Are you in that great phase of motherhood when trying to get ANYTHING done while your kid is awake is pretty much pointless? How in the world are you supposed to run a business from home when your little one is getting into everything? The answer is to learn to be a naptime CEO.
I started my online business several years before my kids were born and had been used to working whenever I wanted. It was pretty easy to keep that going during the newborn phase. But once my baby became more active, it got so hard to stay focused on work! I put us both on a routine and got my sanity back.
How to run a business while your kid sleeps
Balancing a growing at home business and motherhood can be really challenging. The key to being successful at both is learning to manage your time well. Getting into a routine can really help you be able to do that.
Being able to move your work time to when your child sleeps can help you be more intentional with your time. When you’re working, you’ll be able to concentrate completely on your business. And when your kid is awake, you won’t be distracted by incoming emails and messages.
The first step in becoming a naptime CEO is making sure that your child is on a solid sleep schedule. It’s next to impossible to plan around your kid’s sleep time if you never know when they will be sleeping! There are tons of resources available for ideas on age appropriate sleep schedule ideas. Find what works best for your child and family, and stick to it!
How to set boundaries
The key to being a naptime CEO is setting boundaries with your time and sticking to them. Decide now that you’ll separate your work time from your time with your kids. There are several tools available that can help you do this.
Use a scheduling tool like Acuity or Bookafy to allow leads or clients to set up appointments. Make your availability time when your child is typically sleeping. You can even set up reminders so you won’t get so busy and forget about meetings!
Boomerang’s Inbox Pause feature for Gmail lets you set up select times to get your emails. You can set it to only have your emails come through while your child is sleeping. This prevents you from being distracted from the constant email alerts on your phone.
Moment is an app for your phone that keeps track of how often you use your phone. It can even tell you what apps you are spending the most time using. You can even use it to keep yourself accountable to the boundaries you set.
How to turn off your work brain
The hardest part of being a naptime CEO is learning to turn off your work brain when you are with your kids. You can use technology to help you set boundaries, but only self-control will help you with your thoughts! But with time you’ll learn to focus your full attention on your amazing kids because you’ll know that your business can wait!
