5 Stress Busters For Work At Home Moms {And A Peek In Side My WAHM World}

It has been awhile since I did a day in the life post. If you follow me on Instgram or Facebook, then you know that my life as a work at home mom has really ramped up over the last few weeks. I thought it would be fun to do one today and give you a glimpse into my new normal, a normal I didn’t even know I wanted as a work at home mom, until it happened. This is a long post, but I wanted to really give you a peek inside my work at home mom world. Stick around okay? At the end, I’ve got 5 stress busters for work at home moms too.

4:30 am- Buzz, buzz, buzz goes the alarm clock. I’d love to hit snooze, but I know what a power packed time this is for me. I am at my best in the morning, when my house is quiet and I can drink my coffee while it is still hot.

This time is precious and I spend it wisely. I take time to plan my day, read my Bible, write, and plan content. Right now, I’m working on a list of content ideas for the summer. It seems crazy, but I want to be able to be fully present with my kids this summer and one way I can do that is by preparing a lot of blog posts in advance.

7:00 am- Power hour. We sit down as a family to have breakfast together. I get the kids dressed, send Malone off to school on the bus and Mike off to work.

8:00 am- I throw a load of laundry in and get Lola packed up and ready to go to the YMCA.

9:00 am- Lola is settled in at the Y’s childcare and I head to ZUMBA! I have zero rhythm but like to have fun. I’m having a blast trying to keep up with the hippity dippity moves in the back of the class. In the inside, I look like a professional Latin dancer. On the outside, I look like Elaine from Seinfeld. I know this to be fact, but I do not care because I’m in the back row.

And then! Out of no where, the teacher departs the class down the middle like he is departing the Red Sea. He strolls down the path and I know I’m in trouble. He waves his arm in the air in a circle and everyone turns around and faces the back of the room.

Oooooh sweet mother Mary. I am in the front row. And I am dying. There is NOTHING I can do except pretend I don’t care. So, I shake it like I just don’t care. Deep down? I care. A LOT. Maybe too much.

11:00 am- Nap time! Lola takes a huge nap from around 11:00 am to 2:45 pm daily. This is a huge blessing in my work at home mom life. This is the second most powerful time of my day. I am a little wound up from what just happened in Zumba! so I take pop a RESCUE Remedy Pastille, make lunch and catch up on an episode of GIRLS. That show is a complete guilty pleasure for me. Shew, feeling a bit better already.

11:30 am – I switch over the laundry and head back to work! I’ve found that if I don’t keep myself on a pretty tight leash, I could very easily waste the day away on social media. I do a quick check in and reply to comments and tweets before settling in to write. My words are not coming out well, but I muscle through. Today, done is better than perfect. Today’s done can be turned into perfect tomorrow.

1:00 pm- Time to switch gears! In addition to working for myself, I am currently volunteering as a social media assistant for a Christian women’s organization. This is a new role for me and I love using my skills in this way. I spend the next hour creating and scheduling content for them on their social media channels.

2:00 pm- I change over the laundry again and prep for dinner. We’re having chicken stir fry, I know you’re wondering.

3:00 pm- Lola and I head to pick Malone up from school. The drop off line is always a nightmare. Today is no different.

3:30 pm- We’re home. While I help Malone with his homework, Lola tries to use the toy truck as a step ladder (again).

5:00 pm- Malone is done with his home work and I’m attempting to finish up dinner. Lola is playing with magnets. And by playing with magnets, I mean dumping every single one of them out.

5:30 pm- Dinner time!

6:30 pm- Lola goes to bed! One down, one to go!

7:00 pm- Time for stories and bed for Malone.

7:30 pm- Mike and I meet each other on the couch for a couch date complete with a cookie tasting platter and Jimmy Fallon. In case you’re wondering, a cookie platter consists of a plate with assorted cookies and milk for dipping in the middle. We keep it fancy here at chateau A Cookie Before Dinner.

9:00 pm- Bed time for this mama!

5 Stress Busters For Work At Home Moms

1. Automate, Delegate or Eliminate

Things I automate:

• The coffee maker, which provides me lovely hot coffee at 4:30 am everyday.
• Paying bills.
• Laundry (I utilize the timer function so the first load washes in the middle of the night).
• My morning routine (I do the same things in the same manner everyday).
• Our clothing options. Everyone has clothing that mixes and matches and for the most part, everyone has about 12 core outfits they wear. This means no one has to go digging around trying to find things that match or can be overwhelmed with too many choices.

Things I delegate:

• Breakfast (outsourced to my husband).
• Morning school drop off (outsourced with gratitude to a very lovely school bus driver named Donald).
• Dinner (often outsourced to my crock pot).

Things I eliminate:

• Clutter, I work much better in a clutter free environment.
• Email (take action on it or delete it, that’s my motto). And while you’re at it, use unroll.me to unsubscribe to everything that doesn’t actually matter to you.
• Distractions. Because I plan my day in the morning, I know exactly what I’m going to work on and when I’m going to work on it.

[Tweet “Automate, delegate, or eliminate. + 4 other stress busters for work at home moms & bloggers. “]

2. Keep calm and RESCUE on.

The RESCUE Remedy line of products are a great way to relieve a little stress. They’re all natural, gentle, safe, and non habit forming. We’ve been using their product line for years, and I make sure that we never ever run out. You can download a coupon here. Trust me, you want these in your tool box.

3. Decide what your priorities are and do those things first.

I love to start my day with brain dump of everything I’m hoping to accomplish that day- from things around the house, errands, special moments with my kids, and work. From that list, I make a top four list. Those four things are the top priorities for the day and I’m going to focus my time and energy there before anywhere else.

4. Use the promodoro method to work on projects.

I love working within this method. If you’re wondering, it is a laser focused way to work on your projects. Work hard for 25 minutes on a task and take a short break before starting again.

5. If your work at home job has a lot of flexibility (like mine does) on a daily basis, build in some fun!

I love to work hard and I love to play hard. Part of the reason why I have foraged this path for myself is because I want flexibility that a typical 9-5 job can’t offer. I love being able to meet my husband for a lunch date or going for a walk with my girlfriends. Take time to take care of yourself, and you’ll find the stress isn’t so hard to manage!

How do you manage your stress?

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.