Written by contributor Hillary Boucher of infinitely learning
When my husband and I set out to homeschool our three children while running two home-based businesses we had no idea what we were getting into. We knew we would love the flexibility, the sense of control and the bonus family time, but we didn’t realize just how well organized we would need to be or the added stress it would bring into our home.
My husband designs and installs stonework and we run the business end from our home. I run a local birth services business that includes photography, doula services and birth tub rentals. I also do web consulting work for small businesses and non-profit organizations.
Three years later and we’ve finally learned how to make it work.
Here are seven things I wish I’d known when we started.
1. Start with a strong daily rhythm.
We’ve found, without exception, when we put work first and kids second nothing gets accomplished. On a busy work day our ability to roll with a well-established rhythm becomes a lifesaver.
While rigid schedules are likely to be broken, a family rhythm moves with the unique needs of the day, holding steady ground for children to learn and parents to work.
Rhythm makes it easier to identify what times of day are best for working, what times are best for homeschooling–and when you’re really rolling both can happen simultaneously!
2. Make your marriage a priority.
When I asked my husband what he would put on this list he quickly answered, “Keep your marriage passionate!”
I had to laugh, and agree!
In the same way that a strong family rhythm helps everyone enjoy the day, a strong partnership helps you navigate choppy waters of work and homeschooling.
Some of our hardest times as a family are when we’ve allowed business or money stress to affect our relationship.
Make time for each other outside of work and parenting. Take a short coffee break in the kitchen. Schedule date nights (even if you stay home) and invest in keeping the spark alive.
3. Get organized (and stay that way).
Our family’s income and well-being depends on our ability to stay organized. We can’t afford to lose paperwork, forget client meetings or miss family events.
We were attracted to working at home because we wanted control over our life. This was impossible until we took ourselves seriously, implemented an organizational system that worked and committed to staying that way.
Part of our system involves a family command station with a calendar, filing cabinets, dry erase board and personal organizers.
Taking the time to set up a system that works for you makes it easier for you to get your work done and have more time for your family.
4. Go mobile.
The ability to be mobile adds flexibility to the work-at-home and homeschooling family.
Homeschoolers know that much learning happens outside of the house. Cloud computing means you can work at the park, during a violin lesson, or at swim class. Check out great tools like Google Apps, Evernote, and Dropbox.
5. Be realistic.
When I used to daydream about homeschooling there was a clean house, art projects drying on the table and lots of laughter as we learned math while cooking dinner. In reality, our homeschooling life looks nothing like this. And that’s okay.
You will need to ruthlessly prioritize your work and home to make sure you are getting both done sufficiently. Trying to do everything and be everyone won’t work.
You might have to make peace with a messy house or give up the dream of a big garden. Doing one job well is better than leaving a half-dozen unfinished.
My friend Jeanette runs a business in Chicago from her home and homeschools her two children with her partner who also works part-time. She breaks up her work into 30 minute tasks.
She knows that she’ll need to turn her attention to her family frequently and she makes amazing things happen 30 minutes at a time!
You can be brilliant at work and provide your kids with a wholesome learning environment, but you might have to say no to things you love in order to do so.
6. Create clear boundaries.
Frequent disruptions while working erode your effectiveness with your task and your patience with your children. Clear boundaries can help.
There will be times when you cannot be disturbed because of an important phone call and your family needs to know that.
My kids know if I’m working at the table downstairs they can come and talk to me or ask for my help. If I go upstairs it’s a cue that I can’t be disturbed.
Letting family life distract you from accomplishing your work goals isn’t in your family’s best interest.
You also have to commit to making time for your family. This integrated lifestyle can make it feel like there is always work to be done.
Try to set aside one part of the day for no computer or work. It doesn’t matter if it’s dinner time or morning, just make sure there is a time of day where your full attention turns to your family.
7. Plug into a support network.
No family is an island and everyone needs a support system. This is particularly true if you are living an unconventional lifestyle that includes working from home and homeschooling.
Start in the homeschooling community and find friends. Look into community programs for homeschoolers. Having some activities a few times a week can free up work time for you and meet your kids’ needs.
If you are really lucky you might actually meet a family like yours who understands the unique challenges you face.
There’s no one way to do this.
No philosophy, book or guru can tell you what will work for your family. Try to let go of any outside expectations of what life should look like and instead focus on creating a life that fits your family’s needs one day at a time.
Are you a work from home, homeschooling family? Tell us about the life hacks you use to make it work.
Thank you for this post! I found it via google search for this exact topic, and I’m glad I did. My significant other and I home school/unschool my five children, and I work full-time for an online media company, in addition to publishing my blog, being a guest blogger, and trying to fit in bits of time to work on some birth book ideas. My SO works full-time out of the home and my 17yo also works 4-5 days/week outside the home so I often feel like I’m juggling a lonely chaotic mess. Your tips not only give me concrete ideas but also reassure me that my guilt and grief over not being superwoman are misplaced. Hopefully some time soon I’ll feel under control enough to publish a post on this topic myself. 🙂
I am a single mother of a 4 year old and her birthday is in October for 5 years.Public school would hold her back a year (literally) with the dumbing down of America, I feel she is smarter at home and we have the freedom of many field trips. I am a Cosmetologist and have a continuing education partnership for 10 career sector who need CEU’s to renew the state license for a profession like Real Estate, Insurance,Xray Techs and Cosmetologist. However, I can take her with me to the salon for a Highlight or haircut when the staff are off and work outside of hours, So far, this has worked, However , I graduate 2013 with a BAAS and certification to teach Cosmo and I am unsure whether I want to put her in public school, she is an only child and we a small amount of interaction with home schoolers,library and others but it does not seem enough social interaction for an only child. I almost could not breath with too much more added in our life, Any suggestions, advice or feedback is appreciated. Contact me by e-mail if you would like.
