9 Replies
I've ever asked my friends the same question. Their responses were: doing their best and managing expectations. Time management is key but sometimes, non-existent. With two (or more) children, their napping schedules may be different. What used to be "doing work at home" time when one child is sleeping/napping becomes hard to come by when the second one comes along. A lot of them ended up doing work in the wee hours of the night as their day time is spent doing household chores and attending to their children. Hence, managing expectations and not expecting 100% but just doing their best is their main strategy. They also organized the tasks so that they know what is of higher priority and needs to be completed once any spare pockets of time come up. One more tip is having good friends/neighbours/relatives who can help babysit for a few hours always help. Also, playdates offer the much needed interactions and exchange of tips and a chance to vent.
I suggest you stick to your time frame. Plan to finish things in an x span of time and as much as possible, finish what you can. This way, you can be more productive without really noticing it. Example, in the morning, I make sure I finish preparing breakfast and load the laundry at 7 am, feed the baby and bathe until 9 am. Make her sleep at 9 onwards. During sleeping time, that's when I need a super mommy boost, haha. I take a bath, line dry the laundry and prepare lunch. So on and so forth. It's been effective for me :)
Being a mom is really not a piece of cake. You get to be jane of all trades just to make sure everything is being taken care of. And the key is to have a daily time table for all the tasks that need to be done. Friendly reminder to also add in the scheduling some allowance time for unplanned circumstances (e.g baby wakes up and needs to be fed, baby needs to change diaper, etc) so that you can still do all the task on schedule.
Try to do most of the household chores when they are sleeping or in school. Manage your time in such a way that you have time for yourself as well. I think, without a help, it is all about time management. When you have two kids, at times, things become easy as well. You can engage both the kids in some activity or play and yourself can Finnish off your work or yourself can just relax.
May I suggest wake up early before the kids wake up, try to finished washing clothing house work, simple cooking for your kiddo steam or soups bake in oven for lunch and dinner. They then kiddo nap in the afternoon it your time to do some work. Have a good routines let the kiddo sleep before 9pm.
Its all about time management. I stay in a nuclear setup and have raised two kids along with working from home. Manage your time in such a way that you can get some 'me" time too. Do most of the cooking work either in the morning or evening. If you feel you can't manage alone, then hire a help.
Like with anything, you have to prioritise. Your house may not always be 100% clean and tidy, the washing may not always be done. Just get the important stuff done, like eating and feeding your children. You'll soon settle into your own routine and will manage just fine.
Time management is the key. I always do my cooking either early in the morning or late evenings. Now my kids are grown up and so I am more free now. But when they were younger I used to do most of the activities when they were asleep or in school.
I wake up really early around 430am and end my day by 1030pm. I follow a simple but efficient routine and keep it as much as i can. There are times though i need to adjust and be flexible but the key is consistency and discipline.