3 Tips to Less Distraction and More Focus as a Work at Home Mom
As moms, we wear A LOT of hats – many of which we never get to take off. So with all that responsibility and that huge to-do list dangling over our heads, we can become overloaded and overwhelmed in a nanosecond.
Or Less! 😉
Note: This post may contain affiliate links, which means if you buy from my link I might make a small commission. This does not affect the price you pay. See the full affiliate disclosure here.
We all have that inner voice (like a taskmaster) who keeps us keenly aware of how much laundry is piling up, when we need to get working on our next looming work project, and how little money is left in the bank account.
She’s a real buzzkill.
She’s the one who plays the video reel in my mind of all that needs to get done while I’m trying to enjoy a simple PB&J lunch with my oneyear-old son.
It’s her voice that nags me to check my email on my phone when my husband is telling me about his day.
And she’s the one who makes me feel guilty for taking my kids to the park when there’s so much “work” to be done.
This inner voice keeps me distracted and pulled in too many directions. All the while keeping me from fully connecting to anything.
Years ago my husband would quite often ask me if I was OK. I’d always answer with usual my, “Yes, why?” response. Not having a clue my face was telling a different story – that I was bothered, stressed, or irritated about something.
Most of the time I was consumed with my own stressful vision of my life which became my normal. In all honesty, I thought I was fine until, it occurred to me that instead of living a life where I’m constantly playing mental tug-o-war with myself, I needed to silence the task master.
Related: How to Successfully Balance Your Passion and Your Family
Give Yourself Permission to be In the Moment
I needed to give myself permission to be fully “in the moment” doing whatever I thought was best for me to do at the time. Instead of doing one thing and thinking about a hundred others.
To be a mom who knows how to loosen up and have fun!
This changed everything for me because it caused me to be more intentional about what I was doing. As a result, I actually became less lazy and a lot more productive.
More importantly, I was able to break free from “mom-guilt” once and for all. You know, the feeling you get when you’re doing one thing, and suddenly feel guilty for not doing another.
Giving myself permission to live in the moment allows me to have a heartfelt, connected conversation with my preteen daughter without letting my mind condemn me for not doing something “more pressing.”
Now I can fully participate in my 8-year-old’s goal to become the monkey bar champion when we’re at the park - taking in every laugh, every smile, and every fully-connected high five.
I’m living in the moment now, and truly loving every bit of it! But, it took me a long time to even know this was possible.
Related: The Best Side Hustles for Moms
The Reality of the Work-at-Home Mom Life
Being a work-at-home mom brings its own set of unique challenges. Some of us work at home with our children because we choose to stay home full-time and do work that fulfills a passion or special interest.
Others work from home because they can’t afford not to work, but still want to stay home with their babies. This was my initial reason.
I wanted to be able to transition from my job in the corporate world to being a stay-at-home mom. Yet at the time we couldn’t afford to make that change without me generating income.
So we found a way for me to work with my husband in our real estate brokerage. I was suddenly thrust into a new world of being self-employed with a baby as a first time mom – all within a month’s time!
It was an exciting and extremely stressful time because of all the newness. I struggled to live “in the moment” very early on. My mind was ALWAYS torn between work, cleaning the house, and taking care of my babies.
Related: How to Realistically Run Your Mom Biz During Your Little One’s Naptime
Determine The Source of Your Distraction
It wasn’t until I realized that battling with myself wasn’t the plan for my life or anyone else’s. And I had the power to change and experience the fullness of joy in raising my family.
If you’re a work-at-home mom, simply learning to take a second to give yourself mental permission to be fully focused, engaged, and present in the moment of whatever you’re doing is key to being a more present mommy and rockin’ momboss.
The first step to living a distracted-free, in-the-moment life is to determine what’s distracting you in the first place. Oftentimes, it’s our daily habits that create the ideal environment for stressful living.
Giving yourself permission to live fully in the moment is a gift to yourself because distracted minds miss the “good stuff” which are usually wrapped up in the package of the mundane moments of life. And if we’re not paying attention – we’ll miss them.
Related: How I Keep My Family First While Running a Thriving Business
3 Tips for Being Less Distracted and More Connected
Becoming a more fully-connected mom all the while not skipping a beat in your business isn’t easy.
Or else we’d all be doing it!
But it’s definitely NOT impossible.
Here are 3 tips to help you be more connected to those little cuties you’ve chosen to stay home with and stay fully in tune with your biz.
Related: The Ultimate List of Productivity Hacks for Work-at-Home Moms
Giving Everything in Your Life a Place
Living the life of a work-at-home mom is complicated and can be extremely challenging. But it can get a lot simpler if you give all the areas of your life a place. Winging it every day isn’t a great strategy.
I personally live by the method of time blocking. Simply write down a block of time that’s completely dedicated to a certain type of task or activity.
For example, I have my writing time blocked off for 2 hours between 4 am and 6 am every day. Unless something unusual comes up, I use this time to write and nothing else.
As for my mommy time, I block off my early mornings between 9 am and 11 am to be fully present in spending time with my one-year-old son. Of course, he’s a toddler so he gets so much more of my time than that, but this time allows my “work mind” to shut down for a bit each day.
The things I do during this time aren’t rigid but I’m able to reduce my stress tremendously because I give myself permission to not think about work and to connect with my son.
Time blocking isn’t the same thing as keeping a calendar. My calendar is electronic and keeps track of all my appointments and to-do items. Having my time blocks already established helps me to know exactly when to schedule those appointments.
Do a Time Audit
Completing a time audit means keeping track for a period of time of exactly how you spend your time. This helps you become more aware of pockets of mismanaged or wasted time.
By mismanaged or wasted, I don’t mean having free or time to yourself – that’s important. I’m referring to time that doesn’t add to your life or drains your physical or mental energy.
Maximize the Important and Minimize What You Don’t Need
Once you complete an audit of your time, you can use that information to make some decisions. Decisions on things you know you should reduce or eliminate in your life or add or increase in your life.
The most important factor to remember is you have a choice! Take control and decide what kind of days you want to have. And don’t forget, when days are especially tough, why you decided to become a work from home mom in the first place.
You’re doing special work for passionate reasons, so don’t sweat the small stuff!
How do you manage your days? Do you have a system to keep you on track? Share in the comments if you’re totally rockin’ it or totally overwhelmed. Let’s help each other be our best!! No mom left behind! 😉
