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September 18, 2023

Rocking Parenting and Professional Life with a Newborn

Having a baby is one of the most joyful moments in life, but it can also be one of the most stressful times, especially when you’re trying to juggle both parenting and professional commitments. Working remotely with a newborn baby can be challenging, but it’s possible with the right approach. Below we’ve provided some tips that we hope help you navigate this new and exciting time in your life:

Create a Flexible Schedule

Flexibility allows you to adjust your work hours based on your baby’s needs and your own energy levels. This may mean working in shorter, more focused bursts during nap times or late in the evening when your baby is sleeping. By designing a schedule that works for both your work and parenting responsibilities, you can find a balance that allows you to be productive while still being present for your little one.

Communicate with Your Team/Manager

Clear and open communication with your team and manager is crucial when working remotely with a newborn. Be transparent about your needs and limitations, and discuss how you can effectively manage your workload. Set realistic expectations and establish clear boundaries to ensure everyone is on the same page. Regularly check in with your team and keep them informed of any changes or challenges you may be facing. This will help foster understanding and support from your colleagues and manager.

Prioritize and Delegate Tasks

Identify the most crucial and time-sensitive projects, and focus your energy on completing them first. Delegate non-essential tasks to colleagues or outsource them to freelancers or virtual assistants. By prioritizing and delegating, you can ensure that your workload remains manageable and that you have time and energy to devote to both your baby and your professional responsibilities.

Take Advantage of Naptime

Naptime can be a valuable opportunity for productivity. Use these quiet moments to tackle important tasks, catch up on emails, or attend virtual meetings. Prioritize your workload and make a to-do list so you can make the most of the limited time. Be prepared to work efficiently and focus on tasks that require uninterrupted concentration. If your baby naps on a schedule, that is also a great time to schedule meetings if you need to have them. Of course, there is no guarantee that your baby will nap or stay asleep during those meetings so be upfront with whomever you are meeting with or have a backup plan for someone to help out with the baby during those times. 

Take Care of Yourself Too

Taking care of yourself is crucial when balancing parenting and professional life with a newborn. Don’t forget to eat nutritious meals, get adequate sleep when you can, and ask for help from family and friends. By nurturing your own physical and mental health, you’ll be better equipped to handle the demands of remote work and parenting. Remind yourself, this is a season and it won’t last forever but you do need to make sure you are not overextending yourself when you have a newborn to care for.

Seek Support from Other Parents

Connecting with other parents who are also navigating the challenges of working remotely with a newborn can provide valuable support and encouragement. Seek out online communities, forums, or social media groups where you can share experiences, ask for advice, and gain insights from others who are going through a similar journey. By building a network of fellow parents, you can find comfort in knowing that you’re not alone and gain helpful tips and strategies for managing the demands of both parenting and professional life. We have a dedicated Facebook group for our audience that you can use to find new jobs but also connect with fellow moms.

If you have any tips for your fellow moms, share them with us!

 

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May 8, 2023

Growing in Traditions: Celebrating Mother’s Day

As the spring weather continues to get warmer, leading into summer, many start to get their gardens ready for the height of the growing season. For a friend, they start this journey on Mother’s Day. Every year, all the women in the family get together and visit every local plant nursery to find beautiful annuals for the garden. From fragrant gardenias to stunning hibiscus plants, the day is always filled with laughter, fun, and the wonderful smell of greenhouses.

It’s a tradition — a Mother’s Day tradition. For this family, the tradition just seemed like a fun way to get the family together and travel around town. Now as an adult, there is so much more meaning to the day. 

Gardening in and of itself is more than just pretty flowers that smell nice. It is about putting in the time, effort, and hard work to help something grow. It is about nurturing something and being patient as it works up to its full potential to display the most gorgeous colors or the tastiest of vegetables. Gardening is also about loss, and understanding how to move on when something you have invested time in does not work out: like when a hail storm comes through and damages plants, or when your loveable dog Fluffy digs up your newly planted lilac bush and uses it as a chew toy. It is also about letting go at the end of the season when the frost takes over and all the hard work of the summer comes to a close. It is about appreciation for all that you put in, and all that you got out of the experience.

If we look at it closely, gardening is a lot like motherhood and the lessons you try to teach your children as they grow. As a mom, you work to teach your children patience, and the effort it takes to put in hard work to achieve goals and dreams. As a mom, you are there through every season of your child’s life, and you help them navigate through the good and the bad. As a mom, you instill important values in your children such as understanding that as one season closes, another begins — and how to pick out the perfect plant for your front yard. As a mom, you create traditions with your children that are fun but that also will follow them through their lives.

As an adult now, during our weekend Mother’s Day tradition, it is clear that the day is more than just spending time together. It is about creating memories and learning valuable lessons that can be used throughout life. With that in mind, we would like to say Happy Mother’s Day out there to all those hard working moms. We know you do not hear this enough, so let us say it again for you:

You are amazing. You are talented. You are appreciated.

