Motivation Tips
If you're a work-at-home mom, your challenges to productivity are increased exponentially with the children's schedules and needs. If you add pets to the mix, you're truly in for a challenge to your productivity.
Here are a few tips I have learned over the years of working at home:
1. Keep first things first.
Your family must always be the highest priority. They will be with you for about eighteen years which is a relatively short time. I can say that because mine are grown up and gone now. When they were little I thought the raising of them would never end, but now I understand what those people meant who said, "They grow up so fast." I miss them terribly, but dedicated myself to shaping them into very responsible, contributing adults.
2. Keep your goals in front of you.
When you are having a bad day or just cannot concentrate on what you need to do to get your work accomplished, pull out that list of goals you made for yourself when you started. Whether that list is in your head or on paper, remembering why you decided to work at home is going to keep you focused. Remember your why! My why has always been financial independence and security - I don't want stuff - I just want to be free from working 40 hours/week for someone else. Keeping that in front of me keeps me working more consistently.
3. Keep a list of tasks for each day.
While your goals are long-term, your tasks are daily. Make a list each morning of what you need to do today to make money. Do you need to place ads? Do you need to make phone calls? Do you need to purchase product? Whatever it is that you do to make money, make a list of doable tasks for each day. Check them off as you complete them. If your list is longer than your day, don't get discouraged if you didn't complete the task list; focus on celebrating what you did accomplish and put the remainder of the list on tomorrow's tasks.
Stay disciplined in making these daily lists. The collection of these completed tasks over days, weeks, months, years is going to pay off in very big ways. This takes incredible discipline and patience because you may not see an immediate result from the tiniest task, but over time they will pile up into tremendous pay-out.
4. Keep doing what makes you money.
When you're a busy mom working at home, the distractions that compete for your time and attention are endless. Your daily task list should include only the things that make you money. Yes, the laundry is piling up and there are dishes in the sink screaming your name, but those things don't put cash in your pocket - your work does. Spending half an hour in the morning writing an ezine article will put cash in your pocket. Calling your list of contacts for and hour will put cash in your pocket. Placing free ads on the net for an hour will put cash in your pocket. You get the idea - ask yourself if what you're doing will eventually put cash in your pocket. If the answer is 'yes', then do it with your full attention.
You have my enthusiastic applause for the balancing act you perform on a daily basis! I hope these few points drawn from my well of wisdom helps you have a more productive day today, tomorrow, next week, etc.
Melissa Schuerer has worked at home off and on for the past twenty years. She is currently working her way back home while she works as an event planner in Colorado Springs. Melissa raised two children while working multiple income streams and volunteering for endless projects - she knows a thing or two about the circus-act of raising kids and earning an income.
