If you’re an entrepreneur and you have kids, your life probably looks (and feels) a little (a little?) chaotic. Whether you work from home as a freelancer, you own a local business or you have an online business, there are a lot of moving parts to track when you throw small children into the mix. With these 5 work-life balance hacks, you can succeed better in your business and still be the parent you want to be.
When you’re juggling your kids’ daily schedule with things you need to get done for your business, it’s not actually easy to multitask. What happens is you end up doing more work in the end by just “switch-tasking.” You’re wasting time and energy going back and forth between different tasks instead of sticking with one until it’s done. To combat the cycle, make sure to stop multi-tasking and focus on one thing at a time. Overall, it's a pretty common concept but bears repeating with little ones in the mix.
When you’re a parent, planning is key. Equipped with a plan for what your family is going to do each day, you provide your kids with direction. If you’re staying home with your kids over the weekend but you have a few tasks to get done for your business, you could plan to spend time with your kids outside the house doing a high-energy activity. Then, get work done when they’re doing a calmer independent activity at home.
If you can think of planning as a strategy for your day, routines are more like templates for them. When your children’s days revolve around routine, they know what to expect, and there are fewer moments of anxiety and boredom. Each of your children should have a routine, and you should also have your own routines to help you divide time between work and family.
As they say, “It takes a village.” Both you and your children need help and support from other people. If it makes sense, put your child in daycare or preschool so they can be stimulated by others and start learning in a group. Meanwhile, you get much more time to work, so the daycare fees pay for themselves. You might also consider hiring help for cleaning. Do things like order meal plans or order groceries for delivery to save time. Whatever you can automate in your business, do so. Of course, rely on help from your friends and family members as much as you can!
When you’re constantly switching hats and catering to the needs of either your kids or your clients at any given time, it’s important you have special blocks of time carved out just for you. Maybe you’ve always wanted to take dance lessons or an art class. Maybe you have a hobby that you never have time for. Or, maybe the best “you time” means some retail therapy or seeing a movie. Whatever it is, make sure you plan ahead for it and keep away from your work notifications!
The common thread in these 5 tips is getting organized. When you’re organized, you have fewer of those “frazzled” moments in day-to-day life as you juggle your various responsibilities. You know what to expect because you have routines and plans in place. If you’re able to take some time to yourself and benefit from the help and support of others, these also go a long way in helping you balance work and family as an entrepreneur. One of the best ways to get support for your business is to outsource work to a freelancer. Fiverr is here to make that process easy for you. Click here to learn more about hiring all-star freelancers on Fiverr.
