The flexibility of entrepreneurship is an undeniable perk of this lifestyle.
You have the freedom to be there for your kids, and feel like you’re making a difference doing what you love at the same time. You have the power to craft your lifestyle and live out your purpose on your terms. While it’s freeing, this lifestyle is not all “meetings by the pool”.
You have no idea how often I hear moms say “when I’m with my kids… I feel like I should be working. When I’m hustling… I feel like I should be with my kids”.
Do you feel guilty no matter what you’re doing?
This is a deadly cycle. Guilt is a powerful emotion. And it gets to a point where no matter what you’re doing… you can’t give it your full heart, soul, and attention. Trust me, I’ve been there. I get it. But I’ve also learned this:
You do not have to choose between your kids and success.
Create Healthy Boundaries With Family and Work
Step 1: Find a routine that works for you… and for your kids.
Parenthood is a balancing act. Determining a routine is paramount. This gets much easier when your kids start school, of course. But for toddler moms, the balancing act can feel like you’re walking on a tightrope. A solid weekday routine is a solution.
Many mompreneurs schedule their routines like this:
- Work for an hour before their children wake up.
- Work during the afternoon when their kids get screen time and a nap.
- Work after the kids go to bed in the evenings.
This may not be the right answer for you. Maybe you can only find productivity in the mornings. In this case, maybe schedule some intentional playdates, camps, or mothers-day-out.
Step 2: Designate work time and mom time
After you’ve found your routine, establish “work time” and “mom time”. Stick to it. Establish boundaries for each. If you’re struggling with this, you can even use an app like stay focused to limit access to your Gmail and social media during “mom times”.
When you’re ready for some work time… we recommend investing seriously in this time. You can even designate a full week to it. Escape, recharge, and focus on boosting your business. Our yearly Biz Beach Retreat will help you do just that. We’ll help you automate your business, increase cash flow, and improve your quality of life. All while recharging on a tropical island (we are going to Bali this year!).
Step 3: Design a repeatable/ automatic process
Alright, I know we just threw a vocabulary term at you. But it’s pretty simple. A repeatable process is a set of actions that can be easily duplicated. It’s a productivity workflow. Here are the main takeaways:
- Understand the main goals and objectives of your work
- Document this process
- Identify any factors that slow down this process
- Focus on fixing these factors to close your productivity gaps
- Apply this knowledge to any future processes.
This is a big concept in high-level project management positions. Apply it to your business, of course. But why not apply it to your family life too?
Step 4: Invest in resources to help you
Buy that accounting software so you don’t have to spend hours with a spreadsheet. Invest in that CRM to speed up your marketing.
It’s just as important to invest in resources to support YOU! Invest your time in a like-minded community that can help you sort through the chaos, and boost your morale when you have an off week.
Figuring this out won’t be easy. It can be emotional.
Storytime!
A client recently shared a struggle with me.
She had taken her daughter to the playground. She played with her for a while, monkeying around on the jungle gym before her daughter found a group of kids to play with. So she sat down on a shady bench and decided to take the opportunity to check her email. She was surprised to see her inbox held 3 new client inquiries! She excitedly began to read the messages when her daughter ran up to her and said “Mommy! I want to play with you again.” How could she resist that adorable face?
We’d been working togather for a few months, so she knew the value of distinguishing family time and work time. So she put her phone down and joined her daughter on the playground.
She was filled with anxious excitement about having scored 3 new clients. But she pushed those feelings aside until her daughter’s scheduled hour of Paw Patrol later that afternoon.
Usually, her daughter could independently enjoy her screen time. But for some reason, today was different. As she headed off into her office, her daughter asked,
“Mommy, where are you going? I want you to watch Paw Patrol with me!” She paused the show. She sat down and patiently explained to her 3-year-old that she needed to work.
“Why?” she asked in that toddler way.
“Because Mommy needs to work to pay for this nice place to live and for the delicious food we eat”
“But I don’t like it when you work”
“I know honey, but I work hard because I love you. And after your show is over we can play togather again”
This was a tough moment for my client. But I was so proud of her. I could certainly empathize with how hard it was to walk away from her daughter at that moment. But she successfully established boundaries. It was the only way she could be fully present during their playtime. It also turned into a teachable moment for her daughter! And she was able to show her toddler the results of hard work.
My client was successful at this moment, but it was still pretty emotional. I was glad she had a supportive community to turn to.
You’re not meant to figure this out alone.
Of course, we’re biased, but our Facebook community is brimming with incredible women.
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