optimal Efficiency
My workflow is housed within a task management software called MeisterTask, similar to platforms like Asana or Trello. However, it’s not limited to MeisterTask; a color-coded spreadsheet can serve the same purpose for those who prefer a different approach. This system has been incredibly effective for me, providing a structured layout with columns for tasks to be completed today, those in progress, and those already completed. As part of the workflow setup, I meticulously list every task required for my business, assign timeframes to each, and batch similar tasks together to maximize efficiency and progress towards my goals.
If a task isn’t contributing to my goals, it’s eliminated from the workflow altogether. Once all relevant tasks are batched together, I assign specific time blocks to tackle them. This process is streamlined thanks to prior time blocking, ensuring that each block of work aligns with the available time slots in my schedule.
Adapting To The Demands: Managing Variable Schedules As Work-From-Home-Mom Entrepreneurs
Due to the variability in my schedule, particularly with my husband’s firefighting shifts and my occasional interpreting work, I can’t always assign the same batch of work to the same time and day every week. This means I have to regularly review my time blocks and adjust my workflow accordingly to ensure that I effectively utilize the available time slots. Sometimes, this involves shifting tasks to different days or finding alternative time slots to complete them. While it adds a layer of complexity, it’s essential for me to stay adaptable and responsive to the demands of my schedule while still making progress on my business goals.
I review my workflow for the week and identify the available time blocks, considering any shifts in my schedule. Then, I assign a specific batch of work to each time block based on its duration and priority. On Monday, for example, I’ll allocate a two-hour block for a particular batch of tasks. When I begin working on Monday, I consult my workflow, start the timer for the allocated two hours, complete the tasks within that time frame, mark them as done, and move them to the completed section in my workflow. This systematic approach ensures that I stay focused and productive throughout the week.
I’ve streamlined my entire business operations at ChelsiJo.co to run efficiently on just 20 hours a week, sometimes 25. It’s incredibly manageable to carve out this time, even for busy moms with young children and no external help. With some adjustments to your household routines, I can help you find and dedicate at least 10 hours every week solely for your business endeavors as work-from-home-moms.
Final Wrap Up
These top three hacks are the cornerstone of my daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly business operations. While it may seem overwhelming to imagine reaching a point where everything runs as smoothly and efficiently as I describe, I assure you it doesn’t have to take ages. With dedicated effort, you can transform your reality within a matter of weeks or months, freeing yourself from the daily chaos and feeling empowered in your business endeavors.
Join us in the Facebook group or come over and visit me on Instagram to continue this discussion and connect with others who are also implementing these strategies. Exploring my success framework may open your eyes to new possibilities and give you the hope and confidence to achieve similar success in your life as a work-from-home mom.
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Frequently Asked Questions
I love these starting points. Are there more ways I can dig into this topic?
We have several great blog post options for you. Check out Balancing Business And Family: Mompreneur Mastery In Six Steps. Or Enhancing Workflow Management: A Workflow That Works For Maximum Productivity.
