Summer Schedule All Over The Place? 3 Hacks For Work From Home Moms

Hey Friend!

Is your summer going anything like mine? C-R-A-Z-Y! Listen, I am so with you. I don’t know if you have kids or if you have grandkids, but if so, summer is definitely a routine interruption. It is a pattern interrupt that is notorious for causing work from home moms who run online businesses to lose their marbles and momentum. Because you want to sit down to work, but the kids need something. Your summer schedule is all over the place.

If your summers are like mine, you’ve got kids in different camps. Some are half-day camps, some are three-day. I have one kid sick, and then the next kid is sick, and our family is going camping. So now I’m packing all week when I’m supposed to be working.

The summer schedule is not very structured the way it is during the school year. So that’s what we’re going to talk about in this post because I know I’m in it and maybe you’re in it, too. I’m going to share with you three hacks that I live by to get stuff done even in the chaos of summertime. So get a notebook and pen. I pray this blesses you.

Does This Summer Schedule Story Sound Familiar?

So I’m supposed to record six episodes between today and tomorrow because we’re going on vacation at the time when these episodes are scheduled to air. But my one son is home sick. The other son refused to go to camp without Big Brother, so both kids are here.

My husband had to go play basketball because that is critically important right now. Love him! Anyways, I get the kids set up outside with all these things to do. Then one runs in, and says, “I need a snack.” And then the other one runs in and says, “He touched me with the paintbrush.” I’m like, I’m trying to record a podcast!

I Just Need 30 Minutes!

Does this resonate with you at all? Are you feeling my pain? I’m one of those moms who refuses to give my children technology all day long because I know that it’s harmful to them. Not just their minds, but their behavior really goes in the dumps.

I want to share with you some hacks that I personally live by in this summer season. It’s a season of blessing and enjoyment. I’m so happy my kids still want to bug me. I’m so excited I get to work from home. I have so many infinite blessings happening right now.

But for those of you who are work from home moms or you come home to work from your job, you’re building this thing on the side and it’s a struggle. It’s a struggle because your summer schedule is not as standard and structured as it is in the school year. I’m going to go through the three hacks I think can really help you get more done. I didn’t say get everything done because I also think it’s a season to give yourself some grace and some time off.

Honestly, take a step back and know that God’s got you. He’s got your business. He wants all of us to enjoy, to rest, to play, but we still need to grow. We still need to stay in it and get the main things done. I know that’s hard. Let’s get to it.

Work From Home Moms Hack #1: Plan

The first hack is you have to plan. Just because life gets a little bit crazy, you still have to plan, plan, plan. I’m not just talking about planning your business. I have lots of episodes about planning. On Sundays, I sit down and plan my entire week based on what my kids are doing that week. I schedule around my family’s summer schedule.

• Do They Have Camps or Whatever?
• Does My Husband Have to Go to Work or Is He Home?
• Can He Pick Up or Drop off the Kids?
• Are the Kids Off From Camp This Week?
• When Do We Have Baseball Practice?

All of that has to go first in order for me to even see how many hours I have available to work. Then I can actually determine what I’m going to be able to do. I live by Chelsi’s TOBOS Operating System to run and manage my personal business. It is a beautiful system that she set up in Meister Task. You too can set yourself up to be completely organized, completely streamlined, and completely planned in your business every single week from an operational perspective. It’s super affordable if you ask me. I told her this thing should be $10 or $20K but you can learn how to set it up in Systemize Your Biz, which is her online course. She’s the expert. Go grab it.

In planning your business, you have to go a level deeper than that. How do you also plan in your life? Here are some hacks that I utilize. I‘m also going to give you some hacks within the hack.

Plan With Your Family

Along with doing your schedule every week, the weekend before is when I plan with my family. My husband has to know what I’m doing and vice versa. We have to be on the same page. We do this in a quick Sunday sit-down. It’s very casual. He‘s already on the couch.

I’m like, “Hey, is now a good time to go over our schedule?” It’s very chill. I don’t make it a big deal because then he gets all weird. If I say, “Can we have a sit-down?” Absolutely not!