And, in keeping with our own traditions at HireMyMom, we have a giveaway to recognize just how special moms are to us. Head over to our Instagram page to enter to win:

Treat yourself by entering to win this amazing package when you visit our Instagram page! Join us in our yearly Mother’s Day tradition of giving something away to a very deserving mom. And, let us know what traditions you have in your own family to celebrate just how amazing you are.

 

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October 3, 2022

The Busy Mom’s Guide to Creating a Work-From-Home Schedule

When you work from home as a stay at home mom, it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that you have all the time in the world to get everything done, when in reality time seems to slip away from you and then you’re behind on everything and don’t know how to catch up. In order to create structure and balance in your life, create a schedule that will allow you the freedom to work from home while still getting everything done around the house and providing enough time with your family.

Set Up A Routine

Creating a routine can be difficult when you work from home. The best way to get it started is by simply waking up and deciding what your goal for the day will be. Maybe your goal is cleaning the house, or editing photos, or even sending out emails. Set time goals, be specific with yourself and keep reminding yourself of those goals so you don’t back down midway through your day. And always remember: It doesn’t matter how many times you fail; it only matters how many times you get back up!

For some it helps to create a to-do list so you can create a new schedule each day. For others, they stick to a strict time limit, setting a certain amount of hours per day to work before clocking off or switching tasks. No matter which way you prefer, make sure you have something in place, because if you try to wing it, more often than not you will find yourself falling behind and getting distracted.

Adjust Your Routine Based On Your Kids’ Needs

Staying home with your kids can be challenging when it comes to keeping your schedule intact. But by adjusting what time you work and what responsibilities you have during the day, you’ll find the perfect balance that works for both yourself and your family. Here are some tips on how stay at home moms can manage their time: 

  • Figure out when you’re most productive, and schedule your work for that time. If you’re a morning person, get up early before the kiddos and get work done. If you’re an afternoon person, schedule time to work while the kids are down for a nap.
  • Organize set days (such as one weekday, one weekend day) where you work from home. For instance, if you choose Monday as your workday, then don’t have any other commitments or appointments on Mondays so that you can focus solely on getting things done. The same goes for weekends; if Saturday is your day to work from home, make sure there aren’t any activities planned for Saturdays so that you won’t feel guilty about spending all of your time working.
  • Start simple — figure out the three tasks in each category of responsibility so that everything gets completed but not overly stressed about finishing everything.

Develop an Exercise Routine Too

Plus, you’ll need to make time for yourself as a mom. Exercise can help relieve stress and be relaxing, so take the time to do it every day. You should aim for 20 minutes at least 3 days a week. Not only will you start feeling better and look better, but it will also help you keep the house cleaner too! Set aside a 20-30 minute chunk of time in your schedule each day to work out–a very productive way to spend that time when you are working from home.

Keep A Daily Journal Of Everything You Do

It is important to keep track of what you are doing so that you can set goals and also look back on your days. Even though it can seem like one day blends into the next, you will be surprised at how much you get done if you stop for just a minute each day and write down what you did. When the week is over, your journal will help remind you how productive your week really was! It will also help you prioritize what you need to do in the coming days.

What are some tips you have for creating a schedule and sticking to it as a work from home mom? Reach out and let us know!

 

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September 19, 2022

How to Make Money as a Stay at Home Mom with No Child Care

Many moms enjoy spending time with their children and don’t want to miss out on those precious moments by working outside the home. That’s why it’s so important to find ways to make money as a stay at home mom. There are lots of options out there that can work with your schedule — the number one type of job being a virtual assistant. But, there are tons of options beyond that! Maybe you only have a couple hours a day to yourself that you can work — there are things you can do from bookkeeping to social media management. Don’t be scared when you hear the word ‘job’ because that does not mean full time (or even part time) chained to a desk with specific hours; jobs can be just a couple of hours, flexible, and virtual so you can do them from anywhere! Here are some ways to make money as a stay at home mom with no child care:

Find A Work From Home Job

There are plenty of work from home jobs that don’t require any child care. One option is to become a virtual assistant. Virtual assistants provide administrative, secretarial, and clerical support to clients from home. To be a successful virtual assistant, you’ll need excellent communication and organizational skills, as well as the ability to work independently. However, we also see moms doing things such as remote website management, HR tasks, and more. Whatever you choose, make sure it’s something you’re passionate about and that you have the drive and determination to make it work. And of course, we have to do a shameless plug for our platform! Use HireMyMom to find a work from home job that works with your schedule! (And if you are unsure of your skills or think you need a bit of help to get started, make sure you check out our training course, Cultivate, which was designed to help moms fast track their work from home career.) 

