I have two kids under the age of 5 and I have been a stay at home mom since my oldest was born. It took a long time for me to “get into the swing of things” and then I had to regain my balance again when my youngest came along. Motherhood on its own is more than a full-time job. You are constantly exhausted, nerves are frayed, and you feel as though the days are never ending at times. Add in a home based business or direct sales venture and you’ll look around and wonder, “How do other moms do it?” How do they balance motherhood and direct sales? Here are my best recommendations on how to juggle it all without going crazy!
Do you ever plan to sit down for 20 minutes and do follow up messages with previous customers? Or you are itching to go through and plan out your social media content for the week? What usually happens? You jump on your phone or computer and you hear, “ding ding ding”. Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Periscope are all sending you notifications and you’re pulled away from doing what you set out to do.
“Did I really just spend 30 minutes
watching Tasty videos on Facebook?!!”
The easiest and best tip ever is to turn off those notifications. Even if it is just for 30 minutes. You will remain focused and motivated to finish the task at hand. Kids running crazy in the background? Schedule time to do this during nap time, before they wake up, or after they go to bed. You can do this, I know you can!
I am a HUGE planner. I have notes and lists for just about everything. Sometimes I find if I don’t write it down, it probably won’t happen. When it comes to how to balance motherhood and direct sales, I find a weekly schedule for both helps immensely. For example,
This is what my Weekly Motherhood List usually looks like:
This is what my Weekly Origami Owl Business List usually looks like:
And guess what – click on the images to download the PDF to print out the schedule for yourself! The key is, keep it simple, be flexible, and with a tiny bit of planning, you will accomplish more in one week than you ever have before!
Having a dedicated space to work is essential. It helps to separate mommy mode versus mompreneur mode. If you find you have your phone, laptop, and your business items strewn throughout different rooms you will feel disconnected and jump from one task to another with no real cohesive business plan. Even if you have a tiny space of your kitchen or bedroom, keep all of your mompreneur items together in one spot. This ensures you know where things are when you need it and all of your business essentials will be out of the hands of little ones!
We as moms know how incredibly difficult it is to make and take time for ourselves. This is crucial to balancing motherhood and growing a direct sales business. Whether it is a quick 15-minute bath after everyone has gone to bed, or a trip to the spa for a much-needed pedicure once a month. Whatever you get the most enjoyment from, declare it to the universe and follow through. You, your family, and your business will benefit greatly from it.
In motherhood or business, life sometimes takes over and it can feel pretty overwhelming keeping all of the balls in the air, so to speak. Alleviate some of the self-imposed pressure of “doing it all” as a mom and mompreneur and know that it is ok to let things slide or let things go for another day. Our children are small and at home for such a short amount of time, it is just fine to have a day or two, (or more) to just, BE. Enjoy the Legos, enjoy the run in the sprinklers, whatever it is, know that tomorrow is another day.
Balancing motherhood and direct sales, or any home based business for that matter is something that is ever changing. Following a loose schedule, taking the time for yourself, and knowing when to breathe deep and start again the next day will greatly improve your outlook on your daily life. I’d love to hear about how you balance your own family responsibilities and growing your business. Leave a comment below or send me a message!
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Great tips and insight! These are things that I definitely need to be doing to keep myself from feeling stretched too thin. ?
Thanks a lot for this post!
Finally someone that understands!
zilmyvazquez.blogspot.com
Thank you, Zilmy!