While homeschooling is definitely a task that requires you to be “all in,” that doesn’t mean that you can’t also make time to work on the side (or even full time!). Here are 3 things every mom needs to know about working while homeschooling.
Batching and Time Blocking is Essential
While I don’t have personal experience with working full time outside the home, I do have many years of experience with putting in 40 hours or more on multiple side businesses while homeschooling!
The secret to “doing it all” (which really is silly, because you should see the dust bunnies in my house!) is time blocking.
Once I determine what my priorities are (homeschooling, cooking meals, volunteering at church) and what my priorities are not (keeping an immaculate house, making bread, having chickens) then I have plenty of time in my week to make it happen.
Don’t think you have enough time? Maybe it’s because you’re looking at your time in mini 24-hour chunks. But when you consider the 168 hours in a whole week and start blocking in your priorities, you will realize that not only can you fit in 8 hours of sleep per night (this is a priority for me!), but you can also fit in homeschooling, working several hours a day, watching a show with hubby at night, and making it to Bible study.
Yes! There really is a magic mindset shift with 168 hours.
But if you don’t tell your time where to go with batching and time blocking, then having 568 hours in a week really wouldn’t make a difference to your productivity. It does take planning and discipline.
Want to learn more? Check out these posts:
From Overwhelmed to Calm: Embracing Planned Neglect
Dear Homeschool Mom, You Don’t Have to Do It All
Day in the Life of a Homeschool Mompreneur
Use a Bullet Journal to Coordinate it all in one place
Once you start batching and time blocking, another way to keep homeschool and work and housework organized is to coordinate it all in one place.
I used to have separate calendars and organizers for homeschooling, for my online businesses, and for other things I needed to keep track of. It was driving me insane!
But once I started implementing a bullet journal, all those crazy little lists that were all over the place had a home. I could see all my time blocking and my responsibilities and priority lists in one place.
Want to learn more? Check out these related posts:
You Need a Bullet Journal: Homeschool Mom Life Hack
You can do it – need to up your productivity levels
If you want to balance working and homeschooling, then your productivity needs to be top notch. You have to know what needs done, batch those tasks, assign them time blocks, and get in the flow with deep work.
My favorite books on productivity are 168 Hours by Laura Vanderkam and Deep Work by Cal Newport. They’re game-changers and essential for helping you practically get more productive.
How to Homeschool as a Working Mom
You’ll love our conversation with Jen Mackinnon on episode 144 of the Homeschool with Moxie Podcast! Jen shares actionable strategies and advice for moms hoping to get back into the workforce.
How to Balance Homeschool Life with Family and Work
Homeschool parents wear so many hats! It can be a challenge to keep a healthy balance. Let’s chat about actionable strategies to take the overwhelm out of the daily juggle.
Listen to episode 144 of the Homeschool with Moxie Podcast below.
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HWM Episode #16: Productivity Secrets for Homeschool Moms
