Sometimes I have days where I am extremely preoccupied, on the computer at my dining room table, knee deep in my “work agenda” for the day, and other times, I am totally and utterly engaged in life as a stay at home mom with my toddler. I have always dreamt of becoming a mom with kids running around the house, taking them to and from school, attending extracurricular activities, hosting play dates and entertaining; on the flip side, I have ALSO always dreamt of becoming a very successful businesswoman, happily running my own company.
I worked a full-time job 42-miles away from home up until 2.5 weeks prior to my due date, and the day I gave birth to Luc, my heart changed forever. I longed for a flexible career that would give me the opportunity to successfully make a difference in the community and fully, intentionally raise my son the way I want, without any childcare.
It’s a work in progress but I AM achieving my goal of having the best both worlds: being a SAHM (stay-at-home mom) – WAHM (work-at-home mom).
I am a mom, a wife, and a friend..
I am a professional, a blogger, and a student, on my way to being an entrepreneur…
I am a volunteer, a chef, a housekeeper, a laundromat, and a home manager…
I can keep going, but, WHEW, clearly I have a lot on my plate, like every other mama out there. Multitasking becomes second nature, and we hold high standards for ourselves to be the best we can be.
It’s a balancing act.
I have now been balancing my life for the past two years, since my son was born and my world completely changed. The best part of staying home with Luc and working from home for me, is that I feel strong as an individual, achieving my goals, while being able to raise my son and be part of almost every aspect of his young, adventurous life. This makes me a better mother every day and an even role model that will eventually influence his life.
I am still trying to figure it out and by no means is my daily life perfect, however, there a few things that work for me in creating a successful and happy environment everyday.
1. A Good Attitude
Working at home is still a job, which requires 100% of your focus and attention. Be prepared with a good attitude just as you would going to and from an office everyday. You are in control of your choice to stay home with your kids and work from home, so try to be grateful, even on the hardest days. I remind myself that some women may not have the opportunity to stay home with their children and long for that, so I am grateful for this life and choice that I have made and that God (and my husband) has made possible for me.
2. Plan & Create a Schedule
This is a still a work in progress because no day at home, with little ones, is the same. You never know when the littles will have a bad night and you don’t end up waking up on time, before your child(ren) and you can’t plan for a temper tantrum the moment you hop on a conference call. You can, however, plan around routine activities, like solo-play time and nap time, weekly events & playdates, or when your husband comes home from work and bedtime.
Create a schedule that works for you and even if you are squeezing in 30 minutes of work here and an hour of work there, before you know it, you’ve accomplished a full day’s work.
It’s taken me a while to figure it out, but I work about 10 hours a week and have recently enrolled in real estate school. Every Sunday night, I map out my week allocating time for work, play, studying, and ME (don’t forget to make time for yourself!)
3. Be Interruptible
One of the biggest things that I have learned, and sometimes have learned the hard way from working at home with my child, is being interruptible. If you are going to work at home and plan to intentionally raise your child(ren), set your priorities straight and allow for various distractions in a given day.
I have become very aware of when I am not NOT being interruptible or intentional with my day or my son. It’s definitely when I become irritable and angry at silly things, or when I have been so preoccupied on my computer screen that I look up to find him standing on the couch facing me on the dining table with a smile on his face saying “hi mama!” (brutal wake-up call right?)
Make yourself aware of your surroundings when “at work” vs. “mom-ing it” and be open to the little distractions so you don’t miss the little moments in life that you can’t get back. Time passes way too quickly to not be interruptible.
I give all of you mamas, regardless of your situation, the credit that you very well deserve.
YOU WORK HARD!
Whether you work outside of the home and leave your babies everyday, stay home with your babies completely, or work at home with your babies, you are doing an amazing job at the balancing act!
Again, I don’t have it all figured out, so if you too are a SAHM-WAHM like me, I would love to hear how you balance your time!!
