Several of you have asked me how exactly I get anything done as a work-at-home mom. The answer is, it’s very difficult. I have been blessed to be a successful work-at-home mom for almost 7 months now (I took 2 months maternity leave and then decided I needed to find a way to make money from home instead of returning to the workplace). I have found that routine and a dedicated work space are key to being successful as a work at home mom. The truth is, no day looks the same. It has taken me awhile to really hone in on this routine but, we are finally on somewhat of a schedule and it has helped me (and our little one) so much.
My Daily Routine
5:15 AM: Wake Up
5:30 AM: Devotional (usually with my hubby). Coffee.
6:00 AM: Hubby leaves for work, feed our little one a bottle, put him back to sleep
6:15 AM: Respond to emails that have a pressing need
6:30 AM: Breakfast (I have learned that if I don’t eat breakfast before our little one is up and the day gets started, I tend to get busy and forget to eat). After breakfast, I unload the dishwasher and put a load of laundry in.
7:00 AM: Respond to emails, work on blog post draft for the following day, ensure social media is scheduled for the current day’s blog post.
8:00 AM: The office that I work for opens at 8 AM. At this point, I usually ensure that I have my phone by my side and am ready to take phone calls, as needed. I also continue to check emails and follow up with clients.
8:30 AM: Our little one usually wakes up around 8:30 or 9:00 most days. I try to have his breakfast ready about 8:15 so that I can feed him as soon as he wakes up. As soon as he is up, I change him and feed him. We then play for a bit together in his room.
9:00 AM: We return to the office, I place our little one in his Chicco Play Yard. This play yard has been a life saver. Our little one is so independent that he loves playing by himself. He has also started crawling in the past few weeks. When I place him in his Chicco Lullaby Glow Play Yard, I know he is safe and can only play with toys that I have given him. He can see me and vice versa. He usually will play by himself for about an hour and then he starts to get sleepy.
10:00 AM: Nap time for our little one. During his nap time, I switch laundry over, do any necessary chores for the day (cleaning the bathroom, making the bed, etc.). I usually allot 15 minutes for chores and then return to work.
11:30 AM: Lunch time. We both eat our lunch in the dining room and spend time together playing and talking (I talk-he listens).
12:15 PM: We return to the office. Our little one plays in his play yard and I resume working. During this time, I try to work in 15 minute intervals ― I work for 15 minutes, take 15 minutes to play with our little one. Sometimes we walk around the house or take a walk out side for a break.
1:00 PM: Nap time for our little one. I get a large chunk of work done during this time in the afternoon.
3:00 PM: Afternoon snack for our little one. We also play in his room and read a book or two.
3:30 PM: I start dinner. My hubby gets off work at 3:30 and I usually like to have dinner ready for him when he gets home around 4:00 PM.
4:15 PM: Dinner. I know, we eat dinner super early in our household. It just works better for us.
5:00 PM: Daddy duty. My hubby is great about taking our little one in the early evening and spending time playing with him and ‘talking about their days.’ During this time, I clean the kitchen from dinner, fold laundry and load the dishwasher. I also check emails and return any pertinent phone calls.
6:00 PM: Nap time. Our little one usually takes a short 30 minute nap at this time each evening.
7:15 PM: Bath and bed time routine for our little one.
I know that this routine may not work for everyone, but it works for us. I am a firm believer that routine is a major key to success for any work-at-home mom. It has helped me to feel like our day is more structured and I know that when I follow our routine, I accomplish more each day.
The second key to being successful as a work-at-home mom is having a dedicated work space.
I understand that not all work-at-home moms have the ability to have a dedicated office. However, a dedicated space is almost always possible ― even if it is a desk in the corner of your bedroom. I am blessed enough to have a dedicated office to work from. When I first started working from home, the office was dark. It had a dark red accent wall and the decor had no rhyme or reason. It was a space that didn’t make me feel happy when I walked into it. A few months ago, I decided to give our office a face lift. I went from the dark red wall, to a light sea foam green color. I also added in coordinating accents for the walls and my desk. My office is now a space that I look forward to working in.
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