Have you ever asked yourself? “How productive am I? Am I using my time wisely to get the most accomplished in the time I am working? Where is my time going?” All these questions deal with work-at-home productivity.

Working at home is often seen as a luxury to many moms. It is the best of both worlds. You still get to work and earn an income but you do not have to sacrifice your family time to do it. Many moms have made the transition, and many more are in the process of making the transition. The downfall is that many inexperienced business moms lose of a lot of time, money and energy in the process due to inefficiency and inexperience.

Causes for Loss of Productivity

Unprepared for the journey ahead of them, the following daily occurrences often cause a loss in productivity while working from home:

• Personal phone calls,
• Emails coming in,
• Children and infant responsibilities interrupting schedules,
• Neighbors knocking on the door,
• Fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants mentality,
• Lack of organization and planning,
• Unfinished household chores creating an eyesore to your peripheral vision, and much, much, more.

I believe my success, like other thriving home-based working moms, lies in mastering my own System. If you don’t have a structured system laying the foundation of your at home business; your productivity and profitability are at stake.

Ask yourself:

• What systems do I have in place to organize my business and personal life?
• What daily routines do I need to ensure are done?
• Do I have reliable child care arrangements?
• Do I have any weekly assignments, tasks or chores that I need to plan for?
• What are my monthly to-dos and when should I schedule them?

How to Be Productive at Home

Setting your system can be as easy as:

• Checking emails only twice a day, or during particular hours of each day.
• Allowing voicemail to pick up your personal calls and kindly asking your neighbors to come back when you are finished with your work day,
• Setting a work schedule and working solely on your business while your children are tended to and not on household chores.
• Picking one day a week for laundry and ironing, or running business errands out of the house.
• Taking advantage of weekday shopping while traffic and crowds are at a minimum.
• Sending monthly invoices and accounts payables on one particular date each month.
• Establishing an annual calendar based on your anniversary date, to review and report your progress, and find ways to improve your weak areas.

While working at home does give you lots of flexibility, you do still have to know your limitations and when to simply say “no”. Let go of the guilt and know that you cannot possibly do everything. Whether you need to hire a housekeeper, order take out or say no to a volunteer request, know that you are doing what’s best for you and your family but not overextending yourself and putting unnecessary burdens and expectations on yourself.

Create Necessary Boundaries and Stick to Them

Remember: profitability is only one sign of your business success.

Success lies more in your work-at-home productivity, because it ensures all your roles as a home-based working mom are met.

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Lesley Pyle is the founder and president of HBWM.com Inc. which includes the national association of Home-Based Working Moms helping moms network, learn and grow in their role as a Home-Based Working Mom and HireMyMom.com connecting at-home Mom Professionals with home-based jobs and projects in virtually every career field. Pyle has been featured in numerous publications including Forbes, Entrepreneur, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Home Office Computing, and many others. Twitter @lesleypyle and @hiremymom

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