Lightening the Load
For the past week, my internet has been all but non-functioning. Trying to get my paid blogs done was a real hassle, but it forced me to write fast and do my research faster, in the two or three minute blips that I had a signal. What did I do with the rest of the time?
I baked. I played cars with my toddler. I folded clothes and put away laundry. I scribbled business ideas in a notepad. I took a look at what I´ve done in 2007 and what I want to do 2008 and reevaluated my priorities.
See, as work at home moms, it is really easy to get caught up not just in work, but in the clutter that happens in every home. You need to be straightening up, washing dishes, getting assignments done, making sure the kids are fed, and this time of year, buying gifts and doing holiday baking. It´s really stressful and many of the things we stress out about really aren´t as vital as we might think.
For example, housework. It´s something that needs to be done, but if you are anxious and stressed because there are dishes in the sink . . . it might be time to readjust your priorities. How much time to do you waste worrying about housework? The solution depends on the mom, but for me, I decided this past week to hire a muchacha, a young girl to come in and clean, do the housework and occasionally keep an eye on the boys while I´m in the other room, working. For some, it might mean outsourcing the chore that you hate the most or that takes the longest, like laundry. Or you might want to have a talk with your dear husband about picking up the slack.
Now, once you have a little extra time . . . don´t waste it! Decide ahead of time what you are going to do with it. For example, my muchacha will be coming from 8-12, Monday through Friday, giving me four hours a day. I plan to spend 50% of that time working and the other 50% doing something fun with my boys. Obviously that will change over time, but for now it is just the right mix!
What can you do to lighten the load?
This post really resonated with me. I just recently got a house cleaner to come every 2 weeks. Now I just need to do the occasional spot clean of toddler crumbs. What I really need to do is see if the teenager down the street can play with my daughter for an hour after school twice a week. I keep putting off asking for some reason but could definitely use the time to get ahead of my site. Since I launched my main site on Monday I feel like I’m just barely staying on top of everything.
Congratulations on hiring a muchacha! Enjoy the extra time. How did you find her? Babysitters are hard to come by here, never mind someone that will do housework too! Good for you, enjoy!
Rose, I would highly recommend talking to that teen! I find that I´m reluctant to let someone else take my kids, even if I´m near because I feel that this is the reason I work from home. However, it´s important to get a little real work done, too and kids love having someone who is there specifically to entertain them!
Loralea, it is pretty easy to find someone here, though it sounds a bit racist, the indigenous girls here are very good at this type of job and don´t charge much. My husband simply talked to the muchacha who works for his cousin and she sent us her younger sister. We´ll see how it goes, I´m a little nervous about having someone else in the house all morning! There will probably be an update post on how to handle that.