Guest Post: Balancing Life as a WAHM

Guest Post by Heather Sokol from Just Heather and Inexpensively

As the mother of 3 very active girls plus owner of 4.5 blogs (5^th one coming soonish), I am frequently asked how I do it all. While the truth is, my house is frequently trashed, my laundry is days (okay, weeks) behind and the hubby cooks dinner more often than I’d like to admit, I do have a few strategies to maintaining sanity and managing a business or active social media presence.

Share the load

I’ve mentioned the hubby cooks. He also does laundry, vacuums, empties the litter box and bathes the little one. (Sorry, ladies, I’m keeping him all to myself!) Of course, before you get too jealous, you should know it hasn’t always been this way – I was very nearly a single momma. But, through a lot of soul searching, intense reading and heart to hearts, we’ve come to an agreement that what I’m building is important to our family’s future. That means, it’s up to all of us to pitch in to make it happen.

Be specific

Our first round with the whole “in it together” idea didn’t go so well. Instead of getting the help I needed, I was still left with most of the housework. Only now, I severely resented it. Finally, I realized he didn’t really know what to actually do. We broke down all the chores that weren’t getting done (and even more that were suffocating me) based on what was most important to each of us. Then, we chose things we didn’t mind doing and divvied up the rest.

Multitask

Even as I’m loading the dishwasher or folding the laundry, I can still be “working” since there isn’t a lot of thought required for such menial tasks. I take small opportunities to plan projects & articles throughout the day. I may be putting with Lorelai, and suddenly think of a good blog topic. I take a minute to add it to my ongoing list, then get back our puzzle or game. When I’m in the carpool line, I can spend a little more time jotting down bullet points for one of my articles. When the time arrives to actually write a post, it usually only takes about 15 minutes.

Go mobile

Having a laptop it a key part of my balance strategy. I have a list of free wifi locations for new scenery, inspiration and munchkin entertainment. Bouncer Town has become a weekly outing. For just $6, my daughter can bounce for as long as it takes me to finish the day’s work. She has an absolute blast, and I get (mostly) uninterrupted work time. I’m still learning the art of working outside – I have issues with screen glare in the sun – but I can use paper and pen. ( I know – weird, right?)

Being mobile allows me to go where I’m needed while still having access to the work that needs done. Today, my girls had a dress rehearsal for their school play. It wasn’t strictly necessary that I attend, but they kinda like it. (Well, Brenia does. My oldest is currently in her preteen, parents aren’t cool in any way phase.) It’s also my busiest work day of the week. Our solution? I’m typing away on my laptop in between their moments on stage. It works well for me in this situation because our school plays are so fun, I’d really rather be surprised by the finished product.

All that is not to say I’m always on the computer. The key is distributing my hours throughout the week (and, sometimes late at night) so I can still be here for my girls. We are careful to dedicate time to family meals, park days, date night and ‘just for me’ time. I take a bubble bath almost every night after the girls are in bed. It gives me the chance to wash away the day and regroup before spending an evening with the hubby or tackling another couple hours of work.

I may work from home, but it is still a full-time job.

Heather Sokol is the married mother of 3 beautiful, active girls. In between carpools, Scout meetings and other miscellaneous mom jobs, you’ll find her all over the web sharing secrets for doing it all, inexpensively.

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