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How To Deal With At Home Distractions

distractions

Being a stay at home mom, blogger AND entrepreneur things can be hectic in my house to say the least. Working from home brings benefits and challenges. In my experience it is tough to not focus on things that need to be done around the house while I am working. So how do I work on getting things done with my business, take care of the kids AND the house? Oh and I should add that I take care of my husband too… LOL!

1. Compartmentalize.

I work in compartments. I will schedule different times to blog, clean, make meals, laundry, phone calls, webinars, and even checking my email. This has been my saving grace, literally! If I don’t compartmentalize what I am doing at the moment, my mind goes in all different directions at the same time. Then I find myself at the end of the day never having completed one thing! When I am writing a blog that is all I do at that time. When I am doing the laundry that is all I am doing at that particular time.

*Sidebar~ A little tip for cleaning your house. Work one room at a time. Don’t move onto the next room until one room is completed.

2. Don’t look at your home as a distraction

Some times we can think.. ugh I have to do the dishes right now, I’m getting a distraction. Reality is that its part of your job at home! Stop looking at your home and taking care of your kids as a nuisance and your mindset will change about your daily activities. It only becomes a distraction when you are doing household chores during work/business hours. Thats it! If you have designated work hours from 1-4 everyday that is when you do work.  Household chores can come before and after your work schedule. Makes sense right?

3. Schedules don’t always align perfectly

By now being a Mom you kind of already know this. Sometimes your kids will interupt during your work/business hours. Don’t get frustrated! Its ok. It comes with the territory of being an Mom entrepreneur from home. If you are doing business calls/webinars don’t be afraid to tell the other person that your kids are there. Be upfront and honest. Those who really want to work with you will understand this is YOU the whole package. Don’t expect your kids, especially if they are younger, to be 100% angels while you are on the phone. Be understanding, be ok with it and push through anyway.

I hope these 3 tips can help you deal with at home distractions. All it takes is a little practice and a change of mindset to push through and get things done. Around your family and from home.

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  10. Martha says

    Excellent tips! As someone who gets distracted or feels overwhelmed easily these are all tips I can use. One more I have found helpful: make a list. If my mind is running off in ten directions with things I have to do, I take five minutes to write them all down; then I can focus on one task at a time and not worry about forgetting anything!
    Martha recently posted..Polish swatch: Essence Chic ReloadedMy Profile

  12. Sheila Skillingstead says

    Compartmentalizing is definitely something I do or I become too random and not a lot gets accomplished. I love the idea of thinking of housework as part of your job rather than an annoying aspect of your life. Such a great but easy idea. Enjoy your SITS Day.
    Sheila Skillingstead recently posted..Bad seasonsMy Profile

  14. Alecia says

    I find it is a HUGE adjustment to be working at home instead of going to a job every day. I do find myself distracted by the dishes, laundry, the dogs, the kids, etc. I need to do a better job at scheduling myself so that I can make sure everything is taken care of instead of allowing the distractions to take over me. Thank you for your tips!
    Alecia recently posted..Tips for Talking to Kids about BullyingMy Profile

  17. Bev says

    I wok from home, and would get so distracted by the house stuff. Finally I decided if the dishes were in the sink when I was working out of the house, then they could stay there when I was working from home as well. And I’m about to have my first child, so we’ll see how I am able to balance everything once she arrives! I do agree that compartmentalizing really helps with reducing distractions and staying on task–I like using the Pomodoro app for that.
    Bev recently posted..This is not exactly what I imagined I would be doing the week before my due date…My Profile

  18. Nicole Nenninger says

    I also compartmentalize! I did this after I took stock of how exactly I spent my day. Each block of 15 minutes I wrote down what I was doing. I found out how much was spent on prepping meals, doing dishes, etc. and how much was spent on work and school. Now I know how much time to allot to personal vs. professional and I write it out each day. For example, today, 6 to 6:30 is social media and emails while I do kids’ breakfasts. Then, I take kids to school during 6:30 to 8 (their school district is 1/2 hour away–and they do tons of activities). Then, 8 to 8:30 I exercise, 8:30 to 9 get ready, 9 to 11 work on school, 11 to 12 work on work, 12 to 1 is lunch break and dishes and so forth. I get off track sometimes but it does really help me. Oh, and I put down my priorities for the day before I plan it out so I schedule them in first. Great post! It should be helpful to a lot of women who get in a bind working from home! You nailed it for me with the home is a distraction–I can’t help it sometimes when I look around and see what needs to be done. I also have an issue with setting limits on working–I can go for hours at the computer and not realize where the time went. There’s always something to do…
    Nicole Nenninger recently posted..Quote of the WeekMy Profile

  19. Stephanie from GrinningLikeAnIdiot.com says

    I’ve been working from home for 8 years, I LOVE it! When I’m on conference calls I fold laundry, pull weeds etc so I pay attention, if I sit at my computer I’m emailing, tweeting etc. To avoid a barking dog, I post a note for UPS guy or whoever that says I’m on a call, do not knock etc., the kids know I’m on a call when I close my office door.
    It takes a bit a time and muting a couple of times to say “I’m on the phone”, but totally worth it. 🙂
    Thanks for sharing!!!
    Stephanie from GrinningLikeAnIdiot.com recently posted..Tate Farms – the Place to Be for FallMy Profile

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