Excellent article! Thank you. I have been having a hard time with this since I started homeschooling. I am trying to work from home, though it’s not making much money yet, but I feel like I can’t get enough time to focus on my work. And then I feel like I’m not spending enough time with the schooling. I have 3 boys ages 3, 6, and 9. I’m wondering how I’m going to make this work if I want to continue. But I have known for awhile that I NEED to have a set schedule and I keep trying it, failing, trying again and I think I finally found one that will work. I just need to stick to it now and that is the hardest part. There’s no boss to tell you what to do and make sure you do it. Anyway, this article was motivating for me to keep at it and stick to my schedule. I tend to get thrown off way too easily and then get depressed about it. But this is something I really want to do. Anyway, thanks again!
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Great post! My husband works shift work and I work outside the home part time. You are right on all counts! People look at me a little crazy when I say we homeschool with our schedules, but I don’t think it would work for us any other way!
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Thank you for your post. We are having a curriculum day at our Homeschool Group, not just for our homeschoolers but for newbies. One of the questions our committee asked me to research and contribute to was working and homeschooling. I work from home too, but I am very new to this. Thanks for the wisdom of your article. Yes it is sometimes crazy but I wouldn’t change it. Keep up the good work.
I’m glad I read this today. Struggling in a transitional phase right now. Wondering how to even make enough money working from home, like what do I have to offer that people would actually pay money for lol? Except it’s not funny :/ Making plans to homeschool my two younger kids after they finish up at public school in June. They will be 10 & 8 this year. Trying to opt out of the rat race, let go of societal expectations, live without fear of what ifs, convince my husband it’s ok to try something different. However it always comes back down to the same question…where is the money going to come from? I’m so depressed because of this inner conflict. Please I could really use some advice, suggestions, encouragement. I’ve lived too long trying to achieve standards that aren’t even my own, and it’s only made me feel like a failure, stressed out, unmotivated. I know what I want our life to be about, I’m ready to be bold and be the leader, my kids would be thrilled to see their mom doing it! I have dreams! My husband needs reassurance it will be ok. But the money thing, it’s a bummer, a real stealer of joy and hope, takes the twinkle out of our eyes. Then we perpetuate the usual every day because we don’t have a real plan. Thanks for letting me vent 🙂
I so agree with Stephanie@keeperofthehome. I feel like we are the odd ones out! I literally just googled “how to run a business and homeschool your children at the same time” Its so hard. I have a 21 month old and a 3 year old and run a very busy succesful business. My husband runs 3. We do have a part time nanny (dont want a full time one rasing my children) but I constantly feel like a failure on all ends. The organization isssues you talked about is huge. There is none. I try and then it falls by the wayside and life gets in the way. My job calls for travel at least 4 days a month and once that happens all routine disappears. I’m tired, stressed, and long to be a “pioneer woman” mom, but then know I’d probably be miserable then too because I would miss my business. I just feel like even when we go to homeschool conferences or I search online there is no one like us. Nothing against it at all, but I feel like the homeschool moms who “work from home” are starting up a very small business or are working for someone else. I dont know any who are running their own large corporation. I’ve joined a local homeschool co-op in the past but all of the moms stayed home or had small part time jobs and I fell like they were put off when I couldnt make class time or had to leave early for meetings or a job. I just wish I could find some other local moms in the same boat that I could share ideas with, ask questions to, and just vent. HELP 🙂
Danielle
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Great, great article! I have recently started my own work from home business coaching parents to educate their children with confidence. I’ve worked from home before and I didn’t set boundaries around my time, so I’ve set some parameters in place for my business time. I pretty driven, and want to get this business off of the ground so it’s been hard. It’s great to connect with other homeschoolers with businesses. In addition to my business, I also work part-time outside of the home, so it’s quite challenging!
I’ve homeschooled for over 15 years and I also agree that they’re aren’t many moms who that are working and homeschooling. Sounds like we really need a way to connect. Hmm… Something to think about.
Thanks for this article. I’m a work at home mum – not homeschooling yet but it is something I’m interested in. None the less this list is great for work at home mums also. I’m finding it hard to find that balance at the moment feel like I’m all over the show little bits of business here and there. We have a rhythm around children just need to fit my business in somewhere. I love the idea of breaking work into 30min chunks I’ll try and implement that this week. Thanks again Kelly
Great article and great thoughts! I will be referring to this frequently while I work on all of these points. I am in a very similar situation. I am a homeschooling, work at home, mother of three wonderful girls. However, one of my angels is under a year old and that is a big part of why I feel like I’ve gone a bit crazy. Does anyone have any advice on working that in as well? My other kids are in kindergarten and 4th grade.
Thank you for your article! I am a WAHM and I homeschool three boys (grades 2,1, K) and my husband and I are pastors at our church. I never imagined that my life would be so busy and, out of necessity, NOT simple. I am learning to be more organized and making a weekly this-gets-done-this-day plan. It’s tough! My tip is to stay connected to what brings you peace and joy. Focus on what is going right. Perfection is not the goal.