How to Work from Home and Homeschool (Successfully)

how to work from home and homeschool

Would you like to know how to work from home AND homeschool – without losing your mind?! 

Since the onset of the global coronavirus pandemic, more moms than ever are faced with the reality of working from home and homeschooling their kids. 

There’s no doubt that those two huge roles can seem like a gargantuan task!

I couldn’t agree more with this statement in a recent article from the U.S. Census Bureau: 

“Parents are among the unsung heroes of this crisis. They have adapted their households and juggled work, children’s schooling and other household needs.”

As an eight-year homeschooling mom of five kids, with two blogs, an online course and a microinfluencing business, I have learned a thing or two about how to work from home AND homeschool – without losing my mind! 

While I’m FAR from perfect, I want to share a few tips with you that have helped me take care of all the things. 

Free Resource Library

Before we dive into the seven tips I have for you, I want to make sure you know about the Free Resource Library here on the Reluctant Homeschool Mama! 

This library is full of printable downloads to help you organize your homeschool and enrich your kids’ education at home. 

With printables such as field trip reviews, book report forms, and fun holiday activities, there is something there for every homeschool mama! 

Click right here or on the image below to get the password for the FREE Printables Library!

Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that I may make a small commission if you click through or purchase at no cost to you. For more information, click here.

7 tips to help you successfully work from home and homeschool

Of all the questions I hear from new homeschool moms, a good majority of them want to know how to get it all done.

Here are some of the best tips I’ve learned over the years to help you maximize your time:

1. Delegate household tasks

kids can help with choresLearning to delegate household tasks is a huge game-changer for many work from home and homeschool moms.

First, please accept the fact that the more household tasks you can delegate, the better.

If you can afford to hire a housekeeper, a chef, a chauffeur – just go ahead and do that, okay?!

But since that’s not real life for many of us, keep reading!

Here are some household tasks you may be able to delegate:

  • Have your kids clean the house once a week. (Yes, I’m serious.) Little kids can dust, change trash cans, wipe appliances and doorknobs, and more. Older kids can clean bathrooms, wipe glass, sweep, vacuum, and mop. (More on this coming soon!)
  • Involve your kids in daily chores. Young kids can set and clear the table, pick up toys, open and close blinds, and more. Older kids can load and unload the dishwasher, take out the trash, rinse the dishes, and sweep the floors.
  • Start doing grocery pick up – or better yet, sign up for grocery delivery!  As a work from home and homeschool mom, you don’t need to be spending time every week to go to the grocery store. If you are concerned about the quality of your product, order everything else and make a quick 15 minute produce run once a week if absolutely necessary.
  • Hire a lawn service. (And if you have tweens or teens, make them your new lawn care providers!)

2. Consolidate the rest of your household tasks

For the household tasks that you can’t delegate, you may consider the concept of time-blocking.

This means that you take a chunk of time to work on one thing at a time – and see it through until completion.

Some household tasks that you can consolidate are:

meal prepping to save timeMeal prepping. Spend a few hours on the weekend getting your meals prepared for the week ahead.

You could cook meat or noodles in advance, combine spice mixture, marinades and dressings, put together casseroles, make soups, and more.

The beauty of this is that you’ll only make one giant mess in your kitchen instead of a smaller mess that you’ll need to clean up every single night!

Laundry. Now hear me on this – it is better to do all of your clothes laundry on one marathon day of the week than doing one small load everyday!

Why?

Because when you have one day a week for clothes laundry, you’re more likely to work hard to get it all done, folded and put away.

When you constantly have one unfolded load of laundry in front of you, your motivation to get it all done decreases.

Just imagine how amazing it will feel to have 6 laundry-free days a week! Amazing, right?

For more info on how to do your clothes laundry in one day a week, read this article here on my mom blog!

3. Have a definite plan for everyday

Because you have so much on your plate as a work from home and homeschool mom, you need to have a plan to get it all done!

It’s probably no surprise to you that the work isn’t just going to get done on its own! (Wouldn’t that be nice, though?)

this planner is a perfect gifts for homeschool momsI absolutely love the Spaces Planner to help me plan my days and weeks!

It is by far the most perfect planner for moms I’ve ever seen because it is so customizable!

