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Here is a little behind the scenes look at the office of The Whatever Mom. It isn’t all crafty and educational fun. It gets messy, the kids get cranky and some days I just wanna pull my hair out trying to get everyone to listen. That’s just the daily stuff. But, when you work from home and add kids into the mix you can expect total chaos.

My lovely little office is not only where I spend time to write, but it is the communication hub for my entire life. I spend a lot of time in here making phone calls, networking online, organizing my dinner menu and planning our next adventure. I could easily fill a 9-5 day with all of that and walk away feeling accomplished. However, you add in potty training two kids at once, feeding two kids at once and listening to two kids whining at once, it feels like 40 hours crammed into one single morning.

Here are some tips that have helped me keep my sanity while working from home with my kids:

1. Make A Work Space Just For You– you don’t have to get a fun office make over to have some space to call your own. Hiding in the closet in your upstairs bedroom with your lap top works too. Or, you could even call a game of hide and seek and go sit in your car until they find you.

2. Location! Location! Location! Where you locate  your TV is going to be your biggest defense against interruptions. Our TV room is on the other side of the wall of my office. This allows me to close the door and lock it if necessary. Coincidentally, my office is also where I keep my secret stash of chocolate.

3. Make a Mute Point– make sure you know where the mute button is on your phone and how to use it. This will block out all the back ground screaming (mostly yours) and keep your calls sounding professional.  I found this especially helpful during our potty training years (yes, I said years). Nothing blows your cover as a mom like an entire conference room full of co-workers hearing your kid scream, “MAAAAAAAHM she peed on the floor again!!!”

4. Distractify– keep things on hand that your kids can grab and go (preferably to another room). Maybe a basket of coveted toys, or shiny things; maybe a basket of books or coloring paraphernalia. Whatever will buy you at least two minutes of quiet time to finish that last thought before sending off an email.

5. Snackify– before you sit down to your desk make sure you are fully stocked on snacks you can hand off to your kids and send them away. Make it a good yummy snack that prevents them from talking for several minutes. Tip: you can toss out Gold Fish crackers like feeding baby seals as a fun way to hold off the kids.

 

I mostly work at night when the kids are asleep, or before they get up in the morning. But, there are some days I can’t avoid a business call, or a deadline while they are around. So, the above tips have really helped me squeeze in a few extra minutes of work- you know in between sandwiches, potty breaks, sibling fights, laundry, scrubbing toilets, planning charity events and cooking dinner. All in the day and the life of a Work From Home Mom (with my kids!).

I know I’m not the only mom working from home with preschool kids in the mix. I want to hear from you! How do you make it all work? What’s your craziest work from home moment?

 

The Whatever Mom is a full time wife and twin mama living on coffee and wine. She enjoys the pure rush of cleaning the potty between loads of laundry. It is her dream that moms everywhere accept and embrace the Whatever Mom philosophy which can be found here.