How To Create A Work From Home Schedule When You Have Little Kids

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Imagine this… you are in the middle of a conversation with someone and casually mention you work part-time from home. No big deal right??

But then, you let it slip that you also have 3 kids under 3; cue the shocked faces! Maybe you are shocked too at how you can even accomplish this!

It may seem totally unrealistic and crazy to be able to have an effective work from home schedule when you have little kids, but it can be done!

I am living proof and I’m going to walk you through how to make your perfect work from home schedule. 😉

Creating A Work From Home Schedule When You Have Little Kids

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Real quick, let’s define what I am talking about when I mention “working from home.”

I’m referring to a mom who maybe was a stay at home mom and now has a side hustle to make an income for her family.

Stay at home moms, don’t worry!! I’ve got some great tips to show you how to create a stay-at-home mom schedule that actually works!

Think 10-20 hours a week blogging, selling on Etsy, creating printables, freelance writing, or any other awesome ways stay at home moms can make money from home.

I currently work 10-15 hours as a blog assistant as well as 10 hours on my blog. So we’re going to assume your schedule is around 15-20 hours a week for the sake of this post. 😉

Benefits of Being A Work At Home Mom

There are tons of benefits to being a work at home mom!

Not only are you helping provide an income for your family, but you don’t have to miss out on important moments with your family.

Being a work at home mom lets you create the ideal work from home mom life + family life balance. It’s awesome!

Some other great benefits to being a WAHM:

  • You get to set your own hours
  • Sick kiddos? No worrying about who will watch them at home while you go to work – you can make up hours later following the 3:1 schedule rule
  • Gorgeous weather outside but rainy tomorrow? Simply flip flop your workdays and enjoy the sunshine
  • You can still enjoy stay at home mom benefits like taking a fun family trip when needed – just make up the work when you get home

Overall, being a work at home mom is really win-win! But, let’s not forget that when you have little kids at home, the practical aspect of creating the perfect routine schedule can be tough to do.

But before we get into making a schedule, let’s look over some things to do first.

Consider This When Making Your Schedule…

Remember to use the 3:1 schedule rule! You can read more about this life changing rule here.

Basically, batch all your work into 2-3 days; this means early mornings and long nights but the benefits outweigh the workload.

Then take 1 light day to do some easier tasks like check email, write out next weeks’ schedule, etc. And now you have 3 FULL days to focus on your family and your home. 😉

When following the 3:1 rule, I can push hard for 3 days and know I’ll have 3 off! Rather than stretching it out and having work to do every day.

Make sure you plan around the holidays and the weather as well!

For example, if you know you want to travel out of town for Christmas for a few days, make sure to double up the week before. Or add in an extra 5 hours per week the month of December so you don’t fall behind.

As far as weather, if you know that Monday-Thursday is going to be super sunshine and nice, then plan your park or zoo trip one of those days! Make up that day on Friday or Saturday.

Lastly, make sure to ELIMINATE DISTRACTIONS! This means your phone is away, and the TV is off.

Also, close out your internet browser unless it’s strictly work-related. It is SO easy to get sidetracked when you are at home working in your jammies!

Working From Home With Kids

How do we get work from home done with little kids?? This is a great question! And the point of this post right??!

Here are some suggestions for getting work done with your kids at home:

  • Get most of your “mom duties” done in the morning – cleaning, picking up, other chores
  • Schedule an hour or two of work before lunch – depending on how old your kids are, you may be able to get away with some work while they play independently
  • Work early mornings or late nights to free up day time hours
  • Utilize time when your kids are sleeping – for me, I work during naps* and after bedtime, because I am a night owl. If you are a morning person, I would suggest getting a good chunk of work done in the morning!
  • Find a Mother’s Day Out a day or two a week to get a good chunk done – no worries if you can’t because the 3:1 rule has you covered!
  • Find some independent activities your kids can do alone – I’ve got 5 great no-mess activities for kids here!

*If your child doesn’t nap, you’ve gotta check out this post on how to handle working from home when your kids no longer nap!

Weekly Work From Home Schedule

Now, let’s get into what my ACTUAL work from home schedule looks like!

Keeping these tips in mind, I hope this will help you put a plan in place too to leave you less stressed and able to balance your work/family life well!

Keep in mind, I am NOT a morning person, so I get the best of my work completed after my daughter goes to bed. If you are a morning person, simply swap the times. 🙂

6:00/7:00 – 8:00 AM –> Wake up, have daily quiet time, WORK until G comes out of her room at 8:15.

TIP: To help keep kids in bed until a certain time every morning, try this Mella okay to wake clock. It has made a HUGE difference!

8:00 – 11:00 AM –> Eat breakfast, errands, learning/play time, house chores

11:00 AM – 12:00 PM –> WORK; accomplish small task like emails, brainstorming, 5-minute tasks, while my daughter has independent play

8:00 – 11:00 PM –> WORK; big tasks, content creation, studying, etc.

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Now, days may change each week depending on what we have going on, but I try and keep the same “routine.”

Also, notice how I only have Monday – Thursday… I like to push hard during the week so I can have my weekends free to spend time with family!!

This doesn’t happen all the time but gives a great guide to follow. 🙂 This schedule still allows me to get my housework done (cleaning, laundry etc.) too which is huge!

It lets me work efficiently while still being “Mom” and without confusing the two!

When you keep these tips in mind, you’ll find your weeks running much smoother and leaving you feeling well-balanced!

create a Work from home mom schedule with little kids

What work schedule works best for you??? Let me know in the comments!

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2 Comments

  1. Morning person, here! 🙂 Great tips for structuring work time around family. I have found that a solid 2-3 hours in the morning, before everyone is up plus a solid 2-3 hours in the afternoon while everyone is doing quiet reading or chores, has been life changing. Not everyday is perfect, of course. My plan definitely keeps me on track as I have the ability to move things around and stretch time further some days. Also, when it’s not work time, I’m mom and not working. I think it’s super important to keep the two as separate as possible, my opinion, of course. 🙂 Great post! Thanks for sharing!

    1. That is great! I am such a night owl, I find I can crank out more (and usually higher quality) work when the sun goes down! 😀 I am SO glad you mentioned that – when it’s not work-time, you are mom and not working. It can be so easy to just casually check emails or “go do something real quick.” It’s all about balancing the two without sacrificing quality time your family! Such a good point, thank you. <3

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