We quickly run through it. For example, on Monday, here’s dropoff and pickup. He says, “I can do it or I can’t. I have basketball at this time.” This really helps.

Plan Your Meals

The other planning thing I do is plan my proteins and vegetables for the week, and then do meal prep on Sunday. Where I fail is overdoing it. Not meal prep where it’s perfectly plated and all that stuff. I get so bored with a meal in 5 seconds. But I do pre-cook all our protein. We use elk meat. My husband is a hunter. We’re all hunters.

I’ll throw some of that in the instant pot and get that done. Or maybe I’ll throw some chicken in the instant pot. I’ll make two or three proteins, and then I’ll roast brussel sprouts and broccoli and put that in the fridge. That way, I’ve already planned ahead the food because the week is going to be absolutely crazy. I need to have quick proteins which take way too long to cook that I can throw in with spaghetti or add to a quesadilla for my husband. Or in a salad for me or tacos for the whole family. It’s nice because especially with our family, everybody wants to eat something different.

This really makes Sunday imperative for me to plan. If I don’t have my Sunday because we’re either camping or out of town, then I need to plan even further ahead. For example, we’re going on vacation for eight days, so I’m planning now for two weeks ahead because I don’t have a Sunday to plan. You’ve got to constantly be forward-thinking. I know that it sounds hard, but it’s really not. Take the time to get organized with your schedule, with your life, and with your plans.

Use a Paper Planner

If you need to use an Outlook calendar, do that but honestly, invest in Systemize Your Biz. Seriously, it’s so legit. Have the plans in place to you know what you’re doing in the next seven days. That is non -negotiable. But only if you don’t want to feel scattered, stressed, and overwhelmed all the time.

Work From Home Moms Hack #2: Get Your Kids Involved

Okay, hack number two for work from home moms is to get your kids involved. This is an amazing hack because your kids can feel involved and you can get them off of tech, but at the same time, you’re actually getting some work done.

So give them a project of some kind. Remember my epic fail at the beginning of this post? I turned failure into success because I went back out and I made sure they had everything they needed. Their paint, their snack, and now they’re outside on the patio painting.

Who knows if they will come in during the recording of the episode? But that’s the beauty of podcasting. I can pause at any point, help them out, and come back and pick up the episode.

Get Your Kids Involved in a Project

Get your kids to do something so they feel involved in a project. Maybe it’s a task in your business. For example, you can have them organize something. They can help you clean something out. Perhaps it’s with your meal prep. It doesn’t have to just be with your business.

Why not have some interactive time with your kids? Maybe it’s when you’re cooking your proteins or when you’re working out. My kids come outside when I’m working out because that’s a great time for them to be outside biking. When I’m working, I can let them have their hour of technology or whatever that might look like. So get your kids involved in those pockets of space in your summer schedule where it’s kid-friendly. And look for some of those pockets even within your business.

Kids Love It!

They absolutely love it. I had Landon organize the drawer while I was finishing an episode once, and he had a heyday. It depends of course on your kids’ personality and their ages. Just think a little bit outside the box. I know we tend to go back to what’s comfortable and what we’re used to instead of taking just three minutes centering. Sometimes I’m even like, Lord, can you help me out? I’m feeling a little frazzled. I need to get something done I really need Your help.

• With My Schedule
• With the Kids
• With What I Should Do Right Now

I don’t have enough time this week. Lord, can you help me? Every single time I feel like there’s a solution and there’s something I’m missing. It just takes a moment of distraction-free silence and peace for that download to drop in. Thank you, God. I’m so here for that.

Getting your kiddos involved can totally help keep them busy while work from home moms are trying to get something done. Help them even in the kid-friendly pockets of time in your work, in your cooking, and in your workouts.

If you work outside the home, you know what I used to do? When I got home in the evening, my boys loved the baths, especially when they were smaller. I would put all the bath toys and bubbles in the tub and I would sit on the rug in the bathroom with my laptop. And that’s when I would work. I would grab a 30-minute pocket of time to get some work done. Think how you can sneak that in when the kids are happy and preoccupied.

