Mums, almost two weeks passed since the last post (Working From Home With Children – Plan A) and as promised I am going to tell you how it is going.
So, let’s start to analyze briefly the result for each topic I already mentioned in the last post and add other ideas at the end.
>Dedicate a maximum of 3 hours to housework daily
This topic was hard to change during the first days. I was very attached to the old routine (changing a habit is such a challenge) but the last week has been successful. I could finally dedicate an average of just 2 hours per day or even less to housework (cooking included). How?
PRIORITIZATION – One of my weak points in time management is prioritization and sometimes instead of taking advantage of time and doing several things at the same time I tend to do one task at a time.
So, I started to organize time in a different way. For example, instead of cooking, after making beds, after cleaning bathrooms or dust, I made something like this:
1) Wake up 30 to 40 minutes before children and prepare meals for the day.
2) While meals are being cooked I have a quick shower, dress up, make our bed and tidy some messy spot in the living room .
Without children demanding these tasks can be completed much faster, that is why I recommend you to wake up a while before your child/children and do not stop anytime to watch your devices at this first stage, unless you have all done yet. That will take you time!.
3) Children wake up – they eat and after breakfast, while they dress up, make pee and clean their teeth, I set the dishes from the washing machine and make their beds.
4) Take my older son to the nursery with the bike (it is less than one kilometer from home, we could walk but there are almost always distractions in the way, so instead of taking 25 minutes to go and come back we just take 10 minutes : 3 minutes to arrive and leave him there, play 5 minutes with my daughter in the nursery playground, come back home to finish tasks (vacuum the floor, clean the bathroom or put some clothes washing – in 20 minutes things are done).
> Take advantage of children playtime to study or work
Said the above, the rest of the time can be dedicated to children and to study/work for an hour or more during the day if they are calmly playing or watching TV.
If your child sleeps a nap, that can be also a good opportunity to work.
It was such a step, Mums, that is still hard to believe how easy it was and how much time I have been wasting during years with such small and insignificant tasks.
> Listen to motivational speeches
Mums, this has been really helpful.
I have been listening now motivational speeches once to twice a week and I surrender. It definitely helps.
Have you ever heard about impacttheory.com?
They have very good interviews with people that really help to improve your vision and motivation, through their life experiences.
> Make a new plan and have discipline and consistency about it
If the other topics have improved a lot, this one is still searching for its path. To achieve discipline and consistency in a plan it is necessary to create good habits and I am readjusting the plans according to the improvements made, trying to make them habits and bring some new ones that can be positive and worthwhile.
I would like to implement meditation soon and maybe write a gratitude journal, but that will be subject for another post.
Work from home with children should not be an excuse to a failure but definitely one of the main motivational reasons to keep going in this path and make all to be successful for us but specially for them, that see in us an example and bring the future in their hands.
Share your ideas too! There is nothing better than sharing experiences and knowledge together, bringing more enlightenment to our path for CEO.