WAHM Wellness & Organization Center > Summer Time Management

Summer Time Management for Work at Home Moms

Sounds like a bit of a contradiction of terms… an oxymoron of sorts… Isn’t the point of summer to kick back, relax and not worry about time? So why do we need to talk about time management? Because we are work at home Moms and in the summer we have children at home with us. We have to make some decisions around our business, our family and summer... we need to deal with summer time management.

Depending on the nature of your business, summer may be a time where you can take it a bit easier. Or it could be insanely busy for you. By following these steps you will be able to figure out the best way to have a great summer with out sacrificing your business!

1 - Plan ahead – Look closely at your schedule now. Are there certain days or events that pop out for you? Do you have some important meetings, guests or travel for business? Are there certain events that take place in your city? Can your company take advantage of these?  Do you have visitors coming?

Is summer a busy time for your business? Or is it slower? Is fall busy? At what point do you need to pull out of summer mode and move into fall mode? Do already have any trips planned, kids events or holidays booked?

Mark all of these events on a main calendar (planner, pda, etc) so you can plan around them.

2 - Look at your business plan, marketing plan and goals. Determine which ones will affect your summer plan and include these on your calendar.

3 - Realistically look at your calendar now and decide what needs to be done in regards to time management. How does your schedule look? Do you need to arrange childcare?

Summer childcare can be so much more than babysitting – you may enroll your children in day camps, bible camps or summer camps. Zoos, amusement parks, colleges and churches all have programs. You can even often find a Mother’s helper – a student that can come in for a few hours a day while you work.

Do you have enough time to get everything done? Do you need a plan? A schedule or to ask for help?

4- Plan your time – schedule in work time, home work time (housework, lawn, garden, etc), arrange for childcare if necessary, and leave the rest blank.

5 - Leave it blank? Yes, summer should allow for spontaneity alternated with relaxation. Summer time management is about knowing what needs to get done, planning to do it and then enjoying the rest of the time. You may have a crazy busy week but that should be because the next week you are on holidays. You may want to work two full days and take three to hang out with your children. You may want to get up early and work hard so you can relax and BBQ in the evening.

6 - Create To Do lists for what must be done – Only put the really important things on them - the things that must be done to keep things running at the same level over the summer. It varies by business but we each have things that MUST be done and others that can wait.

You could even have a secondary list – an if list. The secondary list is ideas of things that you would like to do but will not make or break your business over the summer. Summer may not be the time to start a new marketing campaign or launch a new product. Put this on the fridge and IF the important things are done, you can move to this list. If they aren’t, no worries. If one becomes more important then move it to the regular list.

7 - Focus – if you make the effort to focus upon the task at hand, you are much more likely to get it done quickly and properly. Avoid hypertasking – trying to do so much at once that you appear busy but actually accomplish very little.

Summer is a great time to let go and allow your imagination to soar. Don’t over schedule yourself and don’t worry too much about time management. If you keep some basic ideas in mind – know what must be done and know what you want to do it will be a lot easier to avoid wasting time and procrastinating.

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Tracy Lyn Moland is an author, speaker and consultant specializing in improving the lifestyle of Mothers by providing solutions to them and to those that sell to them. To book Tracy Lyn to present visit http://www.TracyLynMoland.com.

©2004 This article was written exclusively for Internet Based Moms™ and may not be
re-published or copied without permission from Internet Based Moms™, except to print one copy for personal use. Comments and general questions about the article's content can be directed to the author.