Mompreneurs can be incredible team players until they start getting distracted by the pile of laundry and the sink full of dishes waiting for them back at home.
Coping up with work and being a mom at the same time, is never a smooth journey. It requires huge effort for working moms to stay productive at the workplace. However, this isn’t something impossible. There are millions of moms who have shown exceptional skills at the workplace whilst managing their home and kids.
According to a recent report released by WerkLabs, the success rate of organizations increase with the increase in the number of moms in the workplace. The presence of moms at the workplace results in a more positive employee experience. It also results in heightened productivity, greater workplace inclusivity, and an increased retention rate.
The report further revealed that mom managers are more approachable to their employees as compared to other managers. Their overall well-being is also more favorable than other managers. Thus, working moms are significantly well at keeping their teams managed and well-informed.
One of the surveyed professionals of the WerkLabs study, talked about her mom manager saying:
“I am one of the very fortunate people that has a manager who understands the importance of regular communication and she actively works to make sure the team’s ideas are heard and that our needs, individually and collectively are met.”
Although the majority of mompreneurs have exhibited strong management and leadership qualities, there also are some who find it difficult to improve their workplace productivity. For all such mompreneurs here are some tips to improve your workplace productivity from the successful women entrepreneurs of the business world.
1. Start Early And Make The Mornings More productive
“The early morning has gold in its mouth”.
Benjamin Franklin
Rise early and grind mentality has been the driving force for most successful women entrepreneurs. Waking up early in the morning gives you a kick start for the day and it can boost your speed also.
Studies have also revealed that a person who wakes up early in the morning is most likely to be more productive than the person who wakes up after the sun.
Another benefit that mompreneurs can reap by waking up early in the morning is, they will face fewer distractions. While your children and the rest of the family is asleep, you can have some solid hours to get your work done without any distractions.
The majority of successful mompreneurs have revealed that they are more productive in the early hours, especially from 4 to 5 am.
Rising before the sun also gives you some extra minutes to meditate, which can be really helpful in reducing stress and improving your concentration. Taking out a few moments for your body can really work wonders for you.
Early risers get better quality sleep because they go to bed early. So, if you are getting better quality sleep, you have a greater potential to perform well at your workplace.
Hence, a mompreneur who is an early riser can perform well both at her home and at her workplace.
2. Work On Your Distractions
A mompreneur who juggles her home chores and work all alone often finds it difficult to concentrate on either. While she is at her work, she gets plenty of distractions, from her child’s health to their school and their diet, and heaps of other home tasks, there are numerous distractions she faces which ultimately reduce her productivity.
In our quest to find the most reliable ways for mompreneurs to improve their productivity, we got to know the hidden secrets of the most famous entrepreneurs that help them cut off their distractions. The majority of successful mompreneurs follow the below practices to lessen their distractions and improve their focus.
Tips from successful mompreneurs to reduce distractions:
- Find quality schools/childcare for your children
- Stay connected with your children during the day and monitor your child’s activities.
- Limit the usage of social media platforms during your work hours.
- Meditation is the key to increase your focus.
- Be an early riser so that you can complete your home chores early and get uninterrupted time for your office work.
- Eat healthy food that helps to improve focus. Some foods that can boost your concentration include eggs, yogurt, nuts, apples, spinach, and blueberries.
- Some working women also rely on coffee as a concentration booster.
Most professionals believe that distractions are the enemy of productivity. Thus mompreneurs must initially identify all their distractions and try to treat these distractions in order to boost their productivity level.
You may also want to read: 7 Important Lessons From Leading Women Entrepreneurs
3. Follow And Organize A Family Calendar To Avoid Role Conflict
Most working women have related less workplace productivity with their family priorities. Hence, it is essential for working moms to address their family priorities evenly to have unremitting time for their office work.
One way to figure out and address your family’s priorities is to follow a family calendar. The family calendar helps you figure out the pending tasks that may interrupt you at any future period. Having the knowledge of approaching commitments and events will enable you takeout time for them at the most suitable intervals. So, a pre-planned month will help you cope with all your family commitments whilst meeting all your official deadlines.
To manage your personal commitments, you can design a strategic family calendar which can be designed using the below steps:
- Take out time for your family and figure out all their priorities.
- Write down the due dates of bills you are required to pay.
- List down all family events or school events you are required to attend.
- You can also jot down all the approaching birthdays.
- Schedule all the chores following their due dates
- Create a Google calendar and plan all the events ahead of their due date.
- Every weekend take out time to review the calendar and prepare for the upcoming week.
Keeping track of all the approaching events and celebrations will help you improve your focus on work and resultantly your workplace productivity will soar up.
4. Take out “Me Time” For Yourself
While struggling to keep a balance between family and work, most mompreneurs forget to take out time for themselves. This creates a negative impact on their mental health and also it reduces their efficiency.
Wiss, a mompreneur, deeply relies on having the “me time” to improve her productivity and focus. She says, “Because your time is divided between your home and your career, make sure to manage your energy well. You can’t be an effective spouse or parent if you’re cranky, so take time to care for yourself to feel relaxed and effective”.
No matter how supportive your boss and your family are, you still need to take out time for yourself. Most of the working women have to handle a whole lot of mess on their shoulders but they rarely get a moment to call their own. This hinders them sort out all the mess they have been bearing in their minds and ultimately they don’t have enough time to focus on their future.
Thus, it is crucial for all working women to take out time or untangle all the thoughts that have been weighing on their shoulders for so long.
Here are some practices that most successful women entrepreneurs follow to take care of their mental and physical well-being.
- Take out time to read your favorite book with a cup of coffee
- Meet your friends or simply talk to them over the phone. Remember, you don’t need any special agenda to meet and talk to your friends. Just go over and talk.
- Go for a morning walk and breathe deeply.
- Enroll yourself in a yoga class.
- Take out time to cuddle your pet.
- Get a massage and take a warm shower.
- Listen to music
The feeling of being taken care of, also helps you get rid of your messy thoughts. So, spend time with your family and be kind to yourself, this will surely reflect on your efficiency.
5. Avoid Burdening Yourself – Learn To Delegate
Multi-tasking can sometimes be disastrous; therefore it is essential for mompreneurs to know when to let others handle the tasks.
The mentality of being “jack of all trades” doesn’t necessarily stand true. American Psychological Association has revealed in a report that, focusing on more than one task at a time can lessen your productivity by 40%. Thus it is crucial for mompreneurs to understand the hidden cost of multitasking.
While talking about the impact focusing on one task can create on your overall productivity, Crystal Paschal, the owner of Feminist Books for Kids says, “It’s amazing how quickly I can get things done when I just focus. Often, things I think will take over an hour take less than 30 minutes when I give them all my focus.”
If you don’t feel like getting done all the tasks, you can delegate some of these in the following way:
- Get some housekeeping help.
- Have your grocery delivered to your doorstep.
- Hire someone to help you with your children’s pick up and drop off.
Delegating such small tasks can sometimes be so time-consuming. Thus, focus on your high revenue activities and hire help to complete all the other chores.
Being a working mom can have numerous challenges but following an organized timeline can keep your efficiency high.