Work As A Freelancer

There are a number of ways to make money as a stay at home mom, even if you don’t have child care. One option is to work as a freelancer. You can find small jobs online in a variety of industries, from writing and editing to customer service and social media. While you may not make a lot of money per job, the cumulative effect can add up over time. Plus, working from home gives you the flexibility to set your own hours and take care of your family as well. While we see virtual assistants as the most popular jobs with moms, we also see lots of moms become freelancers so they have a little more control over their schedule and what projects they take on; freelancers generally do not get company benefits, but a part time or full time employee normally does not get to pick projects or their schedules so there is a bit of a trade off here that should be considered.

Create A Routine

One of the biggest things that will help you work from home as a mom is to create a routine for yourself and your kiddos. Put your kids down for a nap at the same time each day, and use that time to get some work done. Is your kid an early riser? Plan to work after they go to sleep. Is your child a night owl? Get up early and work then. Figure out what works best for your lifestyle, and stick to that so that you are able to work in between spending those precious moments with your babies.

Ask For Help

Starting a business or finding work can be tough, especially when you’re a stay at home mom with no child care. But there are ways to make it work. First, ask your friends and family if they can watch your kids for an hour or two while you work. If that’s not possible, try to find another stay at home mom who can trade off watching each other’s kids. You can also look into hiring a part-time nanny or babysitter to help out. Some companies even offer childcare stipends to help. When you are going through the job hunt process, let potential employers know what your schedule is, how often you can work, and ask how they can help you create a work environment at home.

Finally, there are some ways you can save money too that can help! Check those out here.

What suggestions do you have for moms looking to earn money while staying at home with their kids? Let us know!

 

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June 6, 2022

7 Tips for Balancing Kids and Work as a Work-at-Home Mom

As a stay-at-home mom, you have an added obstacle when it comes to getting work done at home: kids! From wanting to play with you all day long to those household chores catching your eye when you need to concentrate, there are plenty of distractions that can get in the way of your work. Here are 7 tips that will help you get things done AND make the most of your time as a work-at-home mom while you balance caring for your kids, chores, and, of course, working!

1) Manage Your Time

Managing your time can be difficult when you are working from home, especially when little ones are involved! Sometimes, there’s so much to do that you don’t know where to start. Use apps like Asana or Todoist to help keep track of all your work, home, and personal tasks so you know what you need to focus on next. Manage your time by TAKING TIME to get your to-do list written down in a single location. Taking time to do something like that can seem counterproductive, but this also helps you see what you need to prioritize first. For example, if your kids have activities early in the morning Tuesdays, you can plan out to have meetings in the afternoon so you can still get your kids where they need to go.

It’s also helpful to use collaborative tools like Slack or Google Hangouts to share information with co-workers, family members, or team members who might be involved in various aspects of your projects. If you run into any issues with these apps, check out ClickUp, which offers a single solution for managing your entire business by providing an app suite that enables teams to stay on top of their work together. Use whatever tools work best for you; in a world full of technology, there are so many great things to help you stay connected!

2) Organize Your Life

Okay, so you just completed tip number one. You have all your information in a time management app. Now what? Get organized! You have your schedule laid out and priorities set. Time to work around that. Kids have camp Tuesday morning? Drop them off…then what? That’s where tip #2 comes in handy. Organize ahead of time that you will bring your laptop with you and sit in a nearby coffee shop to work so you’re close to pick up the kids when they are done. Plan ahead to bring your laptop, charger, etc.

Another example (and one of our favorite ways) of organizing your life and creating structure is with a weekly meal plan. Before work, spend time planning out your meals and snacks. You’ll enjoy more variety at dinnertime if you can plan your meals ahead of time, rather than reacting to what happens on particular days or nights. While many work-from-home moms struggle with finding time to get their jobs done and handle family responsibilities, many more have trouble setting aside enough time for themselves each day. Eating a healthy meal is included in that time! 

3) Save Your (Emotional) Energy

Focus on your emotional bank account so that you don’t run out of reserves by getting into too many negative arguments with your kids. I’m not saying your kids will start arguments. What I’m saying is that maybe you have a meeting that doesn’t go well. You’re frustrated. Upset. It happens to all of us. It can be difficult to turn around and be positive — especially if your kids are a little hangry on top of all of that!

It’s important to save your emotional energy, which ties into tips #1 and #2. When you’re managing your time and organizing everything, give yourself a breather. Seriously. You deserve it. Don’t schedule a meeting right on top of picking your kids up from camp. Don’t stress yourself out by cramming your schedule as tight as possible. Most important of all, don’t be afraid to ask for help. Being a mom is hard. Working a job is hard. You’re doing BOTH. You’re amazing, and even you need help once in a while. Please don’t be afraid to ask for it!

4) DON’T Do Laundry

We all know that laundry gets done, but when you’re busy with work (and kids), it can get left behind. Partner up with your family members to divvy up household chores. Sometimes we can actually procrastinate by doing household chores. If this is you, definitely work with your family to split up tasks. Or, they might be distractions too because you just can’t stand it when piles of laundry are all over! Ask your family to help: that might look like putting laundry in a hamper in a closet, trading off who does the laundry, etc.

