Being a successful business owner and mom has taught me one thing – I can’t help others live an organized life and run an organized and successful business unless I practice what I preach and first get my house in order. But let’s be honest, COVID-19 has drastically changed how we do life. Household roles have shifted and unexpectedly we gained more control over the day-to-day to chaos.
The truth is my family and loved ones need me. My kids need mommy time, laundry is overflowing, bed linen needs changing, and at some point, I need to get my beauty rest.
My customers and clients also need me. My inbox currently has 22,226 unread messages between 14 Gmail accounts. Hey, don’t judge. Things magically get done around here. But emails do need to be answered; clients need to be pitched, merchandise needs to be purchased, marketing needs to happen, speaking engagements need to be booked, social media accounts need to be updated and managed, this book needs to be finished one day and the list goes on.
So how do I successfully balance being a full-time mom and running a PR agency and multiple retail busineses while homeschooling and trying to keep everyone healthy and alive?
The truth is, there’s nothing glamorous about being a work-at-home-mom. Yeah, I said it. Working at home is a challenge and is sometimes a frustrating experience. I’m often asked, “How do you manage everything?” Apparently, I make life look way too easy. Well let me tell you, balance is a fairy-tale word. If I am ahead of schedule and crushing my work goals, my house is probably a disaster zone, and dinner is likely takeout. If my house looks Pinterest-perfect, I’m most likely behind on work. Working from home is always a give and take, and balance is rarely achieved. I’m no longer concerned about finding a balance, but more about whether I enjoy my life and if it’s what I truly want, dysfunctional chaos and all.
When I made the decision to work from home, I envisioned days of working in my yoga pants that have never actually seen a yoga class, sipping chai tea before my lunchtime drive-by at Target and still somehow be full of energy when the kids came home from school and daycare. No one warned me that there will always be unchecked boxes at the end of the day.
It’s true, most days seem crazy but I wouldn’t trade my life for the world. I enjoy the freedom of being my own boss, picking and choosing how and where to devote my time and resources, and working when no one else is around. I have the flexibility that allows me to volunteer, attend my kid’s functions (pre-COVID of course), enjoy lunch with my girlfriends, attend networking events and still get the job done.
Today I thought you might enjoy taking a peek into my crazy little world during summer break while low-key quarantining because, well FLORIDA. My husband and I usually tag team this schedule:
8:00 am – Snooze. I need 15 more minutes pleazzze.
8:15 am – Turn on Morning Joe to catch the recap of current political events.
8:30 am – Water my plants.
8:45 am – Morning grooming. Hello iPhone. Time to check in.
9:00 am – Knock, knock. It sounds like Kirby & Keegan are up.
9:20 am – Morning grooming routine.
9:45 am – Breakfast finally.
10:00 am – Conference team call while juggling babies and business.
10:30 am – Oh, and remember that laundry? Move it to the dryer and start another load. And Keegan found an old French fry on the floor. Now is probably a good time to sweep and mop AGAIN.
9:30 am – Morning storytime.
10:00 am – Organize my workday.
11:00 am – This is when the bulk of my work gets done. I time block and go through my to-do list, handling one task at a time. Remember it’s not about completion. It’s about making progress.
2:00 pm – End of workday & naptime for the kids
2:30 pm – Plant/garden love
3:30 pm – Virtual Summer school.
5:00 pm – Dinner
6:00 pm – Give the kids a bath.
6:30 pm – Evening storytime.
7:00 pm – Put the kids to bed.
8:00 pm – Power on. Last minute email/social media check.
9:00 pm – Lights out.
