Being a mompreneur is amazing. Let’s face it, you have the best of both worlds. A short commute to your office and the pleasure of spending as much time with your children as you want. Sadly, the biggest mistake that many mompreneurs make is that they try to take their life and fit it into someone else’s calendar.
You’ve probably heard of successful business owners talking about the importance of having a calendar and to-do list. Yet many people do those things but they still struggle. What makes perfect sense and works for one person, maybe a complete nightmare for another.
For you to be successful in your business and life, you must ask yourself and honestly answer this one question: What do you want your life to look like?
Don’t underestimate this step.
- Is it important that you wake up feeling refreshed?
- Would you like to have breakfast and dinner together as a family?
- How does your ideal day playout?
- Would you like to volunteer at your children’s school during the year?
Once you’ve answered these questions, you’re ready to implement the following strategies with your ideal day in mind.
1. Dedicated Office Hours
It’s straightforward if you let it be. First of all, you don’t need any fancy planners or complicated programs. Are you working your business professionally? If so, then you should have dedicated office hours. I don’t mean that you are physically tied to a desk, but hours that are dedicated to building your business. If you have a website, your office hours should be posted. Same for your voicemail — you need to have a professional recording that lets callers know when they can expect to hear back from you. You have to direct people to what you want them to do.
2. You Teach People How to Treat You
If you’re running to answer your phone every time it rings, even if it’s during dinner time, you’re a slave to your business and not honoring your family. While we’re talking about the phone, STOP answering it unless you’re expecting a call. I learned that from a millionaire mompreneur who’s built a million-dollar business in direct sales. It limits your productivity when you’re constantly interrupted.
3. Learn to Say NO
More women need to allow themselves to say NO. Just because something is doable doesn’t mean that you should do it. You don’t have to volunteer for all the school activities to be a good mom. Commit to what you can without overburdening yourself. Never work out of guilt. That’s a poverty mindset and will create resentment. Remember, you’re creating the life you want, and that means that what you do daily has to align with those overall goals.
4. Use an Egg Timer or iPhone Alarm
One tool that I use every day is my stopwatch. I’ve heard some people talk about using an egg timer to time their activities. I use the stopwatch feature on my smartphone. If you find that you’re spending way too much time on Facebook or email, then you need to start allocating a specific amount of time per task. It takes me 15 minutes to program all of my social media updates for the day, and when that timer goes off, I’m onto the next task. Set it again; this time, I have 15 minutes to interact with people on Facebook. Not 16 minutes, not 15 minutes and 10 seconds … 15 minutes then onto the next task.
5. Respect Your Family Time
After 2:00 pm, my workday is over, and family time begins. I don’t answer the phone or return calls. I’m not in meetings or doing anything work-related. Why? Because the same respect and focus I give to my business during work time is the same I give to my family during their time. Sunday is our family day. We lie around, watch TV, go to the park … anything but work.
Are You Purposeful With Your Time? It Makes a Big Difference.
Something else to remember is that no amount of planning prepares you for the unexpected. Life happens. You will get that call from the school, letting you know that your child has a fever or you’re traveling, and a flight is delayed. You have to give yourself grace, let go of being perfect, and be prepared as best as you can.
For example, one morning, I was working on something when I received a call letting me know that my daughter fell and hit her head in the bathroom at school. I didn’t panic. I grabbed my phone, a notepad, and two books, picked my daughter up, and went to the ER. Side note: Head injuries are nothing to take lightly, always get them checked out. Fortunately, she was fine. My point is that while waiting to be seen, I wrote a blog post and read two more chapters in a book. Give yourself permission to be you.
Remember that your schedule serves you and no one else. The point is to have one and to be flexible when life happens because it will. I’d love to know how you manage your life and time and if it’s working for you.
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Golda Smith is a single mom who is building her “Business From The Kitchen Table” and enjoys working with other moms to get them into the happy zone and living the lives they were meant to live! She has a FREE report entitled “5 Ways To Talk To People About Your Business Without Ever Picking Up The Phone”. Don’t listen to another dial tone, get this NOW!
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