What I mean is this: do you constantly need to have a “mommy ear” out for what’s going on with your kids, while you’re trying to do some work on that laptop? My answer is yes and no – depending on your season. Here’s why.
See, if you have big kids – the 9 or 10-year-olds, or preteens or even teenagers, I don’t think you need to be hovering over them every second. You’ve trained them better than this. They’re more independent than this. So it’s perfectly okay if you leave them to their own devices in the morning, with standing instructions to make beds, eat breakfast, brush teeth, get started on their first 3 homeschooling subjects, etc.
Meanwhile, you’re knocking out that launch email series or scripting your next podcast episode or planning next quarter with your VA. I don’t think that’s bad at all.
That’s not ignoring your kids; that’s empowering them. And then you come along in a few hours to take a long lunch break and say, how’s it going with the science? Need any help with that? Did you feel like you’re getting the math? Are you ready for me to check it, just the first section to make sure you’re on the right track? What was cool about history this morning? And you let them talk, and share, and just spend time with them. (Meanwhile, you’re shoveling food down your gullet – or they are – and the cuddly ones are glued to your side.)
This is a major shift, by the way, to see your older kids and yourself as coworkers at home. But it’s one you can and should aspire to, when the time comes.
Now, the flip side of this, of course, is that some of you *aren’t* in a season of big kids or independent kids. You may have the business and the baby in the bouncer thing going on. Or perhaps it’s totally rambunctious twin boys, who need eyes on every 2 minutes while they’re awake, to make sure they don’t destroy your back yard.
Regardless, it’s not a problem if you need to be extra intentional – extra distracted, even – during your work hours for this season. I’ve done it myself. The baby on your lap, you typing away, or sitting on a blanket next to you with some teething toys and stacking rings – this is distractible work, yet it’s what you can get done during this season. Right now, if you want to work when she’s awake, this is what it looks like.
And that’s okay. So this is why compartmentalizing isn’t a bad thing in your business (or #momlife) – why you can pop into the next room and close the door and work for a few hours *when your kids are awake* during some seasons – and why that maybe isn’t possible for you yet.
No shame, guilt, or pressure about where you are. It’s all in how you handle the life season you’ve got available. You’ll learn to bang out emails while keeping an eye on your rolling chew-toy-bundle if that’s where you need to be right now.
And you can look forward to not supervising your kids every single second you’re both at home in the future. It’s all good. We’re moms. This is what work at home business looks like.