5) Get Help from Others

When you’re working from home, it can be hard to stay focused on your tasks when there are other things vying for your attention. A few words of advice: Get help! If you have young children, ask a friend or family member to babysit so you can block out time for work and get ahead of any looming deadlines. If you need some time away from your responsibilities but don’t want to travel to an office, use mobile apps like Skype and WhatsApp to set up virtual meetings with colleagues — you can make sure they don’t interrupt you while they can still benefit from your knowledge.

6) Stay Motivated

One of the biggest challenges for working moms is maintaining motivation to work, which can be hard to do when you’re tempted to break from it every time your kids cry or make a mess or ask to play. Setting boundaries is very important here, but so is asking for help! Re-visit tip #5 as many times as you need to. Also, use the community — there are plenty of online forums where other working moms share their tips, tricks, and stories (like ours!) — so that no matter what the mood or activity is at home, there’s always something motivating you to get back to work. Give yourself small daily rewards like gourmet coffee shop drinks or screen time on your favorite app (TikTok anyone?). And give yourself big rewards by going out with friends or getting a mani/pedi after hitting your goals like making a big sale or finishing a large project.

7) Stick to a Schedule

So you’ve put your tasks into a time management app. And you’ve worked on organizing your schedule to save your emotional energy. You even asked for help and split up chores. To top it all off, you set up rewards for yourself to stay motivated to work.

Great! Now what?

It’s time to put it all together in a weekly schedule that you follow. Sunday night work on getting your week into a time management app. Use that to organize your upcoming week. Assign chores on Monday. Reward yourself for making it halfway through the week with your favorite iced coffee on Wednesday. And repeat, weekly.

The unexpected will always happen, but if you have a framework to follow each week, you are sure to cut down on your distractions so that you can balance work, kids, and chores while working from home. Do you have a stellar tip that keeps you on track every week and well-balanced? Reach out to let us know what it is so we can share it!

 

 

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May 2, 2022

Why Moms Are The Best

The title of this blog may seem silly to you. After all, don’t we ALL know why moms are amazing?

The short answer is: YES! A big, resounding yes.

But it never hurts to remind folks just why moms are so awesome — especially with Mother’s Day quickly approaching. I sat down with my team and asked them about their own mothers, and I decided to share one of our newest team member’s stories; her name is Melissa.

Grandma’s Story

This story starts with Melissa’s grandmother. Born into a hardworking family with a wonderful mother of her own, she grew to be a strong and resilient person. Grandma loved school and learning, but grew up in a time where women did not attend college. Later in life, she revealed that her one regret was that she never received a Bachelor’s Degree.

But, that did not stop her. She and her husband started their own business, bringing in the family to help. The business grew to be successful, and when the time came, grandma passed on her business to her daughter (Melissa’s mom).

Mom’s Story

Raising a family of her own, Melissa’s mom took on the responsibility of running a business too. She was later diagnosed with breast cancer. Still, she ran her business, raised her daughter, and made sure to attend every single play, dance recital, school event, etc.! All this, and her mom even ran a farm on top of it!

Mom beat her cancer. She successfully ran the family business. Her daughter grew up alongside the business…and some chickens on the farm!

Melissa’s Story

Melissa spent her childhood at the family business (in fact, she says she spent more time at the business than she did at home, as you working moms can probably understand!). She had two wonderful, strong female role models.

Growing up in a family where women were empowered to start their own companies, Melissa set out on her own. She worked hard, and building up her own client base, she became part of the HireMyMom team. She saw the job listing we had available and knew it was a perfect fit. Her family had wonderful support in their business endeavors, and she wanted to give back that same support to other moms working on their own career journeys.

While she spread her wings, she still brought her own style back to the family business, working with us here at HireMyMom in the process. Three generations worked together. Sometimes, maybe, they worked a little too closely, getting on each other’s nerves! But it was an experience they wouldn’t trade for the world, getting to spend each day together.

Sadly, Melissa lost her grandmother a year ago, just before Mother’s Day. Remembering her grandmother’s lifelong regret of not finishing college, Melissa worked with her family to contact a nearby college to get an honorary degree from them, just before her grandmother passed away.

Melissa told me that she doesn’t want to brag, but that might have been the best gift she’s ever given (that, or the puppy she surprised her mom with four years ago on Mother’s Day)! Her grandmother proudly showed off her degree to everyone that would listen. She told them two things: she graduated college, and her family helped her get her degree.

Today

This Mother’s Day looks very different for Melissa. It’s truly the first one her family will be celebrating without her grandmother. But, it’s a chance to reminisce about all the strong women that came before. Those that paved the way for where we are today.

The women who worked hard to raise their families, creating future generations. The women who ran businesses, despite missing the opportunity to go to college. The women who made sure that their kids came first, no matter what else was happening in their lives.

