3 Tips to Managing a Business from Home with a Toddler

You know the feeling, you're busting your butt to run a successful business and then you look over at your baby playing by themselves and you feel it...the MOM GUILT. It's the worst sinking feeling, feeling like you're missing out on your child's life while you work. One day you feel like a successful business woman, getting things checked off the to do list. The next day, you spend lots of time with the kiddos and your business feels like it's falling behind. What a balancing act! Will it ever feel like I can give both aspects of my life equal attention and not feel guilt? That, my friends, I have not figured out yet. Peyton is only 15 months (gosh, I guess almost 16 months!!) and sometimes I still feel like I'm on square one.

I don't have it all figured out but I have learned a few tricks along the way that might help!

1. Find a daily routine and stick to it!

(Well, as best you can!) With Peyton still taking two naps a day, I can get ALOT of work done during those two naps if I sit down and stick to the to do list. I have figured out the things I can get done while she is awake and things I need to do while she's asleep. For me, during Peyton's first nap, I get my workout in and then start on a blog or updating my website/marketing materials with my newest work. Unfortunately Peyton's nap only lasts about 40 minutes. When she wakes up I make sure to put work away and we will read one of her books together or play in the nursery or backyard.

Depending on the day, if Peyton is content playing by herself for a little while, I will answer work emails on my phone and that tends to help ease my work anxiety a little bit!

During Peyton's second nap, I clean up the house, start dinner, and finish editing any photos that are still in the queue. By then, Peyton is back up again and I am done with work for the day. Whew! When did 7pm become MY bedtime?!

2. Get up EARLY!!

Okay okay, I'm talking to myself here. Sometimes I just need to sleep in an extra hour, but if I am feeling behind on work, this is a great time to get caught up! Giving myself an extra hour and a half before Peyton wakes up is such a huge help and gets my day started on the right foot.

3. Healthy Time Management

Last but not least, a huge help I have found with mini sessions is to compile as many of them as you can back to back. Heading out to a shoot requires ALOT of time, effort and travel time. Getting myself and Peyton ready takes at least an hour. So doing that every day for a 30 minute shoot takes a lot more time than having all those sessions in one day and getting them knocked out. You could give yourself about an extra 4 hours a week just stacking your shoots in one day!

There you have it folks, I don't have all the answers but these little tweaks I have made in my daily routine have helped me greatly with having a healthy work/life balance with a toddler. Do you have any ideas you would add on the list? Leave it in the comments below!