It’s the middle of the day and chaos is ensuing all around you. This child wants milk. The other child wants their favorite cartoon on television. This child wants to make crafts. That child wants lunch. The never-ending begging from your children for your attention as a single mom can get overwhelming.
Your children just want your attention. They love you and want you to supply their incessant needs all day long. If you’re like I was, having two boys within 2 years of each other, then you’re juggling a heck lot more than the average single mom. Add the fact that you work from home to the mix and you’re set for a mom burnout at some point.
That is if you don’t start making changes to adapt your lifestyle around your children. They say hindsight is 20/20 and so I’m sharing some single mom work-at-home tips for those moms out there just begging for a break from the chaos. I didn’t quite master being an efficient work-at-home single mom, although I suppose I am here working online as a non-single mom so somewhere along the lines, I made some good choices.
The days to get to this point were hard, long, and exhausting. My sons, for example, rarely slept through the night. I had maybe 4 hours of sleep a night for, what was it, maybe four years?! 4 hours of sleep!! Unheard of. I need at least 9 hours to rejuvenate my brain these days. I’m willing to bet I needed more than 9 hours to tackle my days back then.
So, while I am no longer a single mom, I can share some tips that I wish I had known all those years ago when I was trying to make money blogging and build a business offering services to entrepreneurs.
I’m sharing my tips for single moms that work from home because life is unpredictable and we could all use a little list of ideas to help avoid mom burnout.
[azonpress template=”widget” asin=”014313115X”]Tips for the Single Mom Working From Home
These tips for the single mom working from home are meant to help you find some strategies and hacks to deal with everyday life. While raising kids is the priority, making money is also a priority. Today I’ll share some tips and tricks that I wish I’d known all those years ago when my trio (as I call my 3 kids) was younger.
Make a Schedule, But Be Adaptable
This is a little contradictory for me because typically I’d tell someone to make a schedule and stick to it, however, it’s especially helpful that single moms learn to be more adaptable while raising kids and running an online business. There will be days when you can only get work done while the kids are napping or sleeping. There will be days when you can’t get anything done. Each day will be full of new chaotic moments.
I used to call my single mom work-at-home days “My Happy Chaos”. This helped keep my mind more optimistic.
I used to do the brunt of my online work after the kids were in bed or occupied with something that kept them from begging for food, attention, drinks, etc. Write your schedule down or use an app like Cozi to maintain a daily schedule for work and home life tasks.
I like to use Asana now as a work-at-home mom, so perhaps watch my ‘How I Use Asana’ video in this blog post here for some more ideas.
Forget Outsourcing, Go with Automation
As a single mom who’s working from home to build a business or make money blogging while raising kids, you’re going to need to invest some time or a small amount of money into automation. This means using a tool like Tailwind Create for Pinterest marketing or Hootsuite to schedule content for Twitter and Facebook.
The biggest reason I reference Tailwind is that you can ultimately get your account for free when you signup for their trial. You’ll get a referral link and can use your referral link to get other people to sign up. I still have like $30 credit sitting in my account with them. This means you can easily work to refer people so that your monthly cost for this scheduling option is paid for through referrals.
I like Hootsuite for my Twitter scheduling, but they are changing their free plan option soon so I might have to switch them out with another option. I highly recommend reading this Tailwind vs Hootsuite Comparison Page. Find a way to automate your social media posts that won’t break the bank, like I said Tailwind is perfect because you can refer people to sign up and pretty much live on the free trial plan this way.
Get Some Help
It’s hard for single moms to ask for help, at least it was for me. I love doing so much on my own because I know that I can rely on myself. I’ve tried to have a family member babysit before and they just proved to be unreliable. Rather than getting negative feelings involved with family, consider finding a local high school or college student that will watch your kids while you work from home.
You can call the local schools to learn more about this option. It might cost money, but they’ll be more reliable than a relative and reduce the risk of causing family turmoil if your relative isn’t reliable. This babysitter will come for a few hours a day to play with the kids, feed them, and tend to their needs while you’re sitting at the desk getting work done.
