Time management is hard. WAHM time management is ridiculously hard! Thankfully, I have discovered one secret to keep me on track lately. Can you guess what it is?

I have struggled with the time management concept my entire life, and the struggle only got worse once I became a SAHM (Stay At Home Mom, for those new to this particular brand of alphabet soup). My baby, C, was 10 months old when we moved out of the 24/7 “Dorm Mama” life to start building my husband’s career and let me focus on taking care of our family. That first year, I’m pretty sure I watched every G- and PG-rated movie and series available on Hulu and spent most every day in my pajamas, letting C play on the floor around my feet and toddle around our small duplex.

Not exactly the best use of my time. But, it seemed like anytime I tried to do anything more productive, like get on my computer for any reason, C was automatically in my face wanting me to play with her or wanting me to let her play with all the fun buttons, too. Sigh…

So, I just didn’t try to be productive. I got the laundry done – mostly. I got the dishes washed – generally. And we went outside and played twice a day – because when your child won’t sleep, you do whatever is necessary to wear her out! That pretty much sums up my productivity the past couple of years.

Transitioning from SAHM to WAHM

Now that C is a preschooler (AAAAHHHH!!!), she is playing more independently for longer stretches of time, and if she is otherwise occupied, I can actually pull out my computer and accomplish something. Huzzah! So, I started up a freelance resume-writing business to keep my Career Services skills in practice, and I moved my blog onto its own website (I feel so professional now!) with the goal of monetizing it and helping pay down our out-of-control medical debt and school loans.

So. Much. Work…

Welcome to the world of the WAHM (Work At Home Mom)! Starting a “real” blog is NOT for the faint of heart, folks! Instead of filling my day with Netflix (we switched from Hulu), coloring, and lounging, I had transitioned over to letting C watch Netflix and play around the living room, while I sat on the couch with my laptop and worked my tail off to get this site up and running and make sure I was doing everything “right.” (Because, as a Melancholy, is there really any other way??) I just couldn’t seem to STOP working.

What’s a Melancholy? What are you talking about?? Click over to my post about The Personalities to discover this awesome relational tool for yourself!

My Wake-Up Call

I realized I had a problem one night when I had asked for my husband’s opinion on something I was doing for the blog, and he replied, “Honestly, I think you’re working too hard. You’re not paying attention to C. And you’re not paying attention to me.”

Ouch!

At least I married an honest man, right? But, it did force me to stop and think about how I was spending my time. Loafing was no longer a problem, but now I had become a workaholic. Geesh… Does anyone offer a Time Management 101 class for WAHMs??

Solution A: schedules fix everything!

So, I did what any good Melancholy would do in my situation: I created a schedule. An uber detailed schedule. One that told me not only what times I was allowed to work during the day, but what C would be doing during those time (so she wasn’t on the TV all day, either) and what exactly I would be working on during those times. Because as my family motto says, anything worth doing is worth over-doing! (Yes, most of us ARE Melancholies.)

I posted my beautiful new schedule up on my kitchen wall along with all my other organizational attempts and decided the next day would go much more smoothly for my efforts.

And it did. Day 1 of the new schedule was perfection in time management. I knew what to do and when. I got my household chores done, I got my blogging to-do’s done. It was fantastic!

And then we hit Day 2… The skies were gray, it was freezing cold outside, and my motivation to do anything was nonexistent. Even the most awesome schedule cannot overcome Seasonal Affective issues, my friends. :/

I reverted back to not working at all. I struggled to be motivated enough to do even the basic chores and assignments I had listed on my fabulous, new schedule. Boo hiss…

Solution B: Utilize Kid Energy!

Since I was checking MY schedule periodically throughout the day (on the days I could convince myself to get moving at least ), C was forever asking me what I was looking at and what I was doing next. Tired of answering the same “What’s next, Momma?” question all day, I determined to make C her own schedule. Since she’s not reading, yet, though, I decided to make hers a very visual schedule with just her to-do’s on it. She was SO excited about choosing colors for the clocks and picking the best pictures for each activity! I knew my child was Choleric, but wowzers… Being able to choose her own schedule pictures! Heaven on earth! (Okay, so this child is definitely mine…)

After a couple days of sporadic work and C’s help, we finished her schedule, printed it out, and posted it between the foot of her bed and her bookshelf. (Her choice, obviously. Choleric child here!)

Every time C would ask me “What’s next, Momma?” I would simply reply, “I don’t know. Have you checked your schedule?” Her eyes would light up, and she would fly back to her room to search out her next activity. Then, she’d come running back to report on her findings: “It’s time to FOLD, Momma! Let’s GOOOO!!!” And off she’d race to our bedroom to commence the daily folding. (Bonus: now that we fold each day’s laundry at a specific time, my husband is super happy to not have to dig through a mound of clean clothes to find the bed every night!)

Secret Benefits for Solution B!

It took about two days of reminding C to check her schedule, and now she checks it regularly all by herself. It’s a new level of independence for her, and she is SO excited about it!

The biggest benefit of C having her own schedule, however, isn’t really for her. It’s for me! No matter how off I’m feeling that day, it’s really hard to ignore the infectious energy of a three-year-old yelling, “Come on, Momma! It’s time to clean!” or “It’s time for me to play quietly now, Momma. You go work.”

I’m pretty sure this isn’t quite what Isaiah meant when he said, “and a little child shall lead them” (Isaiah 11:6), but hey, I’m not complaining! My little “girl boss” gets to tell me what to do all day, and I get done everything that needs doing. We have finally discovered one secret to WAHM time management that works for us! Happy kiddo, happy momma. It doesn’t get much better than that!

I’m sure I will still have days where I just can’t seem to motivate myself to do anything productive. And I will probably still have days where I struggle to tear myself away from my computer long enough to get dinner on the table. BUT, now that we are employing our secret weapon, I am fairly confident those days will be fewer and farther between. Thank goodness for kiddos that help us with time management!

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A Quick Note from Laura:

One of the best ways I’ve found to make money as a stay-at-home mom is to become a Virtual Assistant. You don’t need any special skills to get started, and you can do what you need to do while your babies sleep. Doesn’t that sound AWESOME?

What you DO need, first and foremost, is a step-by-step guide to setting up your business legally AND finding your first clients. Here’s where I tell everyone to start when it comes to becoming a VA: the Become a Booked Out Virtual Assistant training by The Virtual Savvy.

All by itself, this training is CRAZY helpful in getting you going. As a bonus, they offer you a back-door to join The Savvy System (the program I used) to jumpstart your VA success and give you that proven, step-by-step, A-Z guide to starting, growing, and scaling your new VA business.

(It’s a phenomenally helpful and supportive program! Truly, I recommend it to EVERYONE who asks about how to make actual money from home! Plus, if you join through my affiliate link for the free training above, you’re invited to do mentoring with me, as well! 👍)

Secondly, if communication with clients is a struggle, I strongly encourage you to check out my Client Personality Puzzle Workbook.  

It walks you through every stage of client communication — from the discovery call to onboarding to troubleshooting those inevitable miscommunications that can be so frustrating and disheartening as a new VA.

And there you have it! Two tools to help you get started with a work-at-home virtual assistance business! If you have any questions or just want to chat about how to make a VA business or these tools work for you, I’m just an email away. Hit me up here!

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Have you ever implemented a schedule or routine with your kiddos? Do they love it or hate it? Does having your child know the routine help motivate you, too?

I’d love to hear any other tips or tricks you’ve come up with to keep yourself motivated as a SAHM or WAHM!