Overcoming the Challenges of Being a Mompreneur or Work at Home Mom

Normally when I am working, which is typically from 8:30 AM to 4:00 PM (and whenever I can slip some time in), I go in my office and pretend I am not home.  That means I do not answer my home phone and I do not allow myself to be distracted by laundry, Christmas presents or any other bright shiny object.  Yesterday, however, I must have needed a distraction because I chose to answer the telephone.

It was my mom.  She said to me "I wasn't expecting you to answer the phone, but I'm glad you did because I would have been mad if you were home and you didn't answer the phone."  Thankfully, I didn't react to that comment, and I chose not to even respond either.  It can be challenging being a mompreneur.  Sometimes people think because we work from home, we can just stop whatever we are doing and tend to the "home" needs.  A testimony to the truth of this is illustrated by my friend's dilemma.  She told me the other day she literally has to get in her car and drive down the block to make phone calls without interruption.  And as I write this blog post, I am interrupted by my husband's voice.  "Hey hon, where are those boxes you said we had to wrap gifts?"  As I stop what I am doing to show my husband the boxes, I am reminded of Brian Tracy's quote:

"By concentrating single mindedly on your most important task, you can reduce the time required to complete it by 50% or more.  It has been estimated that the tendency to start and stop a task, to pick it up, put it down and come back to it can increase the time necessary to complete the task by as much as 500%."

As mompreneurs, we do have the luxury of flexibility, but without some set of healthy boundaries, we will find ourselves far less productive than we desire.  Here are 10 boundaries that may help you separate home from work.

1. Decide up front what your working hours will be for the day, and do your best to stick to them.
2. If you have an unusually busy day, make sure childcare options are lined up, and don't feel guilty about needing help.
3. Have a plan at the beginning of your day what you will be working on, and avoid going off on a tangent.  This will increase your focus.
4. Make it very clear to your family and friends what your working hours are, and ask them to talk with you after work.
5. Have a designated office in your home, with a door.  Close the door and utilize a "Do not Disturb" sign when you cannot be interrupted.
6. Work on your self-discipline so you aren't distracted by things that pull you away from the task at hand - laundry, email, home phone calls, dishes, dad struggling to manage the children.
7. When work is over, work is over.  Avoid getting sucked back into the office.  Instead, enjoy your family.  Sometimes we have to set boundaries with our clients/customers as well.
8. If you need complete quiet to get something done, consider going to the library.  It's rarely quiet at home.
9. Batch your tasks and assign them to a specific day.  Follow up phone calls on Mondays.  Writing or creating on Tuesdays.  Client work on Wednesdays and Thursdays.  Finances and Admin on Fridays.  Or whatever works for your business.
10. Take personal breaks when you are working.  Breaks for lunch, exercise or just plain relaxing can re-energize you and make you more productive.

P.S.  Do not try to work with the baby on your lap.  Most babies aren't this cooperative.  :0)

Comments

[sphinxx]

I'm not surprised when I see mumpreneurs (as we spell it in Australia; mompreneurs in the States!) in action. Working mums have great insights into markets gaps and my experience of running my own business while raising my small son has been that when you're not chained to the computer all day (because you can't be - there's so much else to do!) there is plenty of time for thinking and strategising. This makes the time I do spend at the computer (my main distribution channel and where I capture my blogs and book content) so much more effective. Good on all the mums for giving it a go... and I hope we'll continue to see the rise of mumpreneurs into the future leaders of our businesses and communities. www.sphinxx.com.au