Mums in business: you can't be everything everywhere all at once!
Being a mum is a full-time job in itself, but many mothers also choose to pursue their entrepreneurial dreams and run their own businesses like us here at Libra VA Services!
Balancing the demands of motherhood and entrepreneurship can be overwhelming at times, but with the right productivity hacks, you can thrive in both roles. In this blog post, we'll explore some top productivity tips tailored specifically for busy mums in business.
Prioritise and Plan
You quickly realise that your business and home life become ever more intertwined when running a business venture. We recommend blocking time on a Sunday evening to review the week ahead, circle your non-negotiables, and ring-fence them as priority tasks. It is important to schedule in time for self-care. Build in buffers around scheduling appointments and client calls so you don’t stress if they run overtime, as sometimes we are not always in control in such situations! Here at Libra VA Services, we use the Notion Calendar app integrated into our Project Management Tool, which syncs all of our billable, non-billable and personal appointments to see a full daily, weekly and monthly overview of how we spend our time.
Time Block and Setting Boundaries
Setting up a business should align with your other life goals and on your terms. It should integrate seamlessly (or most of the time) with other personal commitments like family time, hobbies and relaxation. It is essential to take a step back when planning your day, week or month and see if there is a fair split between home and work life demands on your time. Remember to batch similar activities so you can blitz through certain tasks like invoicing, receipting expenses and writing copy for blogs and social media posts. As working mums at Libra VA Services we work with flexible clients who understand our childcare commitments to be able to take mornings off for baby classes and nursery drop-offs. We work afternoons, evenings and sometimes weekends to make up for time taken out in the week, so it works for us!
Delegate and Outsource
Asking for help becomes necessary when juggling motherhood and work commitments, as you can’t be everything to everyone at the same time. Firstly, make a short list of what takes up your time that you don’t enjoy doing in all areas of your life. We outsource some client work at Libra VA Services to free up our time to service strategic activity and implement our growth plans. At home, you might decide it’s time to get a cleaner so you don’t have to spend three hours cleaning your house from top to bottom on a Saturday morning. If you can afford it, you may outsource childcare to have more headspace and dedicated time to build your business. We look forward to more support in this area in the coming 2-3 years!
Embracing Technology
Being a tech wizard is highly recommended for overall business and life hacks. Use apps on the go, such as Todoist and Pomodoro, for productivity and keeping track of your time, as it is essential to analyse any capacity. At Libra VA Services, we use Freshbooks for our accounting software, which also has an in-built time tracking system for logging our billable and non-billable activity.
As you can see, navigating the world of business and motherhood can be somewhat complex and challenging. Being flexible and willing to pivot at any given moment is key, and one of the critical lessons for us at Libra VA Services has been to build flexibility into our working day so that the most minor details do not flummox us. Here, we have shared our top hacks for integrating these areas into our lives without adding more to our plate after just under three years of being in business. Remember: the small, daily, consistent habits will stack up over time, keep you sane and healthy, and build a positive mindset to take on any challenge you might face along the way!
Take charge of your hectic week now! Head over to our Services page to discover how we can empower you with solutions that bring balance and control back to your life.