7 productivity mistakes you may be making as a work-at-home mom (And how to overcome it)

Working from home with kids running around and being productive at the same time can be tough – Really tough. As a mom, one would easily have millions of work to do in addition to those trillions of work your kids are demanding from you. 

I have too! That abandoned laundry pile, dirty dishes, and the half-cooked veggies which I left as-is to attend to the crying baby (Phew…).  Furthermore, adding professional chores to the mix makes things more challenging.

If you are a work from home mom or aspiring to be a one but struggling to fit in the work to your already busy day, then this is for you. 

It’s not very long ago that I realized the need to balance my work and personal life timings. Because, man, it is not just me who is affected by my unproductive chaotic time management skills, but my baby too. 

All that little soul needs is my attention which has been scattered here and there between work and home.

But, I didn’t want that to continue. I have 2 babies in my hand – my real blood and soul baby and my new budding copywriting business. That is when I analyzed myself and came out with a list of habits that are affecting my productivity.

I tried – and am still trying – hard to come over these habits. And trust me, I could see effective changes already. Yes! I have peace of mind. I have undistracted time to spend with my little one. My chores are getting done faster and more perfectly than ever before. 

So, I thought I should list out those habits here that have been holding me back and reducing my potential.  And what I did to overcome it.

An unattended To-do list :

How many of you are used to waking up one fine day and making resolutions to maintain a to-do list, but waiving the practice in a month or a week or even a day? 

I did the same too. So many times. 

All my goals and objectives would seem so near and achievable when I start to make a to-do list. Eventually, that enthusiasm fades off in the hassle of daily life. 

But these tips helped me continue with the to-do listing habit for over a month now. Hope it goes strong for the days to come!

An unattended to do list
  • Try different methods of having a to-do list. But stick to what suits you – no matter how old fashioned or out-of-trend it is. Try these and choose what you like:
    • Bullet journal to-do list – time consuming but fun and engaging!
    • Paper and pen to-do list – simple and fast
    • Mobile notes or apps – on-the-go to-do list making is possible
  • Plan the to-do list at the time that better fits you. If planning the day before doesn’t work out for you, go plan it during the morning. There is no wrong in going against what most productivity tips say. For someone like me, morning has been the best time to keep the mind fresh to plan for the day based on the current mood. 
  • Adding every small detail to the list. From peeling off onion skin to completing a blog post, everything goes into the to-do list. This way I just have my mind clear to just do the chores and not bothering it with the task of remembering. Seems silly, but believe me it works! 
  • Time specific or just a generic list. With a baby who doesn’t follow a proper routine, time-specific to-do lists did not work for me. So I make a generic list that I do throughout the day. 

Not sorting out the productive hours:

As a new mom, I struggled a lot initially to focus my mind on some work (I used to blame those postpartum hormones). But only later did I realize that – there were some parts of the day that would be favorable to do focused work. The key is to find that particular productive hour when you can do any task with enthusiasm.

Well, mine is during my baby’s morning nap times! 

Not prioritizing the tasks:

I know this was the worst mistake I have been making all along. Most days, I would start with a less important task on my most productive hour and spend the whole time working on it. 

Consequently, I would have less time for the high priority task. 

So, it is always better to prioritize the list of works you have. I have now started to use those productive hours of mine – when the baby is asleep – to work on these high priority chores. 

Procrastination:

“I’ll do it later.”

“I don’t know how.”

“Where to start?”

“What if it’s not perfect?”

“I still have time.”

Does any of that sound like you?

Then you would probably be procrastinating.

Procrastination can be dangerous because it will deprive you of using your opportunity effectively.

So, it is very important to consciously bust off  this unproductive habit and get back on track.

Breaking bigger tasks to manageable chunks, focusing on what is very important and having a clear idea of what we are about to do can help eradicate this habit.

productivity mistakes by work from home moms

Having larger tasks:

With a busy baby to attend to, it is not always possible to get some dedicated hours of work at a particular time. Mostly, the works are squeezed in to suit the baby’s schedule.

Hoping to complete an hour long task in this teeny gap is just not clever. Hence, make sure to break your works to small 10 minutes tasks that can easily be accommodated in the short intervals.

Not asking for help:

Mommyhood is difficult. Accept it. Embrace it. 

There may be days when your baby is terribly cranky and clingy for the whole day. Or your hormones kick up leaving you depressed and frustrated. Or there can be tons of other reasons to feel off track.

It is never wrong to ask for help from your partner or family members to share the parenting tasks. You could even accept the fact to your boss or a colleague and seek help.

Remember, asking for help isn’t giving up. It’s refusing to give up.

Multitasking:

I could recall myself mentioning ‘Multitasking’ as one of my talents in my high school sample resume. How insane have I been then?

Seriously, it took me a very long time to realise that multitasking is doing more damage than good. Every time I multitask, one or the other work goes awfully wrong and the whole concept backfires making me spend more time than needed.

Research shows that doing multiple tasks at a time actually reduces productivity by 40%. 

Hence, make sure to focus on one thing at a time for better results and forget multitasking as far as possible.

With all these said, here is one last thing that you should definitely do every single day without fail. 

Appreciate! Yeah, Appreciate yourself for what you have been able to do this day! Don’t fret about what you haven’t done. Celebrate what you accomplished and prepare for the next day.

Hope these helped you in some way. 

Until next post… Buh Bye!! 

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