In order for any successful work at home mom (WAHM) to minimize the potential stress from this career path, you have to be well organized. Being organized will help you to be efficient and worry free. Once you have mastered this skill, both your business and your home life will prosper. Without taking the necessary steps to become and stay organized, you will be, simultaneously, drowning in work, and swamped with dirty laundry, in no time flat.
One of the most important facets of becoming an organized WAHM is creating a schedule with business hours; this practice has a variety of benefits. For one thing, you'll become more consistent with your work. This is due to the fact that you'll train yourself to stop and start work at a specific time each day. Your work time will be more manageable in this manner; you will soon see how easily you can reduce distractions, like wasting time on social media, or watching TV. Instead of picking random things to do here and there, like laundry or other household chores, you will be focused only on your work; all other tasks, you'll soon find, will be scheduled around the work time you set up. Family and friends will come to understand that you cannot be disturbed during those work hours.
The next step is to start handing out tasks to other family members. At first you may think that you can do everything yourself, but as you perform your job related tasks, you'll come to realize that there are only so many hours in a day. Your children, if old enough, can learn to do the laundry; the husband can learn to cook a few meals a week. By sharing the household chores in this manner, there will be more time for you to work efficiently. Although by delegating duties, the chores won't get done exactly as you would do them, but the important thing is that, they will get done.
Your entire household will run smoother by planning your work and family activities. It's essential, if you don't have one, to get a daily planner; it can be a hard copy planner, or a computer application. By writing down in your planner when everything needs to be done, and noticing which activities take place when, your time will appear to increase, both in and out of your home office.
By organizing your household at large, you will succeed in making your business more organized. It may take a while for some of your new rules to become established, but the efforts will be well worth it. Don't try to accomplish all your goals in a weekend, or even a number of days. Work your way up to where you wish to be. For example, begin with your desk space. Organize what is in the drawers and on top ot your desk. Proceed from there to another portion of the house, then another. Put everything that you need in its proper place, and donate what you don't. Once everything has its designated place, if you find it out of place, you can easily return it. To better improve your surroundings, you may have to visit an office supply store and buy bins, shelves, containers, or cabinets; these will enhance all your other efforts.
As you've seen, even though it's essential for you to get organized as a WAHM, it takes time and effort. As your progress, your system will improve naturally. By involving your family in these efforts, you can more successfully balance your work from home activities with your family life.