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Alchemy for Moms Parenting The Alchemist's Heart

Are You a Work From Home Parent? Here’s How to Develop a Healthy Work-Life Balance

Are You a Work From Home Parent? Here’s How to Develop a Healthy Work-Life Balance

Maybe, like me, you are a parent who does much of your work from home. If so, you are intimately familiar with the difficulties of managing a family and a career in the same location. The Pew Research Center states that up to 52% of parents having kids younger than 12 years report difficulties in striking a balance between work and childcare duties.  Fortunately, guest author Jason Kenner reached out to share helpful strategies to support you in achieving the elusive work-life balance.

 

1. Plan Each Day in Advance

Instead of waking up and facing whatever comes next, take the initiative to get organized the night before. Here’s a list of things I try to complete before going to bed each night:

Keep Meals Ready: This involves meal prepping in advance and portioning food in microwave-friendly boxes, making them ready to eat for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

Schedule Emails for Early Morning: Whether there’s a plan to be submitted or received, I schedule emails to the respective stakeholders the night before. This reduces the need to spend an hour sending emails first thing in the morning. The time saved can be used towards breakfast, getting kids ready for school, exercising, and other healthy activities.

Photo by Suzy Hazelwood on pexels

Create a To-do List: With a list in hand, I’m ready to attack the day from the get-go rather than having to chase deadlines.

Maintain a Routine: While it took some time to form good habits, once I did, it made everything easier. Completing the same task at the same time each day provides me with some much-needed predictability and control over actions and expectations.

 

2. Hire Professional Help

One thing my experience working from home has taught me is that working long hours and managing childcare together is not sustainable. Most of the time, I ended up giving each of these things less attention than they deserved, as there were simply too many things to do at once.

Photo by jamie he on pexels

The best way to get things off my plate was to hire professional help. With a babysitter, things become much easier to handle. Whether it be picking up kids for school or ensuring they each are on time, I do not need to worry about any of these tasks. As a result, I was able to focus solely on my work leading to an increase in productivity and stress reduction.

 

Finding a good babysitter can be a long process. But, the go-to place to start was my network of family and friends. Once I received references, I set up interviews, requested trials with those I felt were the right fit, and then went with the option I thought was the best for my family.

 

Photo by Karolina Grabowska on pexels

3. Keep Distractions to a Minimum

Being disciplined is key to developing a healthy work-life balance. However, even during my busiest days, I noticed that I wasted precious time on unproductive activities such as scrolling for hours on social media, watching YouTube videos, texting friends in between work, and more. Cumulatively these activities significantly delayed my work activities resulting in me working late on a daily basis.

Here’s how I was able to cut down on distractions:

Investing in a separate phone for work. Keeping my personal phone in a drawer away from my workstation notably reduced my time scrolling social media during work hours. The result? Faster completion of work and more time to spend with the kids.

Photo by Sarah Chai on pexels

Minimizing electronic use an hour before bed helped me to sleep on time and wake up early. As reported by Sleep Foundation, the blue light emitted from electronic screens such as mobile phones, laptops, etc., signals the brain to stay awake, making it difficult to fall asleep. But, getting an early start to the day helped me avoid immediately rushing into work and spending more time with family.

Rather than trying to put one responsibility over the other, I assign ample time to each activity to avoid being overwhelmed. During work hours, I try to isolate myself from distractions. Post-work, my goal is to disconnect from work-related activities by spending time with kids, enjoying a hobby, and getting some much-deserved rest.

 

Guest Author Jason Kenner is a dad who loves sports, adores his kids, and strives to be a good parent.  As he began researching the challenges he faced with his own children, he realized there are a lot of similarities between sports and parenting.  At On-Par Parent, he shares his best advice about both but doesn’t pretend to be a pro in either….and he promises to go easy on the sports puns!  

gifted
Favorite Books Parenting Podcasts The Alchemist's Heart Top Talent

How To Make Friends With Your Gifted Rainforest Mind – Part Two

gifted

Join another Truth-Telling episode with Paula Prober on The Alchemist’s Heart Podcast! Did YOU grow up as an unidentified gifted child? Do you have regular moments of guilt when you can’t seem to wrangle everything in your life? Imagine the relief you’ll feel as we gently and easily clear up misconceptions about your beautiful rainforest mind (or that of someone you love).

Let’s blow the lid off of preconceived notions about giftedness! There is a uniquely beautiful, complicated and enriching way of thinking and being that I bet you’ll relate to.

rainforest mind
Favorite Books Parenting Podcasts The Alchemist's Heart Top Talent

How To Embrace Your Beautiful Rainforest Mind – Part One

 

rainforest mindHave you been told you’re too sensitive? Do you hold high standards for yourself and have a deep need for beauty, balance, harmony? You may have a Rainforest Mind!

Get the inside scoop with alchemist Paula Prober, an expert on the social, emotional and spiritual needs of gifted children and adults.

Lest you think this doesn’t apply to you, THINK AGAIN. A surprising number of people have no idea they’re gifted.  WOW, are they startled when I press a copy of Your Rainforest Mind: A Guide to the Well-Being of Gifted Adults and Youth, into their hands! Stay tuned, because you’re about to learn something that can change your life . . .

Alchemy for Moms Humor Wisdom Flashbacks

A Mommy Muse Should Know Better

Mom-concierge-200x300You’d think I would know better. My youngest daughter was bouncing around, climbing my leg and being a naturally distracting (if adorable) three-year-old. Looking back, I recall a blessed moment of quiet when she discovered my wallet sitting on my desk. I remember thinking, “I’d better take that away before something gets lost,” and even reached out to take the new “toy” out of her hands. But those big blue eyes looked up at me beseechingly, and I let her keep the credit card she had plucked from my wallet clutched in her hands.