I’m in the 7 month of the first year of my homeschooling journey and I have a confession to make. It’s hard as heck. It’s hard as heck for reasons you would never think.
Homeschooling is a job and even a career for some, but the hardest part is managing work/life balance—especially because homeschooling can so easily be intertwined as being work and other things life all at the same time.
Here’s the thing, I’m not just homeschooling, which generally should take about 4 hours of my day for a 2.5 year old—especially if you are using the average nursery school dynamic as your standard. I’m also managing a home, a small business startup and planning some exciting projects connected to this blog. So you would think that if I only homeschool for 4 hours a day, that should leave plenty of time to do other things.
What do you think is the real answer to that?
Considering that my 2.5 year old should not be left to his own devices for more than hour, there’s a lot more activity happening with this little person for the duration of the day.
AND, if you are not familiar with my motto, then here it is: Homeschooling is a lifestyle. That means work and life essentially do get intertwined in the most overwhelming way if you allow it.
And guess what?
Somewhere down the line, I allowed it. I have been a bit frazzled minded these days trying to get a million and one things done at the same time and seemingly coming up short because one thing is not getting the focused time it deserves.
Now, usually, my day is set up in such a way, that this doesn’t happen, but let’s face it, life wouldn’t be interesting if the unexpected things didn’t happen to stir up your day. I think one of the things that has thrown me off is the fact that Aaron doesn’t nap consistently anymore. We are so in the “let me climb out of my crib, put everything I find in there so I don’t have to sleep in it and keep my energy to 10,000+ volts all day” stage.
Sometimes I think I’m superwoman and other times, I’m simply just saying: “there are not enough hours in the day OR Jesus, let heavy slumber fall upon this child.” PLEASE
When evening hits, my priorities change completely, but they are still not centered on the “time for myself.”
I have come to realize that as a homeschooler, I don’t have to do ALL the work to be officially that. In fact the beauty of homeschooling has been in the very premise that there is so much flexibility.
As I find myself networking with brilliant mompreneurs, there has been this reoccurring theme: the effectiveness in building a team.
Honestly, when I heard this come up over and over again, I said to myself:
- Can this be cost-effective?
- These people clearly don’t homeschool.
Well, looking back at that response, I think it’s sheer blubbery. Have you ever seen a successful leader without a team? I’m going to go out on a limb here and say you probably have not. The concept is not without void for moms who homeschool and do everything else under the sun.
Here is what you should focus on:
1. Carving out guaranteed time for yourself in the day that will not always require you to lose sleep (remember you need that energy for the next day). How much time will you require to feel effective, sane and accomplished? What parts of the day are you most alive, awake and creative? Forewarning, you will wish it could be more, but let’s take baby steps first. Once you figure that out,
2. Identify the things that could potentially steal your attention in this carved out time. Is it cleaning? Is it cooking? Is it teaching/playing with your toddler? Is it going to bed too late? Is it grocery shopping? Is planning? Is it rendering yourself available for every human being on the planet (I mean don’t get me wrong, thats quite admirable, but at some point, you have to say no). Call them out by name whatever they are, and say NO out loud to prepare your mind to stay focused in this carved out time.
3. Build your team. This is where you have to get a bit creative if your are trying to be cost-effective. Now that you have identified what could potentially take your special time away, you have to identify what is worth building your team around (financially and naturally) so that your carved out time remains yours and sacred.
What does this look like for me?
- I wake up earlier than Aaron in the morning. I’m looking to use Aaron’s nap time also whether he takes his nap or not. We’ll see how that goes.
- I’m in the 7 month of my first year of homeschooling and I enrolled my son in the most part-time nursery program ever (2 days a week for 2 hours and 45 minutes each day) Why?
- Finding my own ways to work on his socialization skills was getting too tedious. Finding moms to consistently connect with for playdates was taking up way too much time in and of itself.
- It was one of the things I identified that I could compromise on because valuable and cost-effective help was scarce. So I had to perform many adjustments to make this investment towards my time. I believe the 5 1/2 hours per week will be worth it.
It’s like I said before, being a homeschooler doesn’t mean I have to do ALL of the work to be exactly that.
Here are some great tactics for stress. It’s an inevitable thing sometimes as a homeschooler:
1. http://liaworldtraveler.com/2016/04/prioritizing-wellness-making-yourself-a-priority/
2. http://thefancifulmrs.com/2016/04/03/wedding-planning-stress/
3. http://www.jovanhannakristina.com/babies-insomnia-stress/
Happy Trails!
Wife to an amazing husband, mother to an exploring toddler and an MPA graduate aspiring to impact the world with encouragement in mothering and in social entrepreneurship.
11 Comments
audreycanblog
March 15, 2016 at 12:40 pmWow! This post answered some questions I had about parents who homeschool… Specifically, how they take time for self care!! Great post!
Normel Smith
March 16, 2016 at 7:49 amThank you. Glad it helped. 😉
Normel Smith
April 12, 2016 at 9:09 amThanks so much. I appreciate that.
Chrystal, ChryssVI
March 16, 2016 at 12:00 amOh, wow. I didn’t know you homeschooled your child. Remember, even teachers get a break during the school day so you should as well.
Normel Smith
March 16, 2016 at 7:50 amThanks Chrystal! You are so right.
Normel Smith
April 12, 2016 at 9:09 amYes mam. 😉. So true. Thanks for that.
Mrs. G
March 16, 2016 at 5:10 amTaking time out for yourself is SO important! I definitely feel like there are never enough hours in the day to get all the things done that I want to. Thank you for these great tips!
Normel Smith
March 16, 2016 at 7:55 amThanks and you are most welcome! I’m truly grateful for the small accomplishments.
Normel Smith
April 12, 2016 at 9:08 amThanks for stopping by. I’m so glad to have shared the tips.
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