As a work-from-home mama, there are mind battles that I’m constantly having to silence. One battle being how to juggle both titles – Mama + Business Owner.

How do I balance my time between work and kids?

What’s the key to not feeling guilty, getting work done, but not have to stay up all night to get it all done?

I feel like I’m failing at both… If I give my attention to my work or my kids, I feel like I’m ignoring the other.

The above are just a few of the things that I’ve battled with internally as a business owner and mama who works from home. For those of you who don’t know, I homeschool my two kiddos, too!

I want to be able to be fully present for my children (they are my top priority!) but at the same time I want to be fully present for my business (my biz pays the bills, after-all!).

How do I show-up for both 100% without feeling guilty?

Maybe you’ve had to same struggles as a work-from-home parent. Maybe you’ve asked yourself the same questions. Maybe you’ve taken a look at someone else’s life and wondered how she seems to do everything all by herself.

You’re not alone. I’ve been there, too.

I’ve been self-employed for over 10 years and once my kids came along, I had to learn how to juggle even more responsibilities.

My kids are currently 8 and 5. My oldest is in 2nd grade and he’s been homeschooled since he started kindergarten. I’m certainly not Supermom (though some days I feel like I am). I’ve just learned a lot about balancing priorities and budgeting my time even better than I budget my finances.

When I started having other work-from-home parents ask me how I do it all, I knew it was something that I needed to blog about. So, I decided to put together a five-part series geared specifically towards work-from-home parents. I’ll be sharing a new blog each Wednesday (starting today) for the the next 5 weeks.

Please note that I am far from perfect and there are days that I still struggle with balancing the two. I think it’s important to constantly be evaluating your systems. And, if you are starting to feel burned out, you probably need to come back to visit this blog series.

So, without further ado … let’s get this series underway, shall we?

1. Know Your Business Goals

Is your goal to work full time? Part time? Be the primary income earner? Bring in supplemental income? Be self-employed? Work remotely for someone else?

When your goals are clear, everything else will fall into place. If you’re working full time and have young kids at home, then full time childcare is a necessity. Whether you have a nanny come into your home, or decide to take your kids to daycare, it’s nearly impossible to work full time and have no outside help with the kids.

Think about it, if you worked in an office full time, you wouldn’t be able to bring your kids with you. Just because your office is at home doesn’t mean you’ll be able stay home with your kids and work at the same time.

But if your goal is like mine and you want to work part-time so that you’re able to stay home with your kiddos, that is definitely doable! Setting up a consistent and realistic schedule is key.

If you’ve got really little ones at home, like ages two and under, you’ve got to give yourself so much grace. Do your best to work while the kids are napping. Chat with your spouse/partner and decide on a schedule that allows you to work without taking precious time away from that relationship. Consider investing in a Mother’s Helper once or twice a week to hang out with the kids so you have some uninterrupted time to focus on your work.

Working part-time at home with kids is definitely doable! A bit a learning and trial-and-error may be required until you find your groove, but you’ll get there.

Check back next week for tip number two!

Other blogs you might enjoy in the meantime…

The Five Free Tools I Use to Help Run My Business

6 Ways to Reenergize During Midweek Blues

Your Most Asked Homeschool Questions Answered

How I Meal Plan Our Dinners Each Month