Category: Self Help

Working (and Publishing) From Home with Multiple Children

6/1/2018

photo from pexels.com

As a mother of three listening to the Being Boss podcast about how to manage your business with children was… frustrating. It’s not their fault. The transition from no kids to one is a huge change and learning to adjust your time and priorities is challenging. For me it was actually easier after I had my first child. He put me on a schedule and always napped at the same time but that’s not necessarily normal. I had my...

son when I was twenty and decided to follow my passion for writing fiction about seven months later, after the PPD subsided. The change from one child to two is harder than the change from zero to one. If you have a child and are running a successful creative business, writing or otherwise, there are steps you’ll want to take to ensure your success and help save you from burning out. If I sat down and thought about my business and my life the way I’m about to lay it out for you here earlier in my career, it would have taken off sooner and I’d be in a very different place. Of course without the lovely ladies at Being Boss, I wouldn’t have looked at my life as hard as I had to to find the solutions. I’m not the kind of person to listen to advice and think “Well that’s great but it wont work for me because of X, Y, or Z.” I listened to the podcast and realized a lot of what they were saying would not work for me, but rather than accepting my fate and deciding to give up and trying to find work/life boundaries I started working through the problem. Here’s what I learned through that process and talking to other successful entrepreneurs with multiple children.

You can’t schedule a child to fit into your work day but you can find time to work: One of the big things I always hear as an entrepreneur is “Schedule everything!” and “Then Stick to your schedule!” As a mother and a business women I have never become more frustrated or burned out faster than when I was trying to schedule my work around three kids. When you have one baby, this is totally doable. You know they nap around the same time everyday and when they outgrow naps you can teach them to have quiet time and then they go to school. Totally workable. Even with two kids I was pretty much able to do this. My boys are two years and two months apart in age and life was pure bliss. Than I had my daughter. A four and a half year age gap between her and my youngest son meant life hit the fan big time and there was no such thing as a “schedule”. There were three schedules and the baby’s schedule tends to change because sometimes she likes to sleep in until 9 or 10 and other days she’s up with the sun. This was the most difficult thing for me to work around but I did it. Here’s what I do: I get up at 5 am to write. I need uninterrupted time to be creative and this is the only way I can get it. My middle child gets up before 6 so this was literally the only way I could find time. I should get up at 4 but I can’t make myself do it. I didn’t just start getting up at 5 either. I tried and each time I just turned the alarm off and went back to bed. So instead I paid attention to when I usually woke up and started setting the alarm for thirty minutes earlier. Then when I started waking up naturally at that time I moved the alarm time again. It took me several weeks but I got there. Next I start time blocking my day, Thanks Being Boss for the awesome webinar, I put in everything. When I wake up, making breakfast, my walk with the baby, everything. But when I started actually scheduling time for business stuff I could feel the failure waiting. If I said I was going to write a blog post at 10 am (when my daughter should be taking a nap) but she didn’t cooperate I’d get down on myself and feel like a failure all day. Instead I blocked out time. Between my morning walk and lunch, if I have time because the kids are playing nicely or whatever, I work on business things. My writing was done in the morning so it’s more administrative tasks like working on SEO for Amphibian Authors or researching keywords and phrases for our next release. Then after lunch if I have time, I use it to do work around the house like laundry or dishes. Make it fit your life: If you just had a baby, sleep might be the only thing on your mind and the idea of giving it up might bring a tear to your eye. That’s OK. You might just decide during baby’s first nap you’ll focus on writing and on his second you’ll take a nap on Mondays. Then focus on marketing a different day during nap time. The beauty of this is that you can take the idea and mold it into whatever you need.
Find a nanny or send your kid to daycare: This might be a stretch if you’re just starting out or if you’re a stay at home parent because you want to stay home with your kids but it’s so important for a business owner to have time to dedicate to their business. Even if it’s just a couple half days a week. I’m a stay at home mom because I want to be here with my kids. But starting a business with multiple kids in your hair 24/7 is like hopping on the fast track to Burnoutville with no exit in sight. My husband just had surgery so I’ve been struggling with my responsibilities to the press, this blog, and my readers as well as keeping my house going. I’m lucky in that my husband works second shift and helped me with the kids two days a week. We homeschool our boys so they were all here all the time and I was always stressed out and grumpy which is no way to spend your life. As my husband heals and I launch my new book marketing business I’ve contacted and budgeted for a Nanny. She’s going to come in and watch my daughter for five hours three days a week. And the boys are heading back to school until my coaching business is on its feet at least. (My oldest really likes the social aspects of school but I’d rather homeschool so we’ll see). Hiring a Nanny for just 15 hours a week (even 10 would make a big difference) will make a huge difference in my ability to get shit done. And I really need that in my life (I can’t wait for fall). For many people they have to stay home because they can’t afford child care. Especially if you have multiple children. So I want you to stop looking at child care as a cost and start looking at it as what it is. An investment. You’re investing in yourself. If you’re just starting out and can’t afford it ask a friend or relative to help out. Right now, I can’t afford help and my family works so no one is around to help. I get it. I’ve been there (I’m back there now). You might have to set this as a goal for your business. Make enough to afford child care. That’s why my nanny will be starting in the fall. She’s a reward for all my hard work this summer.

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