November here already? Thanksgiving is around the corner and Christmas just a few weeks away. As a busy work-at-home mom juggling family and a business, this is probably the craziest time of the year for me.
However, having a few tips handy can help straighten the chaos and turn the season into one of peace and productivity. Yes, it can be done, Mamas!
Here’s a look at the top 3 tips that have worked for me in the past as I’ve juggled multiple businesses with family and festivity:
1. Identify Your Priorities and Focus On Them
It all starts and ends with what is MOST important to you during this busy, busy season. For me, for example, it is about spending time with my husband and daughter as well as delivering the best to my clients. So, I don’t take on anything that will take me away from either one of these goals. My priority isn’t too have the prettiest house on the block and so our decorations are simpler and not time-intensive to put up. Depending on what YOU want from the holidays, identify your top 2-3 priorities and make decisions based on them.
2. Say “No”
Once you know your priorities, you’ll know when to say “no”. It can be declining the 15 invitations you get from the playground moms for kids’ playdates. It can be saying “no” to the cookie swap and saying “yes” to baking a cake with your kids. Remember for everything that you say “yes” to, you will be saying “no” to something else. Also, remember it isn’t easy to say “no”. But someone’s gotta do it. Right?
Again, from personal experience, because I want to deliver the absolute best to my clients, I don’t take on new business during this time. Does that hurt my bottomline? Maybe. But it keeps my sanity and my reputation as a business owner sparkling and intact.
3. Hire Help
Now I know. The holidays can be expensive and a strain on the budget so, you’re thinking “hire help.. no way!” But hear me out. Help doesn’t have to cost a bomb. Think out of the box. For instance, if you’re making $50/hour with your business, you can easily pay a Mother’s Helper $12-15/hour to play with your kids and keep them busy while you get work done. Right? Or you could hire a virtual assistant or VA at $20-$25/hour and free up some of your workload so you can get the holiday stuff knocked off. Easy?
As moms, we tend to take on way too much and try to do it all. While we can do it all, we don’t have to do it by ourselves. The holidays are about family and no reason you can’t ask other family members like your partner or older kids to help a little extra during this season.
Do YOU work-at-home? What tips do YOU have to make the holidays a happier time for yourself, your family and your business? Share with me in the comments.
Written By: Parenting Contributor, Prerna Malik, themomwrites.com
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