In today’s episode, I am telling you my secrets to being successful during our current life situation. Whether your kids are 100% virtual, hybrid or in-person, this is what I am doing to make the most of my time! 

Most of this stems from time spent with Chelsi Jo working on systems for my business and home life. If you find that you are stuck in a rut, I highly recommend that you reach out to her as well. She just launched a course, Systemize Your Biz. I have personally gone through it and wouldn’t be where I am today without her systems!

  

full transcription below

Speaker 1 (00:00):

Hey, business-minded mama. I’m so grateful that you are here and that you are ready to grow enough, authentic community and scale your impact. Hi, I’m Stephanie, Parenza the voice behind business-minded mama podcast, local and small business advocate and entrepreneur. I’ve created this community because I want to help business-minded mamas. Like you build your dream business by finding your authentic community and gaining control and clarity on the financial aspects of your business by managing your own books. Now let’s tap into your own potential.

Speaker 2 (00:43):

Hey there. All right. I am so excited to be back and on a regular schedule. Fingers crossed. Um, all of that depends on this topic that I’m actually talking about, um, here today, which, uh, is so real right now in today’s world. And many of us as moms are juggling so much, um, whether, you know, what BR our kids at home, uh, trying to be their teacher and still manage our business and still manage our home outside of being a teacher, um, still allowing our spouse to work from an at home situation. It can be a lot to handle. And, um, so what I wanted to do today was to talk about the things that I learned and then incorporated during the second half of the last school year. Um, and even this summer, even though the kids technically were out of school at that point, some of the things that I did that helped me in my business and my workflow, and then what I’m doing going forward.

Speaker 2 (01:57):

Now, I am fortunate to have two of my kids currently in person in school. And my third should be getting there in the next couple of weeks, but I’m still gonna talk about what it looks like right now for me. And then what it’s going to look like for me and what I’m going to do when they’re all in school. Um, as I prepare for what could turn into an all virtual situation. So I hope that in today’s world, these things that I’ve found that have worked for us will be helpful to you. And in general, just give yourself grace know that everyone around you is struggling in some capacity. Maybe it looks different, but they’re struggling with similar things, uh, juggling everything, um, from their home. So I want to, uh, go back to, uh, the last school year. So back into the spring, when everything, you know, down and it kind of happened so quickly that nobody was really able to like, you know, figure out how to handle it.

Speaker 2 (03:08):

At first, you know, we all just stumbled through this. And what I found is that creating a division between my business and, um, my kids was our family was the single most important thing. All right, because here’s why, if I was trying to do both at once, then I was completely stressing myself out, which then stress my kids out, which then led to screaming and yelling and tears and nothing getting done. Right? So the first thing I want you to to do is just create division in your day. And so how that worked for me is that I then had to get up earlier than I had been. So I set my alarm for between four 30 and five every day, so that I could at least get two to three hours of work in before my kids were awake. This was going to be my most productive part of the day, honestly.

Speaker 2 (04:12):

So it was super important that I created that habit. And because I was forced to create that habit, it was actually really easy for me. Ironically, I had already been like working on getting there over the last like year, but because there was no pressure, it wasn’t happening now, this happened and like the next day. Perfect. Got it. It’s a habit now. I’m, I’ve been sticking to that habit. And it is still by far, probably my most productive part of the day. So what I had to do because of that is, um, make sure I was communicating with my spouse. He knew because he didn’t need to start his work day, that early, that he was in charge of getting the kids out of bed, getting them breakfast and dressed all those things. So that when I was done with my work block, that I could then easily transition take over and he could have the rest of the day, uh, to do his work while I took over the kids and the teaching duties and all of that stuff. So getting up early or staying up late, whatever makes the most sense for you know, that when your kids are asleep, that means that you need to be doing as much work as possible and communicate with your spouse about that. So that they’re on the same page. Um, hopefully, uh, they’re willing to help and it will make a world of difference. The other thing that would be key, especially if you are serving clients or customers, is to make them aware of it.

Speaker 3 (05:39):

Situation, which remains

Speaker 2 (05:41):

Finding you, everyone is in some sort of situation right now. So hopefully they are willing to work with you on this, just reminding them that during certain hours, you will be unavailable to them. It doesn’t need to be the entire day, but at least give yourself and your kids, let’s say three hours, nine to noon of like an divided attention. So you’re giving them all of your attention. Your phone is on airplane mode and the electronics are off and you are just being with them, helping them get all of their schoolwork done, whatever that schedule needs to look like for you. Maybe it’s an hour here and then you have a break and then another hour, whatever makes the most sense for whatever your school has provided for the virtual situation. Just make it clear to your customers that you will not be available at this time during the day, but we’ll respond to them.

Speaker 2 (06:32):

You know, during this part of the day setting clear expectations will help this process be more seamless. Those were the two things that helped me the most when it came to the last half of last school year now transitioning into summer. Obviously there was a whole lot less structure, but what I found, and I know that not everyone can do this. And, uh, it did tie us up more, um, financially when we did it, but hiring help and this can look so different. And if you’re not comfortable with that, that’s OK. Uh, maybe you’re comfortable asking a family member, um, for even just three hours a week, I could give you so simple, uh, do what you can, you could either hire help, or like I said, ask a family member. I’m sure somebody hopefully would give you just a couple hours of their time.

