3 Huge Tips For Moms Who Work Erratic Hours From Home

You know how tough it is to take care of small children and get your work completed by a deadline when you're a work-from-home mom. It's especially tough if your working hours aren't the standard 9am to 5pm. Many work-from-home jobs allow you to work a few hours in the morning and a few hours at night. Some require that you work off and on the entire day. When your hours are that erratic, it can be frustrating to take care of the house, and the kids, and have a productive work experience at the same time. Not to mention the invariable phone caller who believes that since you work from home that you are free to run errands, play on social media, or talk for an hour on the phone about nothing in particular. How does a stay-at-home, work-from-home mom get it all done? It's not as tough as you might think as long as you set the boundaries and don't waver from them.

Know That Routine Is Your Best Friend

Establish a routine and stick to it. If you work erratic hours, this doesn't mean you can't be flexible. It's a given that some days, you will have to take care of a sick child and be unable to work. Once you have established your daily parameters, you can work more efficiently and on deadline.

Sign Off Social Media

Unless it's part of your job, you should sign off all your social media accounts. If being on social media is part of your job, you can schedule posts with a reliable social media scheduling application like Hootsuite. Tell your family and friends that if they don't see you online, they can assume that you are busy. If they do see you online, they can assume you are working until after a certain time of the day. Set that time where you can be social and don't procrastinate around all the social media buzz. Best to log off routinely when your work day begins.

Take Advantage of Sleep

Not your sleep, but your family's sleep times--these times are perfect for making work-related calls, answering texts and emails, or getting research for that next project started. Your kids can go down for naps at certain times of the day. Once you establish that routine, you can work through nap times. The same holds true for bedtimes. Keep your family on a consistent sleep schedule and you can be very productive during their slumbers.

There's the top three tips for stay-at-home, work-from-home moms: establish a routine, say no to social media and work through sleep times. These huge mom tips can help increase your productivity and lessen your stress. Check out a place like Baby Gizmo for more mom tips.