To all those wonderful moms out there, this one is for you.

We see you, working hard every day to support your family.

We see you, trying to balance it all.

We see you, making space for yourself so that you can then make space for others.

That is why we love working with this community of mothers. You are all amazing, wonderful, and supportive. You deserve all the recognition in the world for your hard work. We see you, we understand you, and we are here to help lift you up!

Melissa still works with her own mom, and they now work with us at HireMyMom! Together, we have created a very successful business relationship. I’m so happy to have heard their story, and to have shared it with all of you.

This Mother’s Day, make sure you reach out to all those wonderful mothers in your life to say THANK YOU! And, if you have a second, share your own story with us. We would love to hear your journey and how HireMyMom has helped shape it. Please send your story to contact@hiremymom.com so that we can share it with all those other great moms out there reading this.

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January 31, 2022

How to Expertly Blend Homeschool and Work from Home

As more parents choose to work from home, many also choose to educate their children at home. School closures, pandemic disruptions, an opportunity to design learning around particular interests, and a desire to have more control over time and learning are all factors driving the trend. 

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, homeschooling increased sharply in 2020 when the pandemic abruptly changed the face of school. And, parents report being increasingly open to different types of schooling beyond neighborhood schools–a sign that homeschooling is a trend that will likely continue to grow.

Homeschooling can offer many benefits–like the flexibility to take time off when it suits you and the opportunity to have more direct influence over what, when, and how your children learn. It can also reduce the chaos that marks the mornings as families scramble to get everyone dressed and off to a day at school.

But it also comes with a fair number of challenges–especially for parents who work. Adding homeschool to the mix can be challenging for moms who work from home. But, with some patience, a plan, and a big helping of grace, it’s totally possible. Here are our best tips for merging home life with working at home and homeschooling.

Set goals

If you are already homeschooling and adding work to the mix, or if you are already working from home and adding homeschool, take a few minutes to set some goals. 

Your goals don’t need to be lofty. In fact, you might make establishing a baseline routine one of your goals or select a set amount of books to read by a specific date. But any goal, no matter how large or small it is, will help direct your actions and give you a greater sense of control over your time.

 Allowing enough transition time and space to feel a little uncomfortable can help you adjust to the role you are adding to the mix. 

Set up a school space and a workspace

We’re big fans of designated workspaces. Having a space set aside to do your professional work is key to helping you focus and feel ready to tackle your to-do list. The same goes for your kids. 

Identify an area where homeschool activities will take place and make the space conducive to learning. This doesn’t necessarily mean you need a dedicated school room in your house. But, having a place where you gather to do school work with supplies and books at the ready will increase your effectiveness as you embark on your school lessons and help your children know when it’s time to work.

If you don’t have an extra desk or table to set up a school area, consider a portable desk, a box or a backpack to store all schoolwork and supplies, so it’s easily accessed when it’s time to dig into lessons.

Create routines

When you work at home, it’s essential to give your days a rhythm. When you work at home and homeschool, a routine is doubly important because it helps your kids know what to expect. 

You don’t need a routine that’s as rigid as a school uses, but giving shape to your days will help you and your kids function on a more automatic level and reduce some of the cognitive load that goes into working and schooling at home.

For example, a routine for a day when everyone is home may start with breakfast, kitchen clean-up, and bed making. From there, have a short family meeting to discuss what’s on the docket for the day. Try to keep the general shape of the day similar to the previous day, so your kids know what to expect. This makes it easier to fit everything into the day.

Also, don’t hesitate to add outside free time, a quiet reading hour, or a rest period to the day so that you can carve out quiet time to do work that requires deep concentration. Adding these periods to each day can make it easier for your kids to go along with the plan because they know what to expect. In our experience, it’s easier to front-load the day with academic work rather than trying to pull kids into work later in the day once they settle into free-time activities.

Plan

Once you establish routines, layer a weekly and daily plan over the routine. Many homeschool curriculums lay out a week’s worth of lessons for you. Others let you pick what to cover in a week. Before each week begins, look over your plan. Then:

  • Consider if the outlined week is feasible based on your other responsibilities for the week. If so, great. If not, identify what needs to change and write it down.
  • Gather all the supplies you’ll need for the lessons and have them handy.
  • Consider your work responsibilities and make sure you have everything you need to succeed, including support from your spouse or childcare, if required.
  • Communicate with your kids about how the week will work and outline how they can help the family meet objectives for the week.

Be flexible

Despite creating routines and planning efforts, things will happen that require flexibility. Someone may get sick, an emergency house repair could pop up, or a work situation could change the way you funnel your attention for the week. 

This is all normal and part of life. Sometimes days and weeks will go great, and you’ll marvel at your efficiency and accomplishments. Some days and weeks will be more challenging. The key is to be flexible and go with it. Trust that your efforts will come together to achieve your professional goals while giving your kids a solid educational foundation for the future.

