The birth of a child also gives birth to a new parent. It’s an all-new journey filled with hopes and dreams; it seems like a fairy tale until you wake up and realize the other side of parenthood. That is, an endless cycle of feeding, diapering, sleeping… and just so much poop! If you are one of the thousands of parents who work from home with baby onboard; trying to work, trying to sleep, and just trying to keep it all together, then read on my friend these tips were meant for you!
15 Sanity Saving Ideas For the Work From Home Parent
Sanity savers come to the rescue of parents who work from home and toil around looking to strike that balance between the professional and personal whirlpool. Relax and ponder over these enlisted surefire sanity saver ideas and see your life changing inside out and systematically… even if poop is still involved!
1. Meditate, Keep Calm
Start your days afresh. Start it with meditation- outdoors is best if you can. Feel the freshness of nature and let all the stress leave out of your mind by just spending a few minutes of solitude. Follow this with yoga or a short walk and kick-start your day. Bring baby along if you need to- the relaxing peace will calm them down too before the day gets into hectic mode.
2. Plan your day
Priority goes to baby always. That’s 100% true. Although to start and finish your day without much ado, it requires a little bit of brainstorming and itemizing things beforehand. Break your tasks into manageable chunks and prioritize. Finish them one at a time. Rushing through all things at once will end up in a mess and stress you put more. This way you can set your work time as well as manage the load with ease.
3. Create Templates to Save time
This is a very smart way to saving ample time or starting over from the beginning again and again. Your work might involve certain documents to be written or drafted on a regular basis. You can create predefined templates or use business printables from those available online. Quick, elegant and easy.
4. Keep it Simple. Don’t over Plan
When you draft a schedule, make sure you do not over plan. Life is dynamic. You can expect bizarre circumstances to pop up out of the blue; your mother in law popping in, the neighbor, oops baby needs more diapers. Give time and more time. Avoid the unnecessary stress due to long-planned routines.
5. Use Your Time Wisely
Babies sleep about 16 hours a day- even thought it might not seem like it, use that time when its quiet to get your work done. As tempting as it may be to unwind for an hour while they are, its best to stay on track. You’ll more than likely be surprised at how much you can accomplish in an interruption-free zone. Pull out your task list that needs to be completed by priority so you can accomplish more.
6. Work While you Work, No distractions!
One pivotal sanity saver is to focus upon what you are doing? Keep any sort of distractions at bay. To improve concentration during work hours, keep a bottle of essential smelling oils at your desk such as lemon oil to refresh your senses or rosemary to ground you throughout the day. This will ensure you focus on your work and save time wasted upon worthless engagements.
7. Highlight the To Do List
One expert tip to strike the work-life balance is to highlight the appointments and project sessions. Use colors to differentiate between the upcoming and completed activities. This way you will never miss any important task while you are busy with your kids and family. Multitasking is just a part of being a parent so finding those simple methods to keep yourself organized makes all the difference.
8. Set Smaller Goals
For all the work from home entrepreneurs, the best way to achieve a goal is to set smaller ones. Divide the entire project of your work into small manageable ones. Set reachable goals that you can achieve in a shorter span of time. Long-term goals usually end up in mayhem. Shorter ones give a boost to your confidence level and set a positive perspective towards the upcoming goals.
9. Hire a Helper
What could be a better idea than this one? With growing expectations at work and unfulfilling list of duties at home, every other parent could benefit from a helper to ease the burden of simple household work. At least you can count on them when you have unexpected guests or when you are sick. Lots of places to find local help whether its for tasks around the house, cleaning up, cooking, or babysitting. You’d be surprised at the benefit you get in return.
10. Start a Blog
Add more work? Am I crazy… I know, but hear me out. It is human nature to want to communicate. The newbie parents out there don’t get that ‘Me’ time at all. How nice would it be if you have someone or someplace to share your thoughts? Starting a blog lets you connect to the world; it’s a great way to share photos, videos and ideas on the blog and other social media networks.
This sanity saver could even be a way to make money while you work from home with baby stuff lying around the house. Review the items you have and use for other parents- give them the real scoop on how it holds up or how easy to clean it is. Lots of ways to start a blog for money!
11. Eat Well and Sleep Well
Never skip meals and try to get a decent amount of sleep- tough to say to parents of a newborn. But both fuel the mind and body to recharge your batteries and keep you from having to much of baby brain syndrome. This will help to combat the stress that comes along with the bounties of parenthood. Moreover, for work from home parents, both are as important as oxygen.
12. Pamper Yourself Sometimes
After your baby has arrived, you spend the entire time buying stuff for them. Diapers, bibs, soft toys are the only things in the wish list. Why not get something for yourself? Once in a while, save a few dollars to spend on You! Visit the spa yourself or treat your taste buds with food you love from that awesome bakery down the street. Making yourself happy is just as vital as making baby comfortable.
13. Have some fun!
It’s OK to break the rules. Don’t restrict yourself to work, work and work. Break the monotone and plan an outing with your partner, friends or kids. Feel the energy and recharge yourself for the long tiring days ahead by spending time away from your home office. Share your thoughts and treat yourself to a day out enjoying and just having fun.
14. Recreate the Love for your Spouse
Running behind responsibilities of family and work could take a toll on work from home parents. In this period of adapting to parenthood, don’t forget your loved ones. With so much time focused on the baby and work, its easy to start taking each other for granted. Support your partner emotionally by expressing your love for them and spend a few cherished moments together when the time is right.
15. Save for the Future
When you first get pregnant- many thoughts go through your mind; how am I going work with a baby around, how we will be able to afford everything we need, what about saving for school and much more. Working from home may seem like a great way to save money- not always unless you are careful. Its easy to order take out often or run errands too much wasting precious car miles.
But you can find numerous ways to minimize the cost and save little by little for the future. Look for ways you can save on commuting, transporting supplies and a lot of other things. Shop in bulk 1-2 times a month, Plan meals for the full week and keep snacks in the fridge, order supplies online from a store that provides free shipping. With proper planning, you can convert the stress of saving into simple ease. Check out our article listing 75 ways to save money on a tight budget. It should give you some great tips and methods to get started.
Final Tips For Parent That Work From Home With Baby
The life of a work from home parent is not always perfect and can be filled with chaos and stress, but with these sanity saver tips, you should be better prepared to tackle any challenge that comes your way. Follow them with patience, and you will see results. Parenting is an art and so is working from home.
Self-employed parents can enjoy watching their kids grow up, as well as have an excellent career. It all depends on how you take it. Have a positive attitude towards your life and parenting and don’t forget to give yourself a break as well as a pat on the back. Parenting is not easy- so accomplishing it while managing a career, finances, and more is a role for the super humans. Welcome to the club!
Have a few more sanity saver tips or easy ways to work from home with baby tricks? Tell us in the comments, Id love to know how you manage it!
