Time Management
for Work At Home Moms
(excerpt from 'Accept Assistance')
FRIENDS AND FAMILY
Accepting help is not accepting defeat. It doesn't make
you any less of a good mom or efficient worker if you
accept help from the people who offer it. Whether it is
your husband offering to take the kids out on a Saturday
so you can get some rest, or your mother swinging by your
house a couple of times a week so you can catch a breather,
these little breaks will help you become much more productive
in the long run. Realize that breaks are mandated at work
for people who work outside the home, and people who work
at home should take breaks too. You simply cannot work
the entire day through and expect that you will be able
to keep up the pace indefinitely. You will soon find yourself
burned out and exhausted if you keep up a frantic pace
of not letting anyone help you out once in a while.
If they didn't want
to help, they wouldn't ask. Helping people can make people
feel like a more valuable member of society. When you
decline a person's offer to assist you, you are essentially
telling that person that you do not feel as though they
are up to the task. In essence, you are insulting someone
when you do not accept the help you need. Of course there
are times when a person should not be taken up on a generous
offer of help…if your scatterbrained aunt wants to
take your rambunctious toddler to the mall you may have
a valid concern that she may not be able to keep track
of your child. Instead of proclaiming your aunt inept
and refusing her generous offer, consider asking her if
she would instead like to come over and play with your
toddler while you get some work done. You might tell her
that your toddler prefers to play at home instead of heading
off to the mall, and you would really appreciate her coming
over to help you out. This way you get the help you deserve
and your aunt feels like she is doing something important.
Your kids' lives are
enhanced by being with other people. Work-at-home moms
often fall into the trap of thinking that they are the
only person who can appropriately handle their children.
It is no wonder that moms feel this way; there are so
many horrifying news stories about babysitters abusing
children that it makes any reasonable mom nervous about
leaving kids with someone else. You can't shelter your
children forever, however, and there are plenty of able
babysitters out there who will enhance you kids' lives.
Children learn something new from the different people
they meet, so allowing various people to interact with
your children will enhance their development. The trick
is to find a few people who you trust with your children…and
if you are simply too apprehensive about leaving your
kids alone with other people then just ask people to come
over and play with your kids there at your house while
you work. That way you are close by in case the kids need
you, but you also have a few blessed minutes when someone
else is watching the kids. You'll find that you can get
a lot more work done when you don't have to stop every
two minutes to refill your child's sippie cup.
Be selective with who
helps you with the kids. Let's face it: many work-at-home
moms get so desperate for someone to watch their kids
that they might start to allow just about anyone to come
over and play with the kids. No matter how much work is
piling up, and not matter how desperate you are to get
some time to do your work, you still need to be as selective
as ever regarding who watches your kids. As always, if
someone seems just a bit too eager to watch your kids
and you can't figure out why, then it may be best to politely
decline. You don't want your lapse in judgment to result
in someone who does not necessarily have the best of intentions
watching your kids. Allow your motherly intuition to guide
you, but also allow for a balance between that and common
sense…not everyone is out to harm your kids, and
some people just want to help, pure and simple. It's your
job as a mom to figure out which camp each person belongs
to.
LET
YOUR KIDS HELP YOU
Kids of almost any age can pitch in and help. Even young
children can learn to help you in your daily responsibilities.
Whether your kids take their own plates to the table for
lunch, or if they help you to tear up and scribble all
over paperwork which you no longer need, they are helping
you get through your day a little faster. If your kids
are engaged in activities which are helpful to you, you'll
be able to get things done a little faster while your
kids get a chance to feel as though they are being helpful.
If you have never given your kids a real chance to help
you out during the day then you should really give it
a shot. You might be surprised at how eagerly your kids
jump right in and help you. You never know…they may
have been watching you all this time and wishing they
could help you.
Kids who help early
will continue to help. If your kids learn to help out
around the house early on then it will simply be a regular
part of their day. They will be more likely to continue
to help you as they get older if it is something they
have done for as long as they can remember. It may be
a little frustrating in the beginning to not just simply
do everything yourself since you can probably work a lot
faster than your kids can, and since they need assistance
while learning new tasks you will need to dedicate some
time towards teaching them what to do. Although this can
certainly be time-consuming in the beginning, it will
save you a lot of time in the future. Since it's your
job to bring up your kids to be self-sufficient and responsible,
one of the ways you can ensure that they achieve this
is by allowing them early on to assist around the house.
This will make them feel like valuable members of the
family, and will ensure that you are not spending a big
chunk of your time during the day picking up after them.
Give your younger kids
a mock desk to work at. To younger kids, you are the absolutely
most fascinating person in the entire world. It makes
sense, then, that young kids love to imitate what their
parents are doing. Since you spend a good portion of your
time at home with your kids, they see you work and want
to do the same. You might consider getting a small version
of your desk and setting it up close to your desk, complete
with paper, crayons, and maybe a calculator or one of
the laptop computer toys designed for young children.
When you declare that it is time to get some work done,
you may be delighted to find that your child races to
his or her own desk to "work" alongside you.
By doing this, you are not only allowing yourself some
time to get some work done, but you also are teaching
your child how to entertain himself or herself. A child
who can keep themselves occupied is certainly a much easier
child to deal with when working from home than a child
who needs constant entertainment and interaction. Give
your child a dedicated work space, just like you have,
and be sure to take a picture to save for years down the
road when you want to think back to when you and your
child used to sit side-by-side working.
Yes, there are women who can do it all themselves. Single
moms who work at home and who have no outside help are
out there, but they are an exhausted group indeed. Don't
hesitate to get the help you need, and you will find that
your work productivity hits a whole new level. A great
time management tip is that lessening your duties during
the day will certainly enhance your ability to accomplish
all your other obligations.
