After about 9 months off work due to the birth of my first baby I was ready to tackle that world again. I was a little hesitant though because I had already tried to go back to my old career a few months earlier which turned out to be a disaster. My baby girl and I were definitely not ready to handle the pressures of reality and it stressed us both out. So, here I was a few months later, a little bit wiser and armed with a new idea to try an online career from home instead.

Now, I love being able to spend time with my little girl and earn money from home. My husband was also pretty impressed when the money started coming in, but it didn’t always run so smoothly.

I guess you always have to expect an adjustment period when you add a new challenge into the mix. Before I started my business I had the responsibility of looking after the baby, doing some of the housework, playing at the park and some cooking. But now add keeping clients happy and learning about internet marketing – some days felt a bit overwhelming.

This is where I had to stand back and re-evaluate how this new situation was working in our family. I knew I COULD do it all because I was determined and I also saw heaps of other mums juggle everything so well. And that’s when I started asking them, “How do you do it?” I was so impressed at how much more streamlined things became for them with just a couple of changes. The common theme they all talked about was TIME MANAGEMENT!

For many of you Time Management may be a pretty obvious solution, but I swear that “Baby Brain” kind of thinking hadn’t really worn off yet. Sometimes you just need someone to spell it out for you. So from that day on I decided to get better organised:

1. I wrote a daily plan of action – with the assumption that this plan would be VERY FLEXIBLE. At least that’s one thing I had learned since becoming a mum, you need to be flexible and not get too stressed if you’re late, not dressed correctly or have a bit of vomit on your new jumper. Anyway, babies actually do like routine, so once you start getting into the swing of things you’ll find you’ll be happier and calmer and so will the bubba.

2. Goal time – I wrote down how many hours of work I would like to achieve each day. Now if this doesn’t work some days remember your plan is flexible, so erhaps you can make it up at night, tomorrow morning or just another day.

3. An average day goes like this:

8am – 11:30am The mornings are pretty cruisy just getting dressed, having breakfast, doing some chores around the house and playing. I may check some emails and check the diary for the day, but I’ll leave the more serious work for later.

11:30 – 1:30pm SLEEP time for babies and WORK time for Mummies! I try and stay focused in this time just on work, so I really need to be dressed (most of the time) and have had something to eat, so I’m not distracted.

1:30pm – 4:30pm This is MOTHER-DAUGHTER time! We will go to the park, go shopping, mothers group or just go visiting a friend. Whatever! Some days I don’t get out of the house, but I try not to stress about it too much because at this age shes still interested in helping mummy hang out washing and chase after the cat!

4:30pm – 5:30pm Afternoon naps can sometimes be 30 minutes and if I’m lucky 1 hour. In this time I go back into my office and check emails and do anything that can be done relatively quickly. I never start big projects at this time.

5:30pm – 7:30pm Most households are a bit crazy at this time and mine is no different. It’s bath-time, dinner-time, (screaming time!) and sleep-time all at once.

7:30pm Onwards: A couple of night’s a week when it’s quiet and my husband goes to the gym I like to do a few extra hours of work on my business.

The KEY for me is just not to stress out or make a big deal if my day doesn’t go exactly to plan. Sometimes the plan goes out the window, but that’s the fun and challenge of being a Mum.

Just think how lucky we are to have the choice to be able to spend our time with our precious little ones. They grow sssssooooooo quickly, so if you find yourself not being able to cope with everything some days, stop and think what is most important. Will it matter in 10 years time if you don’t get that second load of washing on the line? Will the world end if you don’t email that person back straight away? Or will you cherish the cuddles and special smiles you receive because you gave your children the attention they crave?

Use this time wisely and experience the real joys of watching your kids grow up …. and best of all HAVE FUN along the way!