Running a business and raising children are both challenging tasks that can become even more challenging when you’re trying to do both simultaneously in the same place.
Here are a few strategies and tips to help you get through this challenge:
Create Uninterrupted Work Time
Create a set of expectations for your children called “Work Time.” When mommy is in “Work Time,” your children will know not to interrupt you unless there is a true emergency.
Although you can’t make be in Work Time” eight hours a day, it certainly helps if you are able to give your children something to occupy them and then go into “Work Time” knowing that you have a two-hour block of uninterrupted tie to work.
Children can be very respectful and cooperative when they know what is expected of them. Once they get into the habit of respecting “Work Time,” it will be easier to get them to stick to it.
Learn to Manage Interruptions
It is unavoidable that while working from home with children present means, you will be interrupted. Managing interruptions is a skill. An interruption could cost you as much as thirty minutes of productivity, but when managed well, it could cost you just a minute or two.
The most important routine is to shorten your distraction time before you begin working. When they sit down to work , most people check their email first, then maybe Facebook, and then spend ten minutes on various matters before they finally get to work. If you do this every time you get interrupted, you will spend a lot of unproductive time.
Create a list of your tasks and resume your last task when you return from an interruption. An interruption will break your concentration, but don’t let that break in concentration create even more distraction when you resume working.
Hiring Babysitters and Child Care
If you’re going to run a successful business, chances are you eventually will need to hire a babysitter. The easiest way to hire a babysitter is to just ask friends and other parents for recommendations, or you can use an online babysitter listing service such as Sittercity, which runs background checks and collects referrals before recommending babysitters.
Creating uninterrupted work time and learning how to deal with interruptions with minimal reduction in productivity can go a long way towards helping you run a successful business, while raising your children at the same time.
