7 Working From Home Tips For Success

I started my first blog when my daughters were 18 months and 2.5 years old.

It felt impossible some days to get anything done. Not only did I have no idea how to really start a blog, I had no idea how to make money from it. I also had no idea about parenting.

It was the season of learning. I was constantly absorbing information on how to start a profitable blog and how to be a mom. Let’s fast forward 5 years and I now own three blogs and will be paying off our mortgage this year from my blogging money. Our debt free journey started right before I took on this work at home business.

If you work from home, or are a blogger I thought it would be helpful to share working from home tips for success. My schedules have changed a few times to adjust to our children growing.

Although the breaks from school remind my soul how precious the time with the girls at home and no real agenda was. I’m so thankful for breaks during the school year now, until the last day or two of breaks.

I wanted to write in here that now during this insane time of Covid-19, many of us are scrambling to make a work at home schedule. My best friend and I both work from home and did a Facebook live this week during with some tips to help working from home. Watch the video below and scroll down for even MORE workng from home tips.

The hardest part for many of us is not knowing an end date. With that in mind it is best to try to get a schedule going for everyone’s sanity. Especially when the rest of the family doesn’t really have a place to go.

Here is my current Work at Home Schedule During Quarantine with 2 Kids ages 7 and 9 at home.

Wake up at 6:00. Make coffee, let dogs out.
Read devotion and have prayer time to get my day started right. My goal is to drink one whole cup of coffee before kids wake up.
6:45 am- My oldest usually wakes up. With being at home for school, I let the youngest sleep until 7:30.
In this time I will run out to the barn and feed the animals.
The girls eat breakfast and we start school work around 8 am.
8:15 My youngest starts on the computer with videos her teacher sends her for the day. Usually 20 minutes. While my oldest does worksheets.
We have one laptop and my desktop. I now start my work around 9 am. When my oldest goes on the laptop and youngest does work sheets.
I tend to have the girls do more focused school work earlier in the morning. Its harder to keep their focus after lunch.
At 9 am I sit down on the computer and do simple tasks First that can easily be interrupted. For example, this is NOT when I try to start writing a brand new blog post. Or editing.
I do simple tasks, like catch up on email. Schedule out posts on social media. Respond back to comments on social media. Check stats from previous day. Approve members in Facebook group.
After lunch I will work on tasks like making new pins, sharing any new coupon deals etc. Now my blogging tasks are crazy because I try to manage three blogs. Right now I only have one person writing articles for me on the Costco blog. Otherwise the tasks for all of them are done by me.
After lunch I have the girls do reading, arts and crafts and a dance/workout video. We have been ending our home school day around 1 pm.
I have to take a break at this point and get the girls set up in something different.
Before my husband was at home, I would try to come back to the computer for one hour after the kids went to bed.

Crucial Schedule

Write out the most crucial tasks that need to be completed. Figure out if those tasks need to be done in one day or you can spread out between three or four days.

Find the time your kids can easily be distracted without needing you. This varies so much based on your child’s age. If you have crucial tasks where you need quiet, use screen time to your advantage.

When my girls were toddlers, TV time was always when I needed to write articles. Figure out the work tasks that take most of your concentration and block those during screen time or nap time. When you know you won’t get many interruptions.

If you need schedule ideas check out these ones in Canva. There are lots of templates to choose from. You can easily input your own items to make it custom for you and your family. ( It’s free!)

Expect Interruptions

When I first started working from home the girls weren’t in school yet and I expected it. As soon as they went to school, I expected them to know I was working.

The reality is, they still see you as mom or dad. And if you are the only parent home, they are just doing what comes natural. It’s best to respond with them in a calm manner, and get them excited to do tasks on their own.

It’s always good to remind them the importance of getting work done, but right now with the way everything is, gentle is our best answer.

Once you come up with a routine keep it. The kids will start to understand it and they will appreciate it.

If you have a child who loves to do independent work but wants to be near you, see if you can set them up close to you. Coloring, notebooks, etc are easy things to have them do quietly by you.

Separate Housework From Work

Don’t worry about housekeeping tasks when you have your schedule blocks to work. Let’s say I have the girls set up for school work, and I start to see all the dog hair, and clutter, and the dishes in the sink. I really want to accomplish those tasks. I’m home why not?

BUT we have to train ourselves and show our family, when it’s work time, it’s work time.

This is one of the hardest adjustments to working from home. Separating the two. Even though we could quickly get these things done ( so we imagine) we need to keep focus on our work schedule.

Sticking to the work schedule will help you stay focused and train your mind in this new schedule.

Ideas for Toddlers

Busy Boxes

When my girls were 1 and 3 and I started blogging I made busy boxes. Inside were items they hadn’t seen before. And things they could play with on their own without needing my help. There are a bunch to choose from here.

Nap/Quiet Time Daily

I also had the girls have nap/quiet time every day at the same time after lunch. This means they would go in their crib/ bed etc for one hour until I was done working.

They didn’t have to sleep but they needed to stay quiet. Your kids may put up a fuss the first couple days, but once you show them this is the option, they will back down. I would plan my busy boxes on a Sunday night and have one for each day of the week.

Utilize Sunday as a Planning Day

Sunday is a big day around here. It is usually the one day I take off from blogging. It is the day I plan my meal menus and my working schedule. This is the time to get your busy boxes ready, or have an idea for what crafts activites the children are going to be doing.

It is a great time to plan out your crucial tasks that are work related. Save your household tasks for after work and on the weekends. Just like you normally would if you typically work outside the home.

Remind Yourself You Aren’t Alone

Many of us have children and are working from home. Even fur babies too. If you are working from home during this quarantine and will one day return to a normal work out of home situation, remind yourself this is not forever. Have a sense of humor and focus on positive things as much as possible.

We are all going through this together and we will come out of this together.