Successful Working From Home With Kids – 50 Tips

Running a photography business while juggling other commitments – whether that is a full time job or trying to manage working from home with kids- can be tricky.  These are our top 50 tips on handling it successfully.

Since this blog post, a few of you have emailed to ask me how, exactly, I found the time to write an entire book.

For those of you who don’t know, I have two tiny girls, aged 1 and 2, and as well as my own successful photography business I am editor of the FPA, and write for the wonderful film blog 35to220.com as their writer + marketing consultant, and I also worked this summer for a beautiful wedding blog as a consultant Marketing Advisor.

I am also a wife and we somehow make date nights a twice a week priority. I also mentor other photographers.

It’s safe to say that I have a full and varied life, and that it takes some strong management techniques to make it all work together.

So I wanted to share this post in the hope that it might be helpful to those of you with little ones- but some of them might also help you if you have another job, or you’re juggling study, or just generally if you struggle with time management overall.

This one is pretty personal – I wanted to show you that you can do it even if you think you can’t.

Think you really can’t find the time to write a book, or think it’s almost impossible to run your business with all of the heart + soul that it deserves and still be a good parent?

I thought that I wouldn’t be able to cope with a second child whilst running a business.

When we found out we were expecting another baby, when Istria was just 9 months old, my first feeling was one of panic.

Not joy, no elation, no celebration of the blessing of new life.  Just sheer and complete panic. ‘

I run a business’ I sobbed ‘I just won’t be able to manage with two! There is just no way I can do it!’

Even reading that makes me hugely sad and I am sat here typing with tears in my eyes.

I’m so thankful that reached that turning point where I found enough grit and determination within myself to say – actually, I can do it.  That I have done it once and I can do it again.  The acceptance to embrace that yes, it might be harder in some ways; and the knowledge that it is ok that it will be harder. Harder, but not impossible. 

We are all created with huge reserves of inner strength and we are all much stronger than we think we are.

I have been in love with her since the day she was born.

Summer is a mischievous little monkey, very different to her elder sister who is cautious and guarded and very vocal. Summer is intent on climbing, scrambling, and smiling at everyone she meets.  She has an absolutely heartbreaking smile, and I am so thankful that it lights up our world, everyday.

She fought to come into the world, fought to be chosen, fought to be loved and accepted.  I have gone from definitely not wanting another child to considering having three or even four, because of her.  Summer has taught me that we are capable of far more than we dream of, and that it is often fear that holds us back from embracing our blessings- and discovering unimagined happiness.  However, that’s not to say that it’s always easy.  Being a working Mother of 2 baby girls- aged 2 and almost one- is sometimes really, really hard.

But you manage.  You cope and you manage and you organise and plan and you fail and you do any and all of the above things, because the key is in the word do. You just do it.

I am a firm believer in if you want something badly enough, you absolutely have the power and potential to make it happen. Don’t be fearful of the unexpected and the appearingly unsurmountable.  Whether that is a baby (or 2, or 3 or 4) or full time work or a setback or a problem you just can’t seem to solve… You can do it.   You really and truly can.

{Thank you to my beautiful daughter, Summer-Mireille, for inspiring this post} Here is how I do it.

50 Ways To Manage Successfully Working From Home With Kids

This list is tailored towards young children and babies, but please free to add your own tips into the comments if you have older children.  I’d love to make this a useful and shareable resource!

1. Toys + books.  Having an arsenal of absorbing toys and books to hand helped me carve out 20 minutes here and there which enabled me to reply to emails or whatever other quick task I needed to do. 

2. Childcare  I haven’t utilised the paid childcare option very much as for me, one of the main reasons I want to run a successful business is so I don’t have to put them into full time childcare.  However, I have had family members help.  My mama has the girls every other Saturday so that I can shoot a wedding or go and sit in a nearby cafe and get a full day of work done.  Find whatever works for you; whether that is a few afternoons in a nursery if that’s what you feel comfortable with or is your main option, or utilise very close friends and family members.  

3. Routine This worked really well when I had just one baby- she napped, I worked.  When I had two, routine mainly went out of the window and I worked when they were asleep in the evenings and when I had help.  And no, I don’t have babies that sleep well.  You just need to be disciplined about not collapsing in front of the tv in exhaustion when bedtime finally arrives, instead making the most of the time you have. 

4. Scheduling Schedule your actual workload so you don’t just end up using facebook and email (the easy option) during the periods of work time that you have.  I have one day as my blogging day, when I write all of my posts and resize and upload all of my images.  I also have a day which is photo-day, when I check my client communication and calendars and edit anything I need to edit. Scheduling helps you to stay on track with all of your tasks. 

5. Breaktime.  Yes, I know you don’t get chance to even finish a cup of tea let alone have a breaktime.  But what I mean is, don’t keep your devices on at all times.  You need to switch off at the very least at mealtimes and when you are having playtime with baby, or you will never be able to be fully present in the moment with your child, and you’ll also be working at your least productive; being reactive rather than proactive.  

6. Productivity Apps.  I have a ton of these saved to my mobile, which means that I am able to work when I am out and about.  Baby fallen asleep in the car? Finish off a blog post with the WordPress App, or check my emails with the Gmail app.  Need to shorten links and tweet or fb them? Phone fingers gets it done even faster than using a full screen with the bit.ly app.  I check my email subscribers and newsletter campaigns with Mailchimp, stats with Fishead Analytics, and download and upload images with the Dropbox app.  I also check my print orders and sales with Instaproofs.  Bloglovin helps me to follow other blogs and I much prefer using their app than their actual online reader. Find these apps and others that work for you to help manage your time. 

