I dont know about you, but summer is really kicking my butt in both the motherhood and entrepreneur areas of my life. If someone would have told me that I would be doing it ALL at the exact same moment everyday, I would have laughed + probably rolled my eyes.
Reality vs. Imagination
Let’s be real the balancing act of motherhood + working has always been a game of chance.
The gotcha is, or at least for me. This time last year I would have given away my favorite pair of yoga pants for this exact opportunity of being at home. So why is this so hard now? Well, reality tends to never be as good as our imaginations. Last year I would have had the option of summer camp or activities outside of the home while I worked. Since that’s not a thing, or at least not right now I find myself walking that line of balance.
Being an entrepreneur is challenging all by itself. The same can be said for being someone’s momma or a caregiver of any kind. In both situations there is a never ending to-do list. Both full of all the things that are needed to keep a business thriving, a kid happy + both taken care of. Depending on where you are located in the world (day 116 for us) motherhood and your business may have found themselves on the same playing field in a completely new way at this point.
So how do you navigate it all? How do you find that balance between motherhood + continuing to give your business what it needs to stay afloat during this pandemic? Well my friend, I have you covered with a few tips that have been my saving grace in helping me manage my time during this pandemic and revolution of sorts.
Making it work
Embrace Change: Ok. We are ALL in this brand new territory. It is not going away, not anytime soon at least. This is a time to loosen the reins so to speak on how things “use” to look in your business + how motherhood overlapped 90+ days ago. There will be a very strong natural urge to resist the changes around us and to stick to what worked pre-pandemic. Trust me when I say those urges will be STRONG, but let me save you some time and frustration. Loosen up, in every sense of the word. Fighting the change, especially at this point isnt where you want to spend your energy or limited time.
Utilizing Pockets of Time: Scheduling and a bit of structure is now more important than ever. Having a clear idea of the things that you want to work on, helps in planning for each day or week ( whichever works best for you and your household). Knowing what needs to be done can help you determine how much time you may need to allot to get the task completed. Example: If I need to create a presentation for my business and I know it typically takes 2-3 hours to complete ( 1 hr of creating a foundation, 1 hr of drafting, 1 hr of polishing/adding media), I can schedule out the appropriate amount of time for each of the task throughout my day to complete.
Create Boundaries: My best advice to any momma with a business pandemic or not, create BOUNDARIES. Boundaries are my jam and nonnegotiable essential part of life. Boundaries isn’t just for the people you live with but also for yourself. Don’t take on more than you can reasonably handle and communicate to your people where you need support or help. This can be a partner, loved one, other people within your business, clients etc. When juggling two very important roles (motherhood + entrepreneur), being clear on your boundaries is a no brainer, help you help yourself.
Schedule Flexibility: Remember when you 1st had your little one and everyone told you to sleep when the baby sleeps? This same concept applies here, except instead of “sleep” this will be your new time to create and give your full focus to your business. Not saying that you should stay up all night every night, but remember we are embracing change and staying flexible right? One thing that I can promise you is, there will be times when no matter how much planning or scheduling you do that things will not get done. There will also be times where things will require more time than you initially thought. Being flexible gives you the freedom to “take back” time during your day when you can.
Having it all
While all areas of our lives are overlapping like never before the real question is can we as mothers have it all, especially right now? Yes, ma’am we can. Has it been + will it be challenging? Absolutely, but its completely doable with a little tweaking here and there. For the 1st time ever, we are all in the same mind space of figuring out how to keep everything afloat + thriving all while maintaining a bit of sanity.
Approaching this new area of life with the idea that we have to be flexible, roll with the changes, not overload our plates and create boundaries so that we can thrive in motherhood while being an entrepreneur.
How are you managing motherhood + entrepreneur life? Would love to hear how you have been staying balanced!