And there are two main ways of doing this:

• Managing your time better
• Increasing your energy

Increasing energy increases productivity and reduces stress, so it’s a vital thing for work at home moms to do.

The good news is, there are plenty of simple ways to increase your energy.

But before we get into that, let me use an example from my own life to display exactly how important this is:

When my daughter was almost a year old, I was juggling being a stay at home mom with building my business, as well as quality time with my partner, community involvement, and trying to get some ‘me’ time.  And I was really tired, every day.  Which meant that when my daughter went to bed – sometimes not until 10pm! – my only thought was to get to bed myself.

The problem with this is that you can rarely sleep yourself out of tiredness.  I know, it sounds wrong, but trust me… unless you are poorly or severely sleep-deprived, sleeping more is not the way to reduce your tiredness and gain more energy!  (And if you are really sleep-deprived; with a new born for example, just a night or two of unbroken sleep will get you back into feeling like a human, not a zombie… it doesn’t take long to recover.)

What I needed to do in those circumstances, and what you need to do if you’re experiencing similar, was to boost my energy naturally.

So, here are my top tips for naturally boosting your energy – leading to higher productivity, less stress, and more enthusiasm and passion for what you’re doing:

• Diet – everything you eat either supports your body in performing well, or doesn’t.  And each time you eat something that doesn’t support your body, you put your energy levels (and everything else health-wise) one step behind.  Your body can’t run on stimulants like coffee and energy drinks long-term – and even in the short-term, these things will make you feel sluggish, anxious and will ruin your concentration.  Not good for a work at home mom.  Instead of these, make sure your diet is supporting your body.  Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables (there’s not many better energy snacks than a simple fresh banana), choose lean protein, and always opt for brown carbohydrates (bread, pasta, etc) to give a slow-releasing energy supply.
• Water – drink at least 2 litres of water a day, preferably filtered tap water or bottled spring water bottled at the source.  Your body needs water, and without it, you will find that you will struggle to concentrate as your brain dehydrates.  Spice your water up with a squeeze of juice from a lemon, lime or orange.
• Exercise – I don’t care how tired or busy you are right now, by making the time to exercise every day you will gain so much more energy that you will actually achieve more every day.  Exercise is addictive and puts you in an active frame of mind.  Sitting on the settee watching TV just doesn’t seem as appealing when you are on an exercise high.  And there are so many different types of exercise to choose from that there’s no need to do something you don’t enjoy.
• Supplements – vitamin and mineral deficiencies are more common than people realise, and cause no end of health challenges including lethargy and excessive tiredness.  You need to support your body by supplementing high-quality supplements: a multivitamin and mineral made from 100% vitamins, plant derived minerals and phytonutrients, an antioxidant, and an Omega 3 made from pure fish oils.

By following these steps you will boost your energy within a matter of days, leading to more success for your home business.

It goes something like this:

6am-8am – I work

8am-5pm – I focus on my baby daughter

5pm-7pm – family time

7pm-10pm – I work

This schedule works pretty well for me and my family, but it might be a hideous routine for you. 

What works for one person won’t work for everyone.

Whatever schedule you have – even if it’s something as vague as ‘I want to find 10 minutes today to work’ – there’s something you have to accept right away.

Some days, you will not be able to stick to your schedule.

My baby is poorly at the moment with a cold and is possibly teething.  She seems to have decided that 2.30am is the new time to get up and play.  This has happened for the last week or so, and I guess it will happen again tonight.  So, would it make sense for me to stay up until 10pm tonight working?

No way!

Sure, my schedule says I should.  But right now, life is saying that that would be silly – it’s more important that I get some sleep.

That way, I can get up at 2.30am for the day and still feel well-rested.  And, like now, I can put my baby in her cot for a nap and still have enough concentration and energy to get some work done.

So, trust me, if you’re going to make it as a work at home mom without going crazy, yes you need a schedule, but you also need to accept that at times you will not be able to stick to the schedule.  Just accept it.  Wishing it was different will send you crazy.  Carrying on with too little sleep will make you ill.  Beating yourself up will do nobody any favours.

This is the way it is: live with it.

For your free copy of my special report
“WAHM Time Management: 10 Practical Tips To Transform Your Home Business”

Just email me at katiektk@hotmail.co.uk

Katie x

Oh, the perfect world of working from home with a family…

Well, I’m yet to meet a work at home mom who has that perfect life where everything is balanced, running smoothly, and nothing is distracting her from building her business. 

And the problem with these images is the damage they do to the women who see them and quickly join the business opportunity, eager to get their own life in order like the picture shows.  If she can do it, I can do it.

Why do we feel the need to act as if juggling a home business with raising a family and looking after a home is easy?  As if we don’t already devalue everything that mothers do enough (but that’s a different story…).

So, let’s break the work at home mom myth right now.

The perfect woman with the perfect child and the perfect house and the perfect business does not exist.

If you begin a home business whilst raising children, you will need to juggle these different demands on your time.  You will get stressed sometimes.  The kitchen will not look immaculate.  Your child will probably not sit quietly while you work. 

But, you know what? 

None of that matters.  Because being a work at home mom is the best feeling in the world.  Knowing that you do not have to leave your child in daycare is worth a million bucks. 

Being interrupted during a phone call because your baby just learnt how to crawl fast enough to catch the dog?  Is there any better way to be interrupted in the world?

If you are already a work at home mom, your life is probably complicated, busy, stressful, tiring and INCREDIBLY rewarding.  Embrace it! 

If you are just looking into becoming a work at home mom, your life is probably complicated, busy, stressful, tiring and INCREDIBLY rewarding.  And starting a home business will make it even more rewarding.

We don’t do it because it’s easy.

We do it because the alternative is unthinkable.

Katie x
katiektk@hotmail.co.uk

That’s me, above, with my beautiful baby daughter Aspen.

Aspen was born in February 2009, and three weeks after her birth I carried on working on my home business.  I did things while Aspen was sleeping in the daytime.

A few people, at the time and since, told me I was crazy.. choosing to return to work when I had a perfectly acceptable excuse to not even be thinking about work?  To be honest, I think those people are the crazies.  I mean, we have one life here, why spend it on work you dread doing or look for excuses to get out of?

I actually wanted to get back into my work earlier than I did…

Why?

Because I believe the work I do matters, and is making a difference to people around the world.

Because I have a strong need to be independent, in many ways but especially financially.  I don’t want to rely on the government, on elderly relatives leaving me a legacy, or on the man in my life.

Because I want my daughter to grow up being proud of what I have achieved.

And this is my story; my take on the home business industry and my experiences of juggling changing the world with being a great mom. 

I hope it will amuse, educate and inspire you.

Have an amazing day,

Katie x