Top 5 tips for mums trying to run a business with limited time
If you follow me on social media you will have seen my struggles over the past weeks as I have been navigating my way through lockdown whilst my husband has been away for 3-4 weeks at a time. Having a four and one year old to look after alongside running a business has been incredibly hard. It’s hard enough normally juggling work and family life as there always seems to be something to feel guilty about. But add in the fact I have no nursery, no babysitting from family or friends and we’re basically confined to the house it has like being on a mindset rollercoaster when it comes to business.
I don’t want to give up on where I’ve got to, disappear and stop working. I want people to know who I am and what I can do for them. But I also want to work as it one of the thing I do for me. I sit in my office at home surrounded by trendy green houseplants, a shelf of inspiring design books and more pens than I care to admit. By myself. And I’m missing it.
When Joe is home for a few days I want to spend time all together as a family but I also need to use this opportunity to catch up with my business to ensure I can keep things going. That’s when another strain of guilt comes in. But I have to remember that the reason I do this is so that I can have flexibility and I can build a business around my family, not the other way round. It’s just hard remembering that sometimes at the moment.
So with the ups and downs that I’ve had over the last few months I want to share the things that have helped me get through this and compromise with myself to try and retain some kind of sanity.
MY TOP 5 TIPS FOR WORKING ON YOUR BUSINESS WITH LIMITED TIME:
1 - BE REALISTIC
Juggling work and family life is hard at the best of times. But when we find ourselves in situations that limit our time or resources we have to be realistic about what we can achieve. Also be honest with your customers about what is doable. I am working with just one client at the moment as I know that that is all I can physically manage whilst Joe is away and we are in the midst of a lockdown with two small children. Adapt accordingly, even if that means slowing things down temporarily.
2 - DON’T BE HARD ON YOURSELF
If you have limited time you have to remember that there is only so much you can physically do. I’ve found that the key to not being hard on yourself is by being honest with yourself. Are you just making excuses for not doing something or is it best for you at the given time to hold off on something or do it the following week or month?
3 - THINK IN SMALL STEPS
We renovated our house and there has been a lot of work to do. I used to find myself feeling overwhelmed and frustrated that it wasn’t all done. But when I realised that if we just keep chipping away at it and ticking jobs off the list regularly, no matter how small, I get a sense of achievement and it always feels like we’re making progress. Remember that when it comes to your business too - things take time.
4 - PLAN AHEAD
There’s no point trying to cram everything you would usually do in 7 hours, into 30 minutes. You don’t want to compromise the quality of whatever it is you are doing. Work to your situation - plan to make the best use of your time. What are the priorities? What can you do in a batch to save time?
If you break down the things you want to achieve into realistic (point 1) small steps (point 3) and schedule them in so that you know when you do get the time to do these things you can get straight onto it and finish that one task. You will get a much greater sense of achievement than trying to work out what to do, doing a bit of several things and not completing anything.
5 - DON’T COMPARE YOURSELF TO OTHERS
Everyone has different circumstances and will be at different stages of their businesses. You can’t compare the beginning of your journey to someone else’s middle or end. You may feel like you’re working the few hours you have and not getting anywhere like others are but we are all in different situations and have different levels of support in place. Concentrate on what you can do, not what everyone else is doing.