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Wahmpartyplans.com |
How NOT to go Crazy Working at Home-by Kandi Traxel
"How do I get it all DONE?"
This question has been asked in frustration by many a
work at home mom! Usually the one doing the asking has
reached the end of her rope, and is ready to throw in
the towel. And while racing against the clock is the
norm these days, it doesn't have to become a way of
life. Taking a time out or slowing down is not going to
make you any less of a mother, a woman, a wife OR a
business owner!
I don't claim to have all the answers! I have many days
when the alarm goes off that I would like to shove it
under the bed, cover up my head and forget that I exist!
But there are things that can make it all just a bit
easier and most of them won't hurt anyone one bit!
First don't beat yourself up for NOT getting it all
done! We aren't super women! Sometimes it is just
IMPOSSIBLE to get it all done. We tend to set impossibly
high goals for ourselves! And when we don't meet all of
those goals, we feel like we have failed.
At the end of the day make a list of what you DID do and
what you accomplished and focus your attention on those
things. If you aren't spending all of your time kicking
yourself for not getting things done, then you will
accomplish more. Your self esteem will not suffer a
horrible death, you will have more energy and you will
just plain feel better!
So what if you only got one order filled that day, or
the only household chore you managed to do was emptying
the lint filter on the clothes dryer. Congratulate
yourself for those things and move on. Tomorrow is
another day! lol
Set regular business hours and stick to them! This is
the one thing that I have tried to get my own mom to do
for years. She has clients that think it is perfectly
acceptable to show up, unannounced at 7am on a Sunday
morning! As long as she keeps allowing that to happen,
it will. Let the machine get calls in the evening and on
Sundays. If that makes your customers mad, then so be
it. They can't expect their dentists or the post office
to be at their beck and call, but sometimes they forget
that just because we are AT HOME that we do not want to
talk business during dinner or at 11 o'clock at night!
You are ENTITLED to your own time.
Learn to gently, but firmly say "NO" to friends and
family members. Just because you work "at home" does not
mean you are automatically available to baby sit, pet
sit, or run errands for them. Simply tell those that
tend to take advantage of you that you "have plans" when
they, once again, ask for free babysitting. Even if your
"plans" are to sit on the couch and staring at the TV,
while polishing off a box of Chips Ahoy cookies, they
ARE plans and you are entitled to carry them out! You
are not required to reveal what your "plans" are;
basically it is no one's business but yours.
Let the kids and hubby help do the work! So you like the
towels folded a certain way, stacked by size, and sorted
by color. GET OVER IT! Let someone else fold them and
put them away. In the whole scheme of things, what
difference does it REALLY make if the blue towels are
mixed with the pink towels and they are all folded and
stacked a little lop-sided! Focus on the fact that they
ARE folded and they ARE put away. Then let it go. Let
someone else load and unload the dishwasher, cook
dinner, or vacuum the floor. So what if they don't back
out of the room and leave perfect vacuum marks on the
floor! Will that matter next week?
The next time you are feeling frustrated, overwhelmed
and ready to run screaming down the street, take a deep
breath and remember that you are only human! The world
will NOT stop turning, your customers will not wither
from lack of attention, and your children will not
become career criminals if you don't get it all done!
You can only do one thing at a time. Don't overlook
those small daily accomplishments. If you have to start
by giving yourself kudos for getting out of bed, then do
that. After all, some days that is the toughest task of
all!
~*~~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~
Kandi Traxel is a WAHM and the Owner of Misty Valley
Botanicals
http://mvbotanicals.countrymoms.com a division of
Country Moms Online
http://www.countrymoms.com
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