Work From Home Moms Hack #3: Outsource or Let It Go

My last hack for work from home moms is to utilize the power of outsourcing or just let it go. In this season, how many hours do you actually have in your summer schedule? My hours drop from about 30 hours available to work when my boys are in school to about 15 in the summer. My work availability is drastically cut in half. If I don’t know that then I cannot compensate for it.

First, you have to be a CEO. So sit down, do the work, drill in, do an inventory, and get crystal clear. You really need to know this. If you have 15 hours, what has to be done in your business? Then those things you can’t fit into 15 hours, you either have to outsource, which does take money, time, and energy, or you’ve got to let it go.

I Had to Let Some Things Go In My Summer Schedule

We have some projects that are happening in the company. I’m migrating my last two courses over to Learn. I’ve talked to you guys about that in a prior episode but I just can’t do it right now. I don’t have the bandwidth to do it. So that’s going to be pushed out. There are just some things that have to get pushed, and I’m fine with it.

It’s uncomfortable for me not to achieve and hit deadlines, but it’s more important for me to be present. I don’t want to steal from the other 10 hours that I have with my family. I want to trust that God’s got me and that He’s going to make a way through this summer schedule. I’m going to show up in the hours I have to work the business and be okay with putting some things to the side. And believe that everything is going to work out.

You Will Have Some Scary Moments

After 13 years as an entrepreneur, I’m here to tell you it always does. There are some scary moments where you’re like, it’s getting tight this month. Summers are honestly never super great for sales in most industries. For us work from home moms, who often serve women with kids, we’re busy in the summertime.

My point is you’ve got to do the work to know what you’re going to outsource.

• Who am I going to give it to?
• How am I going to pay this person and get it done yesterday?
• Or do you decide to let it go, push it forward, move it, park it in your operating system, and do it when you can?

I want you to know that there’s never a day when this just all gets easier. You’re always going to have seasons in your business. What does this season look like for you? Maybe you’re already in the season of not having kids at home. Are you working a full-time job? Are you busy with a hobby? Or are you giving in your church all the time? You’re still busy. I believe summers are always kind of crazy and if summer is not your crazy season, there will be a season that’s crazy.

Recap of the 3 Hacks for Work From Home Moms

Whatever is happening in life is going to throw us off our game at times. Our routines will be disrupted. So it’s our job to center back and do these three hacks and know exactly what we’re capable of doing. Make some changes along the way so you don’t lose your sanity and still stay productive. To recap:

Hack #1: Plan

Do your weekly scheduling before the week begins. Always know what you’re doing 7 to 14 days in advance. But 7 days is non-negotiable. I do the weekly sit-down with my husband. If that’s something that you have to do with your family, you should but don’t make it weird. Be super casual about it. Also, when it comes to meal prep or food prep, planning can really help you as well.

Hack #2: Get Your Kids Involved

It can be involved with an activity. It can be involved in your business. Anytime you’re doing something kid-friendly, grab the kids. That’s your opportunity. For me, I’m not going to go outside and work out by myself and use this time to have peace and quiet. Obviously, if you need that, do it.

But I’m going to use that time with music and loudness and boys playing and being full energy to have them be outside with me. What are those opportunities in your life that maybe you’ve overlooked where you can get the kids involved?

Hack #3: Outsource or Let It Go

However, you can outsource or let it go. This can be in your business or this can be in your home. Simply let it go. Make a list and be okay with the seasonality of pausing and waiting and knowing that you will get to those things that are a high priority for you as soon as you can. And that’s okay. Trust God in this process. I hope this helped.

Come August, we are about to blow it up. Do you know what I’m saying? If you don’t know what you’re talking about. I have so much time. I’m great. I’m killing it. Like, slow clap from the back, baby. Get in there. Get in the courses, and do the work.

Yes. But if you’re like me, it’s okay. We’ll be okay. I’m fine. You’re fine. We’ll be fine. All right. I love you guys.

I pray this blesses you!

Xo,

Stef

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