Are you in the same boat as me? Running a business, running a household full of little kids, and trying to keep everything together? If so, I see you mama. I know how exhausting it all can be.
Now, I’m definitely not an expert and don’t know everything, but I think I’ve found a pretty decent integration between work and life — and I have some tips that help make running a household and a business as smooth as possible!
Delegate
First, delegate where and when you can at home.
I think that delegation can get a really bad rap. As if, when you delegate at home, you’re falling short in some area. But the thing is, when employers and bosses delegate in business, they’re seen as smart, careful, and told they have a good head for business.
So why can’t it be the same for delegating at home? You can’t do it all — we know that!
I think that smart delegation is about two things:
- Knowing where your time is most valuable
- Knowing what your zone of genius is
For instance, if cooking is something you’re both good at and enjoy but cleaning bathrooms is something you absolutely loathe, delegate the bathroom cleaning and keep the cooking! You can delegate the bathroom cleaning to another person in your family or outsource it completely.
If you can afford to hire someone to help clean the house once or twice per month, do it! The time you spend on weekends assigning cleaning chores is precious time that can be spent with your kids after a full week of work and school!
Invest
Second, invest in good support right from the beginning.
When you’re looking to hire your first contractor or employee in your business, I know it can be tempting to make the smallest investment possible. And don’t get me wrong, you can find great people at lower price points! But you will need to invest either time or money to find the right people and get a good quality work product.
If you’re looking to pay less, you will need to spend more time training and teaching that person because they are more likely going to be less experienced. On the flipside, if you want to spend less time hiring, training, and developing someone, you’ll need to invest more money.
And there’s not necessarily a right or wrong here. It’s what works best for you and your business in the season you’re in right now. I definitely recommend hiring professionals to help you around the house or with your children’s needs.
Organize
And third, stay as organized as possible!
I like to think of all the things I have going on in four different areas:
- Family
- Household
- Personal/family finances
- Business finances
By separating everything out into those four categories, I can much easier track what’s a priority and get everything out of my head.
Want my help doing just that? I created my Mom’s Survival Handbook for Balancing a Business & Household for moms who are also business owners. With spaces for the main four quadrants of work and life and an easy-to-adapt format, this handbook will help you stay organized and on top of things.
I created this handbook for our family (and my business) because there is literally SO MUCH TO REMEMBER. I mean, a mom’s brain can only hold so much info, especially if you have little kids. I wanted to share it with y’all in case you feel the same. You can grab a copy here.