It's a Bird! It's a Plane! No Wait...it's Super Mom!

Being a mother and entrepreneur has posed many challenges for me. There are days that I wanted to turn into an Ostrich just to stick my head into a whole in hopes that once I emerged, all the things that needed to be done and accomplished were completed. Needless to say, this was a fantasy and things still needed to be done. My friends always ask me “How in the world do you do everything, and still manage to keep your sanity?” I just tell them that it is organized chaos (and a lot of multi-tasking)! Unfortunately the very first word of advice that I would give the Super Moms of the world is that the DVR is your best friend. We all have favorite shows on television, I personally have about 6 a week, which is 6 hours a week. Many are during the same night, which means that I can find myself sitting in front of the television for 2 or more hours at a time some evenings. Factor in work and the children’s schedules 2 hours is precious time. So instead of cutting short something that is most likely more important because your show is coming on, just record them. This will not only allow you to watch them when you truly have downtime, but it will also cut your TV time almost in half because you will be able to fast-forward though the commercials. The second piece of advice
I would give would be preparation. I grew up in a household that could have up to 10 children at a time being that my mother was a career foster-parent. I watched her iron our school clothes and prepare meals and freeze them for the week on Sundays. Sure this may have taken a chunk of time but it was done on Sunday when she generally had some downtime instead of during the week when more important things needed to be accomplished such as school work, various school activities and the daily tasks of picking up after 10 children. So even though this example is to the extremes, it still demonstrates how preparation helps to allow things to go much smoother when it is most important. The night before school, I’m ironing school clothes, packing lunches, signing papers, organizing book bags etc. If I know that I have a meeting around dinner time the following evening, I marinate my chicken or roast the night before so that way I only have to pop it in the oven and set the timer the following evening. To avoid spending a large block of time cleaning on what we used to call “cleaning days”, tidy up your home daily. Clean the bathroom(s) thoroughly on Monday, mop all the floors on Tuesday, wipe down the walls on Wednesday, Vacuum on Thursdays and Saturdays etc. This way, you’re not bombarded with a whole house to clean at once. My last piece of advice which is for the entrepreneurial or work-at-home mom would be to set a schedule. It is important to be your most productive during self-scheduled work hours then to be less productive during sporadic hours. Being that I have a little one at home, my normally scheduled “work only” productive hours are once she falls asleep for the evening. Sure, I might do a thing or two throughout the day, but these hours are reserved to ensure that I have a time solely dedicated to my work uninterrupted. The work I complete during these reserved hours are far more productive then the time I spend here and there throughout the day combined. In conclusion, it is important to be mindful of time and to manage your time efficiently. Once you have mastered this, everything else will fall into place! These tips may not solve all of your problems but they will surely help to put you on your way to organizing the chaotic life we Super Moms lead. Please feel free to leave comments or questions or email me directly at contact reddrox@gmail.com