Since last’s week post was such a hit, I decided to do another round of tips for maker moms trying to make it through this crazy roller coaster of an adventure in entrepreneurship with a little sanity left.
Eat (a healthy) lunch
Nothing sucks productivity out of the middle of the day than that post-lunch heavy feeling or the weakness from skipping a meal. Always eat lunch, and make it as nutritious as you can. When I set a “lunch break” for myself between transitioning from one task (computer work) to another (sewing) I found that I was incredibly more focused & productive in the evenings – even more so when I had a super healthy lunch, like a salad or wrap filled with nutritional goodness. Eating a healthy lunch also helps reduce the potential for afternoon headaches.
For moms feeling the pull of entrepreneurship & mommyhood, make it a routine to sit down to eat lunch with your child(ren) every day. If they are school age, set a weekly lunch date in the cafeteria with your kiddo & bring them a hot meal from home (I eat lunch at school with my son each Tuesday). Making these family & health centered decisions improved my quality of life & still empower me – it’s amazing being my own boss & being able to take a break in the middle of a work day to eat lunch with my son! Sometimes I even hop out to lunch with my friends. Try bending your perception of what your work day has to look like & make room for a decently restorative lunch break that fills up your body & soul with healthfulness.
Weed out (time) waste
Whatever isn’t working for you, get rid of it. If that Facebook group isn’t either a) making you money or b) improving your business through connections (with industry leaders/peers with opportunities for you to grow your business or clients), content (posting helpful articles) or skill learning resources, leave it. I ditched every Facebook group I was in except for a small handful at the beginning of this year & oh my goodness. Talk about liberating. It was actually almost disgusting how much free time I had after I stopped trolling Facebook & forums, haha!
Don’t limit your (time) waste elimination to just Facebook. Forums, social media apps/sites, blogs & more are all guilty of pulling me in. My advice: unsubscribe from email updates, turn off push notifications on your phone & only invest time online where you see a hugely positive impact. For me, oh my handmade! goodness is the only forum I am a part of because it has had a massively positive effect on my business – the feedback I got about my brand from that community directly led to me being featured in Parents Magazine & dozens of other amazing opportunities! Since I wasn’t seeing results even close to that from other sites, I deleted my accounts/left groups & moved on. I urge you to do the same – dedicate yourself only on what helps your business thrive.
Streamline your processes
If there is a quicker/simpler/more affordable (while still ethical) way to do what you are doing, do it. Even something as simple as setting up a shipping station where all your business cards, boxes/mailers, promotional materials & tape stays at the ready will save you time & energy. Try new methods of production – is assembly line quicker/more efficient than making each item one at a time? Is it faster if you sew on faces before stuffing? Quicker to cut multiple prints at once rather than one at a time? Do whatever you can to ease your workload & increase your speed of production. Likewise, streamline any other processes possible – where I live, there are two thrift stores on the way to the grocery store so I can shop for supplies on the way to buy food, plus our grocery store has a mini post office in it, so I can tackle supply sourcing, grocery shopping & package shipping all in one trip. Strategize & figure out what errands you have on the same route & try to do them all at once rather than make multiple trips out. Less time spent running errands = more time making awesome products or more time with your family!
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