I was going to try and get a discussion going on facebook but decided to turn my status update into a blog post! Below is what I was going to post.
If you work from home, are the COO of your household, or just a gal/mommy/wife trying to do it all you may find this post interesting!
This was my status update: I think I’m finally getting into my “work from home grove”. It took a year but I think I almost have it. What am I doing? I’ll list the changes I’ve made in my comment below. If YOU work from home I want to know your tricks too!!!!
What I was going to put in facebook my comment:
Things I’m doing to stay focused while I’m working for home-
-No personal phone calls while I’m working.
-I start work at 8:30am every morning and try to wrap up around 7pm (depending on my work load).
-I no longer drop what I’m doing to play with friends or family during my work day. If there is something I want to do I schedule it and work evenings to make up the hours I took off during the day.
-Every Monday I write my goals for the week. I write goals for Home Organization, Project Completion, Relationship, Health, Work, and If I Have Time I need to…..
I keep my goal note book on my desk and look at it several times during the week.
-If I want to write a blog post I get up early so I have time to do it before my work day starts or I do it in the evenings and schedule it to post when I want. I love when I have several post scheduled!
-I take an hour lunch break! This is my me time! I watch TV, read blogs, whatever! I make sure that I look at the clock when it starts so I know when my lunch break is over.
-I take dance breaks during the day! I’m not a sitter and get antsy if I’m sitting for hours on end. To keep my self going and energized I pick an upbeat song and break it down in my office. Yet another reason why it’s good that I work from home alone! My dance breaks are fun but NOT pretty! A 2min dance break will do ya wonders! Go ahead and give it a go. I promise you’ll like it! Sometimes I share a link on facebook to a song I had a dance break too so others can get their grove on if they like!
-As I’m still growing as a business owner and photographer I have A LOT to learn! I schedule an hour a day to read something that will help me in those areas. Some days it ends up being longer than an hour but it’s important to me that I continue to strengthen on those areas.
Just random pics I’ve taken.
What I’m still struggling with:
-Balancing working and our home. It seems like I can never keep up with our house! There is always something that needs to be organized, washed, or cleaned. We don’t even have kiddos yet! I need to get this under control!
-Not over scheduling myself. I have a real hard time saying NO!
-Learning the power of NO and not feeling guilty when I have to say it. This is a big one for me. I’m really hard on myself and saying NO to someone brings on tons of guilt. I hate that I do that to myself. I need to learn that I can’t do it ALL or keep EVERYONE happy.
-Getting in gym time. I have the time to do it I just don’t make it a priority. That NEEDS to change!
-I do something work related every day including the weekends. I need to find a balance so I’m caught up with work and not struggling to catch up on the weekends. A day off without guilt would be nice! See there’s that guilt again!
-Setting boundaries with friends and family. I LOVE them and want to chat on the phone, meet for lunches, have fun with them but I just can’t do that and stay on track unless I schedule it.
I had a friend that thought I was mad at her because I’m always so busy during the day. I wasn't upset with her just busy working. I had to explain the new leaf I’m truing over and how I’m trying to stay focused during the day. If I want to continue to grow my business and proved the best service I can I must treat my work days like anyone else. Just because I work for myself and from home does not mean that it’s not a real job. I need to keep telling myself this! My job is one of those “There is always something I could be doing” type jobs!
Spring is going to be a busy time for me! I’m almost all booked up for March, April, and May, and will be getting married in the mix of all it! I’m so blessed that my business is taking off. I still pinch myself at times. I can’t put into words how grateful I am for the opportunity to follow my dream; a dream that I didn’t even think was attainable.
I’m slowly but surely learning to work smart not hard! I’m not prefect at it and I still have Shinny Ball Syndrome but I’m trying to overcome that! :o)
To be able to make it through the next few months I’m going to need all the focus I can get!
Don’t Leave Me Hanging……….
If you work from home, did work from home, or are the COO of your household I would love to know how YOU stay on track! Let me know your tips or tricks of the trade!
OR if you work from home and are struggling to stay focused let me know what you’re struggles are!
I would LOVE to hear from YOU!
Hi Kendra,
ReplyDeleteI work from home part-time (about 25 hours per week)and still can't get it "all" done! I have two children in elementary school so I drop them off at 7:15ish, come home for another cup of coffee and read e-mails and blogs. I can't log in to work until 10:00 so I use those morning hours to run errands, return phone calls, clean house, etc. Then work from 10:00 to 2:00 and pick up my kiddos at 2:30. I still sometimes have to finish a little work in the evenings, but I try to do it after the kids are in bed.
One thing that has helped me feel not so inadequate is to focus my house cleaning to one task each day. For instance, I'll vacuum the entire house one day but won't get to the dusting until the next day. Unfortunately this leads to never having the whole house clean at one time, but I'm not insanely trying to clean the entire house plus do other stuff all in one day.
Another thing I do is rely heavily on caller ID. If the phone rings between 10:00 and 2:00 (my work hours) and it isn't my hubby, my mom, or the school, then I just don't answer it. I also don't check my voice mails until after 2:00 (great thing to do while sitting in the car rider pick up line at school!). That way if someone has left me a message, I'm not tempted to call them back during my work hours.
Bottom line: I think women are hard-wired to feel like they should be able to do it all, but in reality we can't! Every person has to find what works for them... In my case, taking baby steps each day to accomplish large tasks (i.e. house cleaning) and not taking/returning calls during work time helps me to feel more professional and I'm able to cross items off my To Do list. (And, BTW, I'm writing this during my "work" hours today but that's only because I took today off! :-) )
I love your blog! Keep it up.
Hi, I think you're doing a fabulous job and I coach women on these issues so I should know what I'm talking about :)
ReplyDeleteOne thing I can say is try not to pile your to-do list too full. I find that 6 items is enough so that you don't feel guilty about things undone but still have a good burst of productivity.
Are you working in time blocks?
Let me know if you have any specific questions, Kendra
Great post. It IS impossible to get it all done each and every day, especially with little kids. I've found it's easier to schedule days for certain tasks...not that I always do that. :s The gym is nearly impossible for me to do along with everything else. :(
ReplyDeletei ordered my project life today!
ReplyDelete