Many people work from home, but not all of those people are parents.  While working from home affords a lot of flexibility and schedule changes most of the time, it can still be a challenge to juggle work as a work from home mom.

With some adjustments to your schedule and reaching out to others, you can still get work done while prioritizing family.

Use naptime

Utilize naptime to your advantage! If your children still take naps during the day, do your best to keep them on a schedule and plan to get your most challenging work done during this time.  While naps aren’t typically hours and hours in length, they can provide enough time for 100% focus.

Ask for help

Whether it’s family or friends, asking for help is a key tip.  If you don’t have family close by, you can look into children’s groups or babysitters available during the day.  In this day and age, there are even babysitters who come to your house for the day and can watch your kids in the comfort of their own home.

You don’t have to reach out for outside help every day, but if you can get a few hours or free days once in awhile, it can mean a lot to your productivity.

Keep your space

We’ve said it before, but keeping a separate space for work is key to staying on task with kids.  While you can’t always be without distraction, it’s easier to really focus on those uninterrupted hours in a designated space.

When you set up your office space for success, it’s much easier to access necessary materials and get work done in a neat, quiet, and personalized environment.  Keeping this separate from working at the counter or on the couch allows you to separate work from home, which also tells your family when you are working versus being wife and/or mom.

Set it up

You can look into educational or physical activities for children outside of the home.  Is there a local swim team?  Maybe there are discovery classes on various topics from karate to nature walks and education.  Not only does this allow your children to participate in activities outside of the home, it gives you more free time.  Do your best to set up these times in advance, so you’re able to know when you can be the most productive.

If there isn’t much going on outside the home, set up your kids with and educational toy or activity here and there to keep them engaged and enriched.

Working from home with kids can be a challenge but it’s not impossible.   All it takes is some tweaks of the schedule and planning ahead.  By creating a productivity plan that works best for you, you’re giving your children the opportunity to be entertained while maintaining your work balance.