Speaker 2 (07:27):

And then just know that during that time you need to be fully focused on what needs to get done, prioritize and make sure that your phone is put away. Um, you only have out what you need to get your business tasks done or personal tasks, if that is what your focus is for that day. Now that we’ve entered into the school phase over here again. And as of right now, fingers crossed the older two are in school in person full time. So I have just my youngest, he’s almost three he’s with me. And, um, while I’m so excited to get back into my full time routine, uh, he’s still here. So this is what I’m doing for the next couple of weeks. And I’ve done it for just a few days now and it, but it’s been like very helpful. So I’m using my I’m trying to, uh, keep my daycare babysitter fees down to a minimum.

Speaker 2 (08:25):

So I am going to have at least a day or two, where I asked for help and I pay for that help. Or I asked my mom to help me for free. I will have some of that. So that isn’t, and that is included in my plan for the next couple of weeks. But on the days that I do have him, I am going to take full advantage of my two hours that I have a lot at, at my gym. So I am not going to the gym to work out. I’m going to the gym to set in their lovely, uh, open area at a, and I will work for two hours because

Speaker 4 (08:58):

Why not?

Speaker 2 (09:00):

So what I want, I want you to take from this is to be creative. Okay. So you’re doing your early morning or your late night now, maybe you’ve reached out to a family member or friend, and you’ve asked for a few hours there. Well, where else can you pull some time? So around in our area, like I said, I’m going to take advantage of my, uh, two hours at my gym, which I can use daily. Um, there’s also some great, uh, we have a great little workspace where it’s kid friendly and it’s safe for them to go and just like create a ruckus while you attempt to do some work. So figure out places like that, or maybe there’s, um, I don’t know, maybe there’s a friendly coffee shop or where you could just go and set, and maybe you’re only able to do emails, but just kind of think outside the box work, where can you take advantage of time, even if it’s 30 minutes here or there without setting them in front of, of electronics, because that’s really where the struggle is, right?

Speaker 2 (09:55):

We are so, uh, torn on what to do because we need to get our work done, but we don’t want our kids to be watching TV all day. Right? So that was my biggest struggle. And so implementing some of these things has helped to lessen their screen time. And now I am like working on getting very strict about it. Um, and, and setting these boundaries for myself has been, has proved to be the most helpful. So now looking forward when all three of my kids will be, um, in person full time, which, you know, obviously school hours are not completely full time in, uh, in works, uh, standards, which would be 40 hours a week. I’m not, I’m not doing that, but I have, um, mapped out how much time I have each day. And because I know I’m going to have approximately 25 hours in the work day, uh, for that week, um, I will probably fill in some time outside of those, you know, as the kids are sleeping, but I have five hours each day, um, between school drop off and school pickup.

Speaker 2 (11:00):

And I know that while I have that, now it could easily go wait tomorrow. So I am, uh, promising myself that I am going to be fully focused during my short time. I have to work each day because planning now for what could happen in the future will be so helpful. So if I can just focus and you can just stay on top of your, to do list and your tasks that need to be done, maybe even work ahead, maybe you don’t have a heavy workload right now. Why not work ahead just in case, you know, use the time you have right now to work ahead so that if we are to enter that situation again, you won’t be as stressed. These are the things that I think will help you through this crazy season that we are going through as moms and as business owners.

Speaker 2 (11:54):

And it’s so important. And I’m going to do a small little plug here, which she has no idea, but, um, Chelsea Jo, with her systemize, your biz has tremendously helped me with this with my workflow and being able to fully focus during the short amount of blocks of time that I have. And so if you struggle and you don’t think that you can do this on your own, I highly recommend you reach out to her. I’ll put her information in the show notes. Like I said, she has no idea that I’m shouting out, but I think it’s so important, especially during this time that you have systems in place in order to get the most out of your time, because our time is limited right now, it is so limited. And we don’t know that we’re going to have that time tomorrow. Honestly, we don’t.

Speaker 2 (12:38):

So start prepping now start focusing in find little bits and little bits of time here and there when you can and make sure you’re creating that division between your work and your personal family life, so that things are less stressed in your house, so that things move smoother in your house. Um, and I promise you, we will all get through this. We are here for each other, if you need any help, um, with anything, anything business related, motherhood related, especially right now with everything going on, uh, school, starting back up, if you’re in a virtual situation and you want to just talk to someone, please, please reach out to me, send me a voice DM on Instagram, um, at Stephanie Parenza or shoot me an email or a message on Facebook. Come join our Facebook group, um, and ask questions there. We’d love to see you there.

Speaker 2 (13:35):

I just went live today and answered a couple common questions, questions that I’ve been getting in my private messages. And so I hope to do that more often answer questions there to help you take control of your business, whether that be your bookkeeping or just getting it started, or just, you know, maintaining it during this crazy time where, all right, so that is it for this week. I cannot believe it is Thursday already. Uh, so I guess I’ll see you all next week and I hope you have a wonderful long weekend, uh, live it with your family. Step away from your phone, step away from your business. If you can step away from all of that and just soak in all the time with your family, uh, it’s going to be a beautiful weekend and I will see you all next week.

Speaker 1 (14:20):

Did you like what you heard on today’s podcast or do you know a business minded mama that could benefit from hearing this, take a screenshot and share best with your community? And don’t forget to give me a review, want to chat more by me on Facebook and the business mind and momma Facebook page or on Instagram at misses and SIS or through my website, www dot business-minded moma.com.