Find support

Working at home can be lonely–many moms miss the camaraderie of the office and the support that comes from co-workers. When you work at home, it’s crucial to build a professional network that can help support you.

Networks are also essential to your role as an educator and your children’s role as a student. Many communities now offer homeschool enrichment classes, library services, co-ops, and other ways to connect with local homeschoolers. You can also find support online. 

Making these connections will help you and your kids feel more comfortable learning and growing together.

Share the load

Remember that you are one person trying to do a lot of things. When you work at home and homeschool, you are a mother, wife, teacher, and professional. It’s essential that you communicate with your spouse and discuss ways to share the load. 

But, know that even the best team needs outside help from time to time. There may be times when you need to call in support to help you manage the load. Here are some ideas:

  • Tap extended family members to help with teaching. If grandparents or aunts, or uncles are nearby, see if one (or more of them) can help pitch in for teaching duty. 
  • Consider a tutor for some aspects of school work. Bring in a tutor if you struggle in an area or prefer not to be hands-on for a subject. Many tutors are available during the traditional school day, and having that help can help lighten your load, free up time when you can work, and introduce your children to another partner of their learning journey. This works exceptionally well with older kids.
  • Use childcare for a portion of the day. If your children are young, a few hours of childcare can really help free up time for you to get work done. There are plenty of options beyond traditional daycare centers–especially for homeschool families. Check out these ideas.
  • Outsource home tasks, such as grocery shopping or hire help with laundry or cleaning. Here are some tips to get started.

 

You tell us!

We’d love to hear your top tips. Drop us a line and tell us how you manage the responsibilities of work and homeschool.

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October 11, 2021

How to Make Money from Home and Save on Childcare

At HireMyMom, we work with mom professionals at every stage of their motherhood journey. We have moms with newborns considering their professional options and mothers with kids entering college who love working at home and can’t imagine any other way of working. 

One of the most common questions we hear from mom professionals with young children considering working from home is: can I work at home without childcare? And, we get it! Childcare is expensive, it can be tough to arrange, and using it can be a source of stress. 

The answer is that it depends on lots of factors. Let’s dig into what’s possible, based on our experience working with thousands of mom professionals as well as employers who seek them.

A General Rule of Thumb

If you have young children who aren’t old enough to go to school, you can probably work about ten hours a week without childcare. Any more than that is difficult because your kids need your attention just like your work. 

Without childcare, squeezing in those ten hours will take creativity and discipline. Many moms who work from home with little kids rise early to knock out work before their family wakes up. Others burn the midnight oil, and some are committed to working every second of nap time. Some moms establish routines that include specific hands-off kid activities that allow them to work while the kids keep themselves busy. 

The great news is that HireMyMom offers many part-time opportunities that can work with this schedule. But, if you find that you want more hours, you can likely find a part-time childcare situation that meets your needs and your budget.

Finding Part-Time Childcare

The prospect of finding high-quality, full-time child care can be daunting. But, there are several ways to find part-time child care, perfect for work-from-home moms. Here are some ideas:

  • Ask nearby family members if they are willing to commit to helping a few hours one or two days a week. 
  • Share childcare duties with another work-from-home mom who has similar needs. Take turns on kid duty a few hours each day or every other day, giving each set of adults a chance to work kid-free and the kids a chance to play with friends.
  • See if local churches offer a mother’s day out program where you can enroll your children and establish a regular work time while the kids attend the program.
  • Consider a preschool program that your kids attend a few mornings a week. Many pre-schools offer a session that meets from 9 to noon. Usually, you can pick the number of days your child attends, choosing between two and five-day programs.
  • Enroll your kids in a sports camp that meets a few times each week and work while they attend. 
  • Look for a local high school or community college student who could provide a few hours of support each week. Community college students often have a few free hours midday between classes, which can be ideal if you are looking for mid-day care.
  • Ask a neighbor to consider swapping tasks with you–trading a few hours of child care for a service you’d be happy to provide like shopping, cooking, or organizing.

Need More Childcare?

If you need more hours of child care than these ideas provide, consider partnering with another family (or two) to hire a shared nanny. This is an excellent solution if you both need a fair amount of childcare but don’t want to use a child care center or commit to a full-time child care provider. 

There are many ways to split the nanny’s time. One option is arranging different days/hours but ensuring the nanny will have a set number of work hours each week. Or, you could arrange to have the nanny take all the kids to alternating houses throughout the week. This type of setup makes it easier to find a professional, full-time nanny without having to shoulder the expense on your own.

If you go this route, do the work upfront to make the arrangement successful. Start by agreeing on a general framework for hours and days at the outset. This type of arrangement works better when everyone is on the same page in terms of schedules. But, be prepared to be flexible, as schedules and needs can change. 

