Sigh… it never ends… the infamous to do list. There are never enough hours in the day to get everything done. The work-life balance is never easy. This goes double for mothers taking care of our households and families. There is always laundry to be done, dinner to be made, cleaning to do, etc. etc. And some think that things are easier for those that work from home. This could not be further from the truth.
As an entrepreneur, it is very easy to fall into the habit of working ALL.THE.TIME. There is no one telling us that works stops at 5:00 pm. We don’t usually have assistants. And since we are sometimes one woman shops, we have to work twice as hard to get everything done since there is no team backing us up.
When working from home it can be twice as hard to find a balance between work and home. If you are able, there are a few things that you can do to help:
Set Work Hours
While it may be impossible for some of us, setting work hours may help us find a balance between work and home. If your kids go to school, set the hour of 9-3 (or whenever you pick them up from school) as work hours. Set aside 3 – 4 hours to spend with your kids doing homework, talking while making dinner, and getting them ready for bed. If you do your best work late at night, pick up work again after the kids are in bed.
Hire a Housekeeper
This is on my wishlist for the future. While I do fine at cleaning up my home, I would love to be treated to someone else doing it every now and then. This would free up more time to spend with the kids or catching up on work. And let’s face it… sometimes when you have other things to do, housework can take a backseat and become less of a priority.
Get Your Kids Involved
Part of loving what I do as a blogger and social media person is that sometimes I am able to get my kids involved. While I have not been lucky enough to take them on any trips yet, they have been gifted some awesome things for review, and we have been involved in a couple of cool local events that they were able to attend. They get a kick out of knowing that mommy’s job helps them have fun. I involve them whenever I can.
Learn to Delegate
This is a huge one for me. I have a serious problem with delegating. I am totally a Type-A personality so I naturally have the “if you want something done right, do it yourself” attitude. Add to that the fact that I am not yet making enough to get an assistant and you have a recipe for Mommy being very busy. However, when circumstances permit I do enlist the help of friends when I am able.
Of course, I know that I am not the only one dealing with these issues. I am surrounded by entrepreneur friends that are dealing with the same thing. We all chat about the highs and lows, and we support each other. I don’t have any siblings, so they are like my sisters.
One of my favorite Mary Mary songs is Go Get It. In the song, they talk about following your dreams and going after your blessings. Part of being able to do that successfully is having a support system. Mary Mary is a singing sister duo that shows that they are there and supporting each other while going after their blessings. The season 2 premiere of Mary Mary is airing this Thursday, December 6 at 10/Eastern 9/Central.
I commend stars who can commit to having a camera follow them everywhere. I think that sometimes my life is like a reality show. I mean some would say I need one just because I have two sets of twins. When people ask me if I want more kids I often joke and say “if I do have another set I will have my own reality show.” But right now watching me sit at my desk or do laundry would not be very exciting. LOL.
Does your life sometimes feel like a reality show? Would you let cameras follow you around?
It’s situations like these that the three-time Grammy® award-winning gospel duo Erica and Tina Campbell face in Season 2 of WE tv’s hit series Mary Mary as they balance being recording artists, mothers, and wives. MARY MARY premieres Thursday, December 6 at 10|9c and moves to its regular timeslot on Thursdays at 9|8c, beginning December 13.
Disclosure: This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of WE tv. The opinions shared are all mine.