7. Self care – When you are looking after yourself, your energy levels and confidence stay high.  I know sometimes it seems impossible to even shower for five minutes- I’ve been there when I’ve lived at home in my pjs for a week and barely moved from the sofa, feeling like some insignificant feeding machine.  But do what you need to do to stay on top form.  Buy in tons of fruit and veg on your grocery shop.  Take your kids into the shower with you.  Etc.

8. Discipline – this is a tough one! You must be disciplined with your work time.  The key is often priority- what can you prioritise over worktime? For me it’s my housework.  My house often resembles a toddler explosion, but I can live with that because my family, children, and work are my priority.  Decide on your priorities, and stick to them. 

9. Saying no to coffee/visitors during your work time.  Your work time is your work time. As above but I know if you work from home, this can be a killer.  It’s hard to turn down invites and play dates.

10. Being selective about what you attend. Eg pick one baby group.  This links in to the above.  Your child will not suffer if they don’t go to a baby group every single day! And neither will you, generally.  I think I went to 2 baby groups in the whole of Istria’s first year and she is a happy, confident, sociable girl. 

11. Kill comparisons.  Goes without saying.  The second you look to what someone else/ someone else’s child is doing / achieving, you will feel inadequate.  Don’t bother. 

12. Use Pinterest to find activities aka distraction & absorption tools for babies.  I get so many ideas for how to keep the girls entertained from Pinterest! It is literally brilliant.  Start a pinboard of resources and ideas.  You’ll never be stuck for practical ways to entertain them. 

13. 3 task trick – Choose 3 achievable tasks that you would like to complete by the end of the day.  No more.  This takes away those endless lists and the feeling that you’re not getting anything done.  Slow + steady progress is better than none + procrastination! 

14. Stay off social media! Give yourself set social media times so that it doesn’t creep into- and takeover- your whole life.  Your children will thank you for it. 

15. Kill procrastination.  

16. Multi – task. Breastfeeding and baby is sleepy? Write a blog post on your phone using an app.  Baby naptime? Sit in a coffee shop and read some business books. Etc.  Yes, I’ve done both of these, and no, they don’t make me a bad mother.  I love cuddling my babies more than anything- I’m a huge fan of attachment parenting.  But when baby is asleep, there is no harm in looking at your phone instead of gazing at their sleeping face. 

17. Work during everyone else’s playtime.  I don’t mean your babies playtime.  I mean your friends.  Yep, sometimes you will feel like the social leper.  Sometimes you will marvel at the fact you have any friends left.  But your true friends- they get it.  They understand. They really do. Just make sure you attend some things- the important things.  I attended my goddaughters birthday party like a sleep deprived zombie, thanks to staying up all night long finishing off my first book. But I made it. I was there. Because it was important.

18. Be the queen of the efficient email  Tim Ferris in his book The Four Hour work week says something like no email should ever be more than six lines long.  Ever.  I struggle with this, but bearing it in mind made me a lot better at sending the emails that don’t need a big long response. 

19. Bathtime = my reading time.  I read business + marketing books in the bath. Ditto photography books.  When I ran my accessories company, I used to read books about silversmithing and lacemaking.  Bathtime is always a time I look forward to as a relaxy time for me, as well as chance to expand and inspire my knowledge. 

20. Invest in your education.  THIS IS HUGE.  Every month I spend a portion of my income on courses, books, mentoring, designed to grow my education within my field.  You cannot invest in yourself enough. 

21. Set aside specific working hours and specific play time.  When Istria was little I used to have the whole of Wednesday off completely – no social media, no email, nothing.  Just pure Istria and Mummy time.  Quality time together is always my priority! 

22. Breaking down tasks into manageable tasks and essential tasks will help you get the job done.  For example I know after I finish a shoot, the essential next part of the job is uploading any digital images, or sending off the film to the lab.  That is essential.  I do it straightaway in most cases.  The manageable part of the task is editing the files, which I can spread over a number of days.  Breaking down tasks in this way will help you stop feeling swamped. 

24. T is for Toilet + twitter.  Yep, you now know where some of my tweets come from.  I’m in the bathroom.  Make the most of every spare minute you have! 🙂

25. Self belief.  You really can do it, but sometimes it doesn’t always feel like you can.  If I can, so can you.  We are no different.  We all have stresses, complications, the hardships of life to contend with.  We all succumb to looking at the competition and feeling inadequate and when it comes to parenting, probably even more so.

Gosh I beat myself up daily about the fact that Istria doesn’t have a ‘craft station’ at home and Summer isn’t yet talking.  Is it my fault? Am I spending enough time with them? Am I a terrible Mummy for working?

Then I remember that Istria is 2 and knows her entire alphabet, all of the phonic sounds, and Summer was walking at 7.5 months.

The point is- Comparison is completely pointless – and indeed, the thief of joy.

There is no right way to be a parent and work at the same time.  Whether your child is in full time nursery or whether you balance playtime with worktime at home, you don’t need to compare.  Or worry.  

As long as your child knows they are loved and supported and encouraged each and every day, you are doing a fantastic job.  Believe in yourself and your abilities and keep going.  Follow your dreams. 

I’ll be sharing the other 25 tips in my next post- but in the meantime, if this post has been useful to you, please share it using the buttons below.  

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