Also, talk with the other family about general expectations for kid behavior and activities while the nanny is in charge. For example, will kids watch television with the nanny? Do you expect the nanny to supervise while the kids play or actively engage them in activities? Many nannies provide light housekeeping services like dishes and laundry. So, map out expectations in those realms, too. Discussing these topics in advance can ensure a smoother partnership.

Another idea: Invest in Yourself

Many moms with young children use the time when their kids are tiny to take training classes and launch a virtual assistant (VA) business. As a VA, you take care of many tasks, including email response, appointment setting, travel planning, and calendar management. These businesses are flexible and can be scaled as your family life changes and your children grow. 

VA work is catching on quickly. You can work as a general VA who does a wide variety of tasks or become one with a specialty in a particular industry or need. It’s a great business model because it solves a problem so many people have — squeezing more tasks into a day. It’s also an excellent lifestyle for moms who want to control their own time while keeping professional ambitions alive. 

At HireMyMom, we’ve partnered with four different training programs to help our members learn more about this business opportunity and acquire the skills needed to launch a VA business.

Find support

No matter how much you love your kids or how much you love your job, it can be tough to be a working mom. Join our Community of moms working from home and share your struggles, ideas, or best tips for managing child care and connecting with other moms like you.

 

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May 3, 2021

How to Accomplish More: Organization Tools and Hacks for Work from Home Moms

There is no one trick pony to being a mom, because let’s be honest with ourselves—motherhood is no perfect equation. Over the history of time and the long evolving course of motherhood however, some ancestral knowledge has been passed down from generation to generation. These “wives tales”, in combination with modern technology capabilities, can be used by modern moms to take on the day, and slay any dragons that might come their way. Here are some of the top insider tips we have allocated that can serve as mother’s little helpers.

 

Top All Around Tips and Tricks

All help is good help, and these tricks are passed down to help cut down time wasted so that you are efficient throughout the day, or god willing—maybe even able to have a moment to yourself.

Meal prep: Defrost meat in the fridge, cut up veggies, shred cheese, and do all the preparation needed for your family meal the night before or in the morning. That way when you get up in the morning you can easily assemble everything into a pan to throw back into the fridge or a crock pot— and then dinner is served whenever you are ready.

Make a to-do list: Create a to-do list the night before so you know what you need to tackle the next day and can hit the ground running when you wake up. Having a written record can help to remind you when you get distracted, something that happens easily with children around. With the ability to keep on task your day will be more efficient, and what is more—a study by professors Baumeister and Masicampo from Wake Forest University showed that, while tasks we haven’t done distract us, just making a plan to get them done can free us from this anxiety. Less anxiety is always a good thing as a mother.

Set healthy boundaries: Say yes to the things you can do, but remember to allow yourself to say no or not now to the things you really can’t take on. Don’t spread yourself too thinly to the point where you don’t have time for yourself or your family. Because “mom” is often synonymous with the word “superhero”, a mother has a tendency to try and take it all on. Remember that the best version of yourself is the best for your family, so take the time you need to when necessary.

Create a family organization hub: This can be shared notes on your phone for frequently needed items, or if your kids are younger, this can be a white board or note pad. The lists can include functional things such as shopping lists, or even be a space to share creative thoughts. Centralizing this in a place that is a common traffic area, such as the kitchen or the mud room, makes it available to everyone to have access to it. You can also couple this with a digital calendar that allows you to invite family members to the clan’s various extracurricular events. This allows for every member of the family to post their events and highlight the ones that are special to them. It also helps to put appointments on the calendar, with reminders, so no one forgets important dates. 

 

Modern Day Motherly Applications

If  as a mother you find yourself asking: “Is there an app for that?”—then the answer is yes. Here are some of the more useful apps we have found for moms that need a little technological assistance. 

Delegating duties: TaskRabbit is an online marketplace that will connect you to helpers that can do everyday tasks. Their helpers can assist you with moving tasks, handyman help around the house, gardening, or any other errands or responsibilities you might need assistance with.

Planning proficiency: Cozi is an organizer designed for families, and a game changer when it comes to being a mom with a plan. It can help coordinate schedules, grocery lists, activities, to do lists, and facilitate communication for the entire family. Cozi is one of the best calendar apps for moms because they have truly thought of everything that goes into a mother’s day.

Mom matchmaker:  Peanut is the ultimate app for moms to meet moms. It connects mothers in your geographic area with similar interests. Referred to as “Tinder for Moms”, Peanut can help you meet other moms similar to you or maybe even needing help with some similar challenges you are facing.

Splendid savings: Ibotta is a cashback app that helps you save money on groceries, beer, wine, pharmacy, clothing, beauty & wellness products, restaurants, home & electronics items, and travel. You simply scan your receipts and earn cash back. What a beautiful world we live in when we can get cash back on wine. 

No one ever said that motherhood was easy, but it has always been a worthwhile endeavor. Balancing the many roles, tasks, and extraneous superhero responsibilities is no small feat either, so as they say “work smarter, not harder”. Whether you’re a new mother, a seasoned one, a single one, or an expecting one—we hope these tips will help you in your honorable maternal journey. 

