Summerwe all look forward to it. Warm sunshine, spending time in the garden, lazing by the pool, and having the kids home.everyday!
For home-based business owners, having the children home allows us to spend more time with them but it also means that we have less time to get our work done.
There needs to be a little give and take, even if they include some pros and cons:
Try designating a certain portion of the day to spend having fun with the children, then work a little extra after they have gone to bed.
PRO – some much needed quality time with the kids
CON – a little less sleep and private (adult) time for yourself
Enroll the children in day camps or a day care.
PRO – they are enjoying themselves and out of the house
CON – it can be very costly which may not be feasible
Register them in a program sponsored by your local community center, library, parks department, school or museum.
PRO – more cost effective and the kids are learning and having fun
CON – their schedules may not coincide with yours and there is sometimes parent involvement required
Set a schedule of household chores that the kids are responsible for while they are on vacation.
PRO – keeps them busy giving you an hour or two to get some work done
CON – things may not always be done the way you would like, not to mention, children are not always keen on doing housework and chores
Outsource some of your non-essential, non-revenue generating office tasks to an off-site administrative assistant.
PRO – you can rely on your work being done by an experienced professional, and you have much more time to spend with the kids
CON – well..there are no cons! Outsourcing is the best answer for all small and home-based business owners who need more time, either for building their business or to allow them to have a life outside of work
Having the children off school during summer vacation doesn’t mean your business needs to suffer. You just need to schedule and allow someone else to help you.
Janice Byer is the owner of Docu-Type Administrative & Web Design Services (but you knew that already when you read the first paragraph :-). She invites you to visit her website at http://www.docutype.net and sign her guestbook (another opportunity to get your business name out there).