This is a great option for single moms that work from home because you won’t have to worry if the person is fit to babysit. You’ll be there to notice if something’s not right. Plus you’ll have some free time where you will be “off duty” from mom duties thus freeing your mind to be more productive.
[azonpress template=”widget” asin=”1540900320″]Stop Comparing Yourself
You’re going to get bummed out watching all of your fellow entrepreneurs that are married or have their act together from time to time. I know I had moments of envy when I saw that my other friends were making it online. Heck, even my single mom friends who ran their business online were more successful than I felt.
Here’s the thing, we’re all different, and not all of us share the “dark side” of our lives on the internet. It’s not healthy to compare yourself with others! Do your best to stop comparing yourself. Your journey to success with entrepreneurship is different than any other person.
Be confident, steadfast, and dedicated to your goals to maintain a daily schedule that’s open for adaptation as each new day arrives. You can do this, but you’ll need to stop the comparison mind game.
[azonpress template=”widget” asin=”1543661092″]Don’t Let a Partner in Too Soon
Oh boy! So I had this happen more than once. I wasn’t necessarily lonely as a single mom because I was so busy. However, I did like dating or hanging out with other adults on the weekends my kids were at their father’s house. The problem was that I dated a couple of men who were so insecure that once we dated on the weekends, they pushed into my life (and my kids’ life) before I was ready.
This has a lot to do with my inability to not set and commit to healthy boundaries all those years ago. You’re going to need to be careful about who you date when your kids are gone. Some guys out there will push their way into your life, and you won’t notice right away.
You’ll wake up one day and realize that this dude is basically living in your home and has taken over the joint. This is a big no-no when you’re a single mom working from home trying to get a handle on your unpredictable life. I know that I was in a very good place as a single mom when this last happened to me, but I didn’t stick “no meaning no” and boundaries were crossed.
Without getting into all of the dirty details, getting into a relationship with someone without setting healthy boundaries will deter you from your goals. You’ll spend more time focused on this partner, rather than continuing your mission to keep a schedule with work-at-home goals. This one particular ex I mention took me off track for 2.5 years and it took another 1.5 years to get back on track after that chaos.
So if you meet a “charmer” who seems to have all of the solutions to help you in your single mom life, run fast as can be!
Or, at least set some healthy boundaries so you can date when the kids aren’t in the picture, work while your home during the week, and slowly see if this person is worthy of your trust. Don’t just accept this person into your life, because anytime I’ve done that; it was a bad decision! The last bad decision turned so traumatic that I made a huge commitment to never, ever let my boundaries down for someone who hasn’t earned my complete trust.
[azonpress template=”widget” asin=”0425279995″]My Final Thoughts on Tips for Single Moms Working From Home
I’ve seen it all too often, the single mom who experiences major self-doubt. They feel that they can’t accomplish anything and that they’ll never be anything more than an exhausted human being running around doing whatever their kids need all day forever and ever.
I’m here to say that you can be more than you believe you can be. You may not see it right now, but use my tips and soon you’ll start feeling more confident!
Use these tips I shared today to help you morph a new work-at-home schedule that allows you to be more productive. Take some time to write down your goals, dreams, and aspirations.
Write down actionable steps to get there.
Create a schedule that includes these actionable steps so that you’re constantly focused on daily baby steps to achieve all that you desire.
Have faith that everything will work out the way it’s supposed to and stay focused on your daily tasks so that you’re able to succeed with your mission to be a successful work-at-home single mom!
How can a single mom work from home?
A single mom can take a customer representative position as a remote worker, they can start their online business, they can make money blogging, or they can find other remote jobs using Flexjobs.com.
How do single mothers cope with working?
Single mothers will often feel tremendous guilt when working from home. They're constantly torn between spending time with their kids or working at the computer to support the kids. Single moms cope with working by making the most of their time and creating a schedule that works for their individual household needs.
What are the highest paying stay at home jobs?
The highest paying stay at home jobs that single moms could learn to do include web development, business manager, software engineer, and social media manager.