6 Essential Tools For Any Work At Home Mom

When you’re a work at home mom, finding the right balance between running your business and taking care of the kids can be tough. With so much to do, you need the right tools to be productive and efficient so that every minute of your time counts. Thankfully, between kid-friendly activities, your own space in the house, and the right electronics and gear, you can create your ideal work at home situation.

Private Work Space

Part of the beauty of being a work at home mom is the flexibility to take care of the kids and get your work done throughout the day. In order to have an organized workspace, you need some part of the house that’s private when you need to take work calls or get important stuff done while the kids watch a movie with the sitter. Whether that’s a corner of your bedroom or a home office, make sure your space has a lock on the door, just in case.

Child Transportation

Transportation like a baby carrier, not a minivan, is a necessity. Baby carriers have become so savvy and are perfect for working moms. Transportation like a baby carrier allows you to sling it across your chest and carry baby around while you work around the house. It creates a mother/baby bond while allowing you to multi-task. Get one that’s comfortable for your back and makes it easy for you to move, so you can keep the baby with you as you get errands and other things done. That way you won’t have to keep dropping what you’re doing to check on the baby while you’re trying to finish up typing emails or viewing work documents on your smartphone.

A Great 2-in-1 Laptop For a Work At Home Mom

Too many electronics and gadgets aren’t a good idea for a work at home mom. For one thing, kids tend to make life a little messy, and you don’t want to lose your tablet in the middle of working on a big freelance project that you haven’t saved to your laptop yet. The best solution is a good phone and a durable, lightweight 2-in-1 laptop like the Lenovo Yoga series. A 2-in-1 is great because it’s slimmer than most laptops and you can flip from touchscreen to laptop depending on whether you’re designing a website or writing freelance articles. Make sure the family understands that your 2-in-1 is for your work only, and you may have to get a separate device for the kids to play games and watch movies on.

Good Storage

You also need good storage for your work items, both electronically and physically. Get a cloud account with ample space for your electronic documents, files, and projects. In your home office, make sure your desk has drawers that lock or get a small file cabinet with locking drawers. Shred anything you don’t need so it’s immediately out of the way and in the recycling bin. This way your work stuff is safe and your office is clutter-free.

Activities for the Kids

Whether your kids are too young for school or are home for the summer, keep them busy with fun and educational activities. I always recommend networking with other moms and building a community of parents motivated to find activities that promote socializing and building quality learning opportunities, while giving you a timeout to take care of business. There are many working mom networks, with a little research in your local area, you can find the best fit for you. Nowadays many tablets are kid-friendly and come with privacy settings and downloadable content perfect for children, but need to be supervised by an adult, not used as a babysitter. These devices may work well by allowing you to keep an eye and multi-task. Books and games are always a good idea, just before nap time, preparing them for sleep, which is the perfect time to complete some additional work task.

Cases for Your Electronics

Part of your day probably involves taking the older kids to sport practice or other activities, and carting the kids and your work stuff around with you as you run errands. Accidents happen, especially when you’re juggling so much. Make sure you have a hard case for your 2-in-1 and a sturdy case for your smartphone. Your electronics are essential to running your business from home, so keep them safe and protected. A bag with padding is also a good idea.
The flexibility to change your schedule or adapt to unexpected things happening is essential when you work at home with the kids. Hopefully, these tools will make it easier to respond to anything the kids might get into or any work crises that occur.

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