Today’s post is full of tips and tools that will help you survive summer break when you work at home. They will help you to maintain your sanity, continue to grow your business, and enjoy some much-needed family fun time this summer!
How to Survive Summer Break When You Work at Home
Summer break brings a special set of challenges to business owners who work at home. You’re torn between spending fun time with your kids. Your kids may not understand why you aren’t available to them at a moment’s notice. But there are a few things you can do to survive summer break when you work at home.
How This Post Came About
The past few weeks have been INSANE for us….
First, there was a visit from our daughter, my son’s graduation, a graduation party, a week of company and “so-called” vacation (more on that later), and the start of summer break. It was a hot, messy, broiling recipe for disaster!
One evening, in the midst of the chaos, hundreds of interruptions, and yet another day of a to-do list devoid of check marks (and, more importantly, tasks that didn’t get done), I broke. I threw a minor hissy fit (or major one, depending on who you ask), packed my computer bag, and told my husband I was getting out of dodge for the evening.
That night I spent four glorious hours in the community quiet room at a local library and got more done than I’d gotten done ALL week. I knocked out a huge chunk of blog work. I came back refreshed, calm, less stressed, and just a little contrite for letting things get so out of hand.
On the night of the Great Mom Breakdown of 2018 (as it has come to be called, much to my dismay), we were only THREE days into summer break. Oh, snap. *hand to forehead*
I knew I needed to formulate a better plan and implement better strategies if I, and we as a family, were going to survive the summer.
This post is the result of the Great Mom Breakdown of 2018 and the research I did to formulate a plan and fill my toolbox with strategies.
A Room with a Door
If at all possible, move your office into a room with a door.
Push your bed into the corner. Store the laundry baskets elsewhere. Clear out a closet.
Having a door to close will do a few things for you:
- It will minimize distractions,
- After a little prep work and more than a few reminders, your “office” door will become a signal to your kids that you are not to be disturbed unless someone is dead, dying, bleeding, or on fire. See more below.
- Closing your office door will also become a signal to you that it’s time to get down to business.
Do whatever needs to be done to relocate your workspace to a room with a door, even if it’s just for the summer.
Establish Work Hours
Establish summer work hours and post them for everyone to see. This printable might be helpful.
My Office Hours_Calyx and Corolla
Having office hours set ahead of time gives your kids (and sometimes your husband) an end to the madness. They know when they can pelt you with questions, concerns, and requests. A working (at home) parent’s job is never done.
Let Printables Do the Talking
Just this week I pulled out one of my favorite and most useful tools for working at home: A Do Not Disturb sign.
Do Not Disturb_Calyx and Corolla
Although my kids are teenagers and they understand why I’m working (“You want to go to college and play club volleyball, right?!”), they still need a reminder that they can’t just barrel into my office when the door is closed. A Do Not Disturb sign does the trick without any fights or arguments (Can I get an “Amen?!”).
But there’s one more printable that I’ve found to be the magic ingredient in keeping my work time interruption free, during summer break and beyond: the “I’ll Be Done Working At” printable.
Quitting Time_Calyx and Corolla
I put this printable in a plastic page protector and write the time I’ll be done working in wipe off marker (in case they missed my clearly posted office hours).
It might be a quick break I’m planning to take or the conclusion of my work time for the day, but there’s an end in sight (literally) for my kids.
Put Your Kids to Work
Kids like to feel involved with what you’re doing, and they like to feel helpful.
Are there tasks they could complete for you?
I’ve hired my kids to compile social media metrics data for me, file papers, sort and purge and organize, scan documents, take over household duties if I’m on deadline, fill my Pinterest queue, schedule my social media posts, complete blog post research, and many more tasks that freed up time for me to get my pressing work completed.
My kids learned valuable work skills, I received some much-needed help, and we felt more connected because we worked toward common goals. One day we worked together to finish up the day’s work so that we could go to the water park, another day we wanted to go hiking, and yet another we worked our behinds off so that we could leave early for our annual cabin trip.
Recruit your kids, get some much-needed help, and teach your kids a few skills and let them be a part of your business success!
Get Some Help
Call in the cavalry, whether that’s family, friends, or a hired hand!
Asking for help, trading, or hiring someone for the summer can help you to be more productive and less distracted, so that you can get to summer family fun faster!
Don’t let frustration, overwhelm, and stress ruin your summer. Implement these summer survival tips and tools to survive summer break when you work at home!
Pin It
Don’t forget to pin this post!
Related Posts
If you found today’s post helpful, you might enjoy these related posts:
- How to Get Your Kids Involved in Your Home Business
- 5 Essential Morning Routine Elements
- How to Write a Better To-Do List and Actually Get Your To-Do’s DONE!
Make it a fun and productive summer!
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