In February 2018, I learned how to start a mom blog and became a work at home mom! I am 5 months into my blogging journey and I have consistently made more money each month than the last.

While I am so proud of this little blog of mine and the progress I have made, it has been a lot of hard work.

Juggling parenting, cooking, cleaning, my relationship, and work hasn’t been easy.

It’s taken some time but slowly I am learning how to find balance as a work at home mom and I’m excited to share my tips and tricks for success with you today.

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Finding Balance As A Work At Home Mom

Find A Schedule That Works For You

You are not going to reach your full potential as a work at home mom if you do not follow a schedule and stick to it. There is just too many things to remember for you to be able to wing it everyday.

Trust me, because I tried. The problem is you’re wasting time trying to think of what you should do next. And when you’re all over the place and your child doesn’t know what to expect they are more bound to be cranky and misbehave.

My advice to you is to take a few minutes on Sunday night, after you’ve put the little ones to bed, and write out your week in a planner.

Trying your best to keep the structure of each day similar will help your child know what to expect which helps keep them happy.

Everyone’s situation is different, number of children, profession, and priorities, etc. So you will have to come up with a schedule that works for you, but here is an example of mine to help you get an idea.

Our Schedule

7:00 Wake Up, Mom gets coffee, Alexa gets breakfast, while we snuggle on the couch and watch cartoons. We do this every morning and she expects it.

7:30 We shower and get ready for the day. Hair and teeth brushed, and clothes put on.

9:00 We leave for an outing. Alexa has playgroups two days a week we go to at this time. On the days we don’t have playgroups we might go to the playground or go get some groceries. She might not know where we are going everyday but she does know that after we have showered and gotten ready for the day we leave the house, and she expects it.

11:30 We get home and have lunch

12:00 Time for a nap, I hold her until she falls asleep and then I put her in her playpen #spoiled

12:30 Finally time for mom to get some work done! I don’t like to work on my blog when she is awake because I don’t want her to see me absorbed in technology so this is one of the only times I get to work on it. I use this time to write, edit, make graphics, promote my work, etc.

2:00 Alexa’s naps range from a very common 45 min to a very rare 3 hours. Lately an hour and a half has been the average. So she’s usually waking up at 2. When she gets up, depending on her mood, she needs snuggles with mom, a sippy cup and a snack usually.

2:30 Now it’s time to play homemaker. I do the dishes and laundry first and whatever time I have left I use to clean the rest of the house, vacuum and mop, clean the bathroom, etc.

4:00 I take Alexa outside to play. I push her on the swing, dig with her in the sandbox, throw rocks in the river, whatever she wants to do.

4:45 Time to start cooking dinner. I love to cook and I like to make fun meals so that’s why I start so early. If I’m having a rough day I will play with Alexa outside longer and start an easy dinner around 5-5:30. While I’m cooking Alexa will either help me or play.

6:00ish Again, depending on what we make, we eat around six. Devin is usually home around this time too.

Related Reading: 5 Potty Training Mistakes I Made

6:30 We all go outside after dinner. Devin likes to work on the landscape while we play or sometimes help him. Or sometimes he’ll play with Alexa while I clean up dinner and play catch up on house work.

7:45 Alexa gets ready for bed, fresh diaper, pjs, and teeth brushed and I hold her again until she falls asleep usually by 8. I’ve tried putting her to bed earlier to have more mommy time but she just gets up earlier in the morning if I do.

8:00 Honestly by this time I am dying to work on my blog but I do have a fiancé who I love and he needs attention too. If he’s off doing his own thing I will work, but if he’s around and talking to me I try to be in the moment with him.

9:00 Until nine o’clock then I tell him he’s had enough time and if he ever wants me to make money then he better leave me alone 😂 The sad truth is by this time I am getting pretty tired. Some nights I’ll stay up working for hours while others I’ll pass out after 30 minutes.

Don’t forget to set realistic expectations. If you give yourself too much to do and expect yourself to get it all done in one day you’re just going to set yourself up to feel terrible when you arent able to do it all. It really does a lot for your self esteem which can help your productivity when you are able to finish your to-do list.

Be Flexible And Adapt

The days we are able to stick to this exact schedule do go pretty smoothly. But life throws you challenges and you have to roll with the punches.

Sometimes Alexa wakes up after only sleeping for 15 minutes and I want to pull my hair out. It’s frustrating but you can’t get hung up and let those things bother you. You just have to move on to your next activity.

Baby Proof Your Home

When I’m cooking or cleaning, my little three foot terror is running around our home trying to get into everything. We only recently moved into our new home and haven’t baby proofed yet.

In order to keep her safe and save me time from having to constantly check on her or clean up messes I know I really need to work on this.

Knowing that your little ones can’t get into trouble saves you time and helps you stay focused on my tasks.

Related Reading: Complete Home Baby Proofing Checklist

Minimize Distractions

As a work at home mom you know that time is precious. As you may have noticed from my schedule I get about 3-4 hours to work on my blog everyday. That’s not a lot.

You need to make the most of every second you have. To do this you need to minimize any distractions. Turn the tv off, no responding to text messages, no checking social media.

You might think you’re barely paying attention to the tv, or it only takes a second to respond to a text but those seconds add up. They are taking away from the already small amount of time you have to grow your business.

Be In The Moment

The most important piece of advice I can give any work at home mom is to be in the moment.

I love growing my blog. I could work on it for ten hours straight but I can’t because it is not nearly as important to me as my daughter.

When I’m on a roll working and Alexa wakes up from her nap early it kills me to have to stop. Like the first time I tried to write this paragraph I kid you not her Dad came home early, the dog barked, and she woke up.

That’s life. When I first started this blog and this would happen I was not in the moment at all. I couldn’t stop thinking about work when I was suppose to be taking care of my daughter.

Having a schedule and alotting time for certain task has really helped. When it is time to move on, I move on and focus on what I’m doing.

Your children are only little for a minute. You can’t get this time back. There will come a day when you have plenty of time to get your work done. That day will come, but this day won’t come again. You will regret looking back knowing you weren’t living in the moment.

And don’t just be in the moment with your kids, be present in your relationship as well. I get the most work done when Alexa is asleep. Thats fine for her nap, but at night when she goes to bed I do have to resist the urge to go back to work.

With Devin working so much most days we only see each other for a few hours each night. It is so important for our relationship that we spend that time together.

This means putting the tablet away, putting my phone down, and giving hime my undivided attention. This might mean me having to stay up later to get some work done. It’s all about finding a balance that works for you and your family.