 

 

 

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April 12, 2021

Ready, Set, Sizzle! How to Plan Your Summer of Fun and Relaxation Now

Summer is around the corner. If you’re a working mom–especially a work-from-home mom, it’s time to make a plan. 

The prospect of planning a summer’s worth of activities is always daunting. But, let’s take a minute to acknowledge that it’s more complicated than usual this year. In many parts of the country, COVID-19 led to school disruptions for all or part of the school year. What’s more, many locations remain in restricted mode due to COVID infections. So, some typical summer activities, like in-person camps, are still up-in-the-air in many places. Understandably, different families have different perspectives on what activities are safe or will be in June. 

All that said, summer is still coming. And, if we ever needed a collective chance to exhale and have fun, it’s this summer. Here are my best tips for considering your options for work and play and making a plan that works for you and your family. 

 

Grab Your Calendar

When you work at home, a summer plan is the key to success, and the first step is mastering the calendar. Map out your summer by:

  • Confirming school start and end dates.
  • Crossing off any dates that you know are already taken with family commitments, vacations, visits, or sports. 
  • Identifying weeks that are likely to be extra busy based on professional obligations, personal commitments, or deadlines. 

 

Think About What You Want

Next, it’s time to think about your desires for the summer. It’s been a long road, and prioritizing yourself now can pay dividends in the long run. There’s no shame in carving out some personal time. Consider:

  • How are you feeling after this crazy pandemic year?
  • What are your goals for the summer?
  • Do you want to work more to make up lost ground? Or are you interested in working less? If so, is it feasible?
  • How do you want your schedule to work? 
  • What are your child care needs?

 

Talk With Your Family

Start by checking-in with your spouse to set goals and discuss summer plans more fully. Then, ask your kids how they’d like to spend the summer. Creating a summer bucket list is a fun way to start this conversation. Identify the “must-do” items you all agree that want to fit in this summer. 

As you generate the list, include a wide variety of experiences that range from big goals, like going on vacation, to smaller goals, like having family game nights. If you expect to have child care for the summer, mix in some options that take advantage of that help. For example, a goal to visit each park in your town or visiting six different parks in one day can make for fun and focused activities for your child care provider.

 

Find Child Care

Now that you have a better sense of how the summer may unfold, it’s time to source the proper child care. Luckily, summer can offer a wide variety of options, from private care to camps. Here are some ideas to consider.

  • Enlist family members to help. If you have local family members who are willing to step in and help with child care, reach out and sign them up now. The sooner, the better to get on other people’s calendar. This is a low-cost way to know that your kids are in good hands. However, some people find it stressful to have family members managing child care. So, weigh the pros and cons before you commit to this approach to child care, especially if you need a lot of help this summer. 
  • Hire a high school or college student to work as a nanny. Many students are looking for summer jobs, and taking care of younger kids is often a popular option. While this may be more expensive than some other options, it can be economical if you have several children. In addition, it tends to offer the most flexibility and gives you the most control over virus exposure since your child care bubble is small.
  • Form a co-op with other families. If you have schedule flexibility and are willing to share child-care duties with another family, a co-op arrangement may be right for you. In this scenario, you and like-minded families will trade-off child care duties based on an agreed-upon schedule. This keeps costs down and provides built-in playmates for your kids. However, it does require you to do some extra work in coordinating and caring for additional children for a portion of the summer. 
  • Sign up for summer day camp. Day camps are a tried and true part of summer child care. They are often offered locally by a wide variety of groups. In many cases, the kids stay outside and busy or are deeply engaged in activities they enjoy. It also creates large blocks of the day for you to work. On the flip side, availability can be limited, prices vary, and getting out the door each day can create some crazy mornings.
  • Send the kids to a trustworthy overnight camp. A week (or more) of summer camp can be the perfect solution for some families. Going away to camp offers a great experience for kids, lets them build new social muscles (vital after a year with limited or interrupted school), and meet new friends. It also gives you and your spouse a short vacation from active parenting so you can pause and get refreshed and maybe even take a real couple’s vacation. Or, if you have a week that looks extra busy at work, an overnight camp can help make that week easier for you. However, it can be an expensive option, and some camps may be operating on a limited basis. 
  • Consider summer school. After a crazy COVID year, summer school might be an excellent way to stem learning loss. It can also be a low-cost way to keep kids busy while you work. Check with your local school district to determine what they are planning for the summer term and who is eligible to attend. Many schools plan to offer expanded summer school options this year, and the sessions are often free or very low-cost. Many children may welcome the break from Zoom school and the sense of normalcy that comes from going to school, even if the season seems out-of-sync.

Share Your Ideas!

The long days and warm nights of summer will be here before you know it. Enjoy the process of planning for your summer. Please drop me a line and let me know how you will enjoy summer this year.

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