Knowing this was not the first issue I thought about when I embarked in my venture to make a living from home, in fact it didn’t cross my mind until it became an issue. We are woman, we juggle many things successfully each day, so we can take this on and make it work for us too.

Our business needs us to work it and we need to have the time to do it. We also must make sure our children, spouse and house are taken care of too. It can feel out of control in the beginning but as mentioned you juggle your work and your family without either having to suffer or go without.

I will use my current schedule as an example. Here is a little back ground on my family’s needs and my business. I have four children, 15 yrs old, 9 yrs old, 7 yrs old and 2 yrs old. I home school the three oldest children and well the 2 yr old plays school with crayons and paper or her little learning computer. I also run my design business and my Etsy shop, plus blog on a few blog sites.

My schedule:

Monday thru Friday

7:30am – 9:30am: I check, clean and return emails. Write up the days to do list.  Work on blog posts or client projects. I also make the bed as soon as I get up and put any laundry in the hamper if there is need.

8:30am 9:30am: I wake up all the kids. They get dressed (oldest helps by getting the 2 yr old dressed)and eat breakfast (and watch about 30 minutes of T.V.

9:30am – 12:00pm: School time

12:00am – 1:00pm: Lunch. I jump on twitter; emails for a little networking or a jump start on to do list.

1:00pm- 2-3:00pm: School time

3:00pm – 6:30pm: Work on days to do list hard and heavy. The 7 and 9 yr old take to doing their chores at this time. 15 yr old watches 2 yr old until my husband gets home, then does her chores.

6:30pm – 9-9:30pm: Dinner and family time

9-9:30pm – 11-11:30pm: Finish up to do list if needed, clean email if needed. This is the kids and husbands bedtime. With the exception to Friday date nights with my husband, this schedule I follow.

I will work on a weekend now and again but I don’t make it a have to and I never schedule it in. If I find I will have some time to get more work done for the coming week I will certainly take advantage of it!

I work a full 8 hours just broken up. I also deviate from this from time to time when the need arises such as doctor appointments, dentist appointments and such.

Not everyone will have the luxury of having someone to babysit within their home and that’s fine. With younger children with longer nap times you can easily work your schedule around those. You can also work something out with your spouse (this is if you’re married) to gain a few extra hours to work like I have.

Juggling your time takes a bit of time to figure out, here are some tips to get you on your way.

Tip #1: Wake up and hour or so before everyone in the household, this offers uninterrupted work time.

Tip #2: If you have school age children in public/private school, definitely work during that time.

Tip #3: For younger children, nap time is optimal time to work, you may get 30 minutes here and there by offering them to sit on your lap and color while you check emails (personally have done this back with only 2 children and it honestly only works for about 30 minutes, so it’s prime for email correspondence).

Tip #4: Work out a schedule between you and your spouse to give you uninterrupted work time.

Brainstorm your schedule and write it out. Try your schedule for a couple of weeks, if it doesn’t work out at all, start from scratch with a whole new schedule. If some parts work and others don’t adjust where needed. I have tried many before I found one that worked for me, so don’t give up and have patience because you will find one that fits your needs.

My guests this week are Cara Mirabella of The Household Helper who will share a few tips with us on how to not let the house go to pieces while we build up our business and take care of the family.

Cara says it’s important to start out knowing what must be done in order to find hidden pockets of time that will be the key to doing more all around.

We also get a quick visit by Julie Lenzer Kirk to tell us about a new reality TV show about mom entrepreneurs.

Sounds like a great opportunity for exposure and assistance.  Interested in signing up? Find info here.

News & Happenings:

• Check out the newest resource at Mom’s Talk Biz: Profiting from Internships.

• MommyFest is here!

• Business & Learning WAH Expo has been rescheduled for June 3-6th.

• Hot Seminar Series Best of 2006 & 2007 is on sale now for only $14.97.  These audio’s are retiring permanently on May 30th so grab them while you can.

Do you have a question about how to get rolling with your business?  Use our Listener’s Line to call in your questions (Call my Listener’s Line at (214) 615-6505 ext 9115.) or feel free to email it to me.  Maybe I’ll answer your question on next week’s show.

For the WAHM and her family,

Kelly McCausey

Join Kelly and the rest of the Mom’s Morning Show Crew every Weekday Morning from 10:30 to 11:30am Eastern Time for fun and thought provoking conversation on topics that range from home life to business life.
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