Motherhood is full of long days and short years. However, for us homeschool moms who also work from home, those long days can somehow slip by without enough actual work getting accomplished. You work and work all day, yet are always behind, struggling to catch up. Sound familiar? I’m going to share with you how time blocking can change that.
With time blocking, you set aside sections of your day to focus completely on a certain task or group of tasks. Designate a time for schooling, a time for email, a time to clean, and so on. Here are four reasons why time blocking is the ultimate system for any homeschooling work at home mom!
Master Multi-tasker
On paper, you may work ten, twenty, or even forty hours per week. However, we all know, you are working much more than that. Homeschooling is a job in and of itself. Then there is the housekeeping, errands, and meal prepping. You are balancing a mountain of hats on your head. (you’re doing great, mama!) Time blocking allows you to keep them straight and balanced without burning yourself out. When you time block, you will have a place for everything and everything in its place. This will allow you to get more done.
Putting out the Fires without Losing Focus
We all know that a mother’s work is never really done. There is always more to do. So, you start working on this over here, but then that over there starts calling your name. You bounce from one “emergency” to another all day long, like a ping pong ball. You end the day exhausted and frustrated that it seems you didn’t get anything finished.
It can be difficult to focus, especially with a house full of kids that also functions as a business and school. By time blocking, you can put off the “urgent” tasks that are interfering with your focus by containing each task to a time block. Those “must-read” emails can honestly wait until your designated time block. The cobwebs on the ceiling or sticking spot of the floor can be addressed when you are in cleaning mode. Not only will those fires that keep distracting you stay under control, but you will be able to focus more deeply on the task of the moment which will save you from frustration and lost momentum.
Being Fully Present
When working and schooling from home, it can feel like you are always doing everything but never really there. Your children are with you all the time but you are distracted and continually bouncing between work deadlines and trying to keep them on from bouncing off the walls. On one hand, you feel like your business suffers because you don’t have time or concentrate on it fully and on the other hand you feel like you can’t be fully present with your kids because your mind is always thinking about work.
With time blocking, you can be fully present to your business and fully present for your children. You can feel confident enough to close your laptop and put away your phone while doing lessons with the children or just hanging out with them. When it’s time to get some work done, you can have the children involved in their own work, project, or play while you focus on your business. This will eliminate the constant tugging and guilt that you should be doing something else. You will have the chance to fully enjoy moments with your family and build your business, providing more balance to your busy life.
Mastering the Deadlines
The proactive nature of time blocking allows you to master your deadline instead of drowning in keeping up. Set aside a block for weekly priorities, and a time for daily duties. With time blocking, you will have the time to complete projects on time without throwing yourself into crisis mode to get it done. You can easily break larger projects down into smaller time blocks.
Now that we’ve discussed how time blocking is a great system, let’s talk about how to implement it. You may be wondering how in the world you can coordinate all these things in your day. In all honesty, the seasons of when you get work done will change often depending on how old your children are.
My children are 5, 4, and 2. When they were younger (and actually napped), I worked during nap time and then again after bedtime. When that season changed I went to bed early to wake up at 4 am and worked until they woke up. Now, I work at night and a few hours during the day after we finish homeschooling if I need to finish up something. If I really need to focus or do video recordings for summits, they spend the day at their grandparents. I say all that to encourage you that it’s possible but sometimes change is necessary. You gotta just roll with it!
Here is an example of what a typical week looks for me. I leave enough flexibility here to switch things up if needed.
I’m here to help, mama! I created a time blocking planner for you! If you’re a digital gal, I created a Google time blocking calendar for you. And, if you’re a paper gal, I created a time blocking printable! Grab it FREE below!
To sum this all up, time blocking puts you in charge of your days so you can live life on your terms.
Have you tried time blocking? Comment below and join the discussion over at The Homegrown Motherhood Community!
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