Episode 35: 4 Summer Workflow Tips for the Entrepreneur Moms and Dads
Hey gang. I am here to talk to the mamas and the papas out there who have just had a week or two of the kids at home for summer break.
If you’re like me, you are really feeling the kids in your space.
Previously, the space was clean and quiet.
Delightfully clean.
Delightfully quiet.
But now…the kids are home.
OOF.
No matter where you are at…or what the summer dance looks like at your house this week, most of you can benefit from these workflow tips.
Ok, here we go.
I’ve got 5 tips for you.
And they are all from experience.
Extensive experience.
(They are discussed in the podcast, push play today!)
1. Tip number one: For GOODNESS SAKES be reasonable.
Specifically, Set reasonable expectations for yourself.
Set yourself up for success by allowing yourself and the rest of the world some leeway. Give yourself a buffer. Having this mindset will help you hit the ground running instead of hitting the ground stressed, angry and frustrated. When you are stressed, you are less able to create, make, build and do whatever it is you want to do. According to an article in Frontiers in Psychology, under certain circumstances, creativity is impacted negatively by stress. It’s harder to be creative when you are stressed. You’ve likely experienced this…especially during these first weeks of summer when the entrepreneur parents are trying to get into a rhythm. The secret is to promise yourself less. Leave a little buffer of time. In coaching, we call it creating reserve. Create a little reserve in your day.
2. Second tip is to pre-determine an end-time to your workday.
This helps slow your highly focused and on-fire work brain down.
This is how you create reserve at the end of your day.
This is how you create a buffer to protect yourself at the end of the day.
Ideally, the end of your workday is not 5 minutes before you need to relieve the sitter..
Also, you also might want to choose a time to consciously “shut down” your work brain. Your work brain is powerful and it might need a conscious direction given to shut down.
3. Tip number 3 is to Block 4-hour work times, with 30-ish minute buffer there and back.
Most of us take the first hour to just get reacquainted with the task/s we are going to do.
The 2nd and 3rd hours are usually really productive.
The 4th hour you can come out of it a bit, and finish…whatever that looks like for you. For some it will be actually finishing a task. For some it will be stopping in the middle of something and wrapping up that task for the day.
4. Tip number 4 is to consider adopting a summer state of mind. Or if that’s not for you this summer, remember lots of others HAVE a summer state of mind.
EVERYONE’s schedule changes in the summer. Yours, your work’s, your kids’, your friend’s, your family, your neighbors…the shops around you. There are holidays and people are on vacation. I used to forget about this. So focused on work-work-work I often forgot that lots of people RELAXED in the summer. They took their family to other cities. They stayed in hotels and went to lakes and ate ice cream. I might have needed them and counted on them but then they were on vacation. I remember thinking,
“What the heck are all these people doing on VACATION?? Does anyone ever work?”
Now…that sounds pretty judgemental…but I was stuck at that time in a mindset that was all about work. The more your work, the luckier you get. The more your work, the more worthy you are. If you’re not working, you’re getting behind. If you’re not working, you must be wasting time. (and that’s the personal development work I’ve worked on over the years!)
Getting your summer schedule sorted out, and figuring out your summer work spots can be a challenge if you’ve got kids at home. Can I encourage you to be gentle with yourself as you are figuring this out? It takes a little FIGURING. It takes some THINKING AHEAD. It takes some TRYING. It takes some REFLECTION. And as my Grandpa Jim would say, it takes some TINKERING.
This summer, as you are getting things sorted….consider the above tips and don’t be afraid to tinker with it a bit. You’ll get it done. Just keep going. And give yourself grace.
Best of luck with your summer schedule…and Happy Entrepreneuring!!!
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Links mentioned in today’s episode:
West Elm Dining Chair Ang Loves
Money Love Bootcamp Info
Ang Stocke Coaching Links