Each weekly spread has 12 sections – 5 that are labeled with titles such as personal, housework, errands, health, and relationships. But there are also 7 unlabeled sections that you can customize as needed.

Say you’re in the middle of a big work project and need to keep your t0 do list for it in order – you can create a section for it!

Or maybe you’re planning a birthday party – make a section dedicated to the things you need to get done.

If you’re a goal setter, you can easily write your goals and create a habit tracker in another section.

And of course, you can also create a big section for homeschooling too!

The Spaces Planner is not only incredibly functional – it also happens to be beautiful and durable as well!

4. Wake up early

waking up early helps work from home and homeschool momsA hugely important habit for work from home and homeschool moms is waking up early.

My mentor, Darren Hardy, recommends having a 90-minute jam session in the morning BEFORE anyone else is awake.

And while that might not seem like a ton of time, I am always amazed at how much I can get done in an hour and half with absolutely no distractions!

Now, if your kids are super early risers, a 90-minute jam session may not sound achievable, but I encourage you to try it at least a few times a week.

Or you may try to have a 45 or 60-minute jam session until you are in the habit of waking up early.

For all the details on how to make waking up before your kids a habit, read this article on my mom blog too!

5. Create (and stick to!) office hours

how to work from home and homeschoolAnother really important tip for successfully working from home and homeschooling, is to create office hours for yourself.

I highly recommend trying to finish homeschool by lunchtime – with reasons why that’s okay in this article right here.

But even if you do have to spend sometime doing homeschool after lunch, still set yourself some office hours.

During an office hour, it’s a great idea to spend 45-50 minutes working on a specific task.

When the 45-50 minutes are up, get up and stretch, grab a drink or snack, etc. Taking a small break like this actually increases productivity – which is exactly what busy work from home and homeschool moms need, right?

You may want to aim to have 2 or 3 separate office hours everyday. Or the number of office hours you keep may depend on what you have scheduled for that day.

Finally, you may want to set aside another shorter office hour specifically for emails. Set a timer for 30 minutes and take care of the most important emails first!

Pro tip: Write down exactly what you want to accomplish during your early morning jam session and your office hours in your Spaces Planner. 

Mine looks like this:

AM jam session: update Christmas gift giving article on Jen Bradley|MOMS

  1. Tailwind scheduling for Jen Bradley|MOMs
  2. Write Instagram captions for the week
  3. Schedule last week of 30-day Gratitude Challenge for Moms

What to do with your kids during your office hours

At our house, my first office hour occurs during “quiet time.” This is a time when my kids (ages 4-12) spend 1 hour in their rooms. They can nap, read, or play quietly. but they are supposed to stay in their rooms.

Even if you think quiet time won’t work at your house, I encourage you to give it a try! It may take a little while for your kids to get use to it, but you can start small and work your way up to 1 hours. 

Another option for your kids during office hours is to spend time with your spouse if possible, watch a movie or TV, play board games, have at-home music lessons, or participate in an extracurricular activity.

6. Automate your daily school schedule

One of the best ways to make sure your school day ends on time is to have a set daily school schedule and routine. 

To get a printable copy of our homeschool schedule, join the Free Resource Library here on the Reluctant Homeschool Mama

Everyday my kids use their daily assignment sheets to know exactly what subjects they need to complete. (There’s also a sample of our daily assignment sheets in the Free Resource Library!)

7. Take one day off a week to rest 

Another essential – but sometimes difficult – recommendation for work from home and homeschool moms is take at least one day off a week! 

Homeschool burnout is REAL (read about what to do if you’re feeling homeschool burnout in this article here!) and I know from experience that it can come on fast and strong. 

Keeping one day a week free from homeschool and your work will give you some of the mental rest that you need! 

Use this day to connect with your kids in a meaningful way, pursue a hobby (yes, moms need hobbies!), or spend some time with your spouse. 

working from home and homeschoolingFinal thoughts on how to work from home and homeschool:

I hope some of these tips for how to work from home and homeschool will resonate with you! 

You may want to choose just one or two to start with. Then add a few more ideas after a few weeks. 

Believe me, I know what it’s like to have those days that are just packed – to have a business to attend to and the weight of your kids’ education on your shoulders.

But I also know that you are capable and that you can do this! Hang in there, mama!

Related articles about homeschool mom tips:

How to Keep a Toddler Busy While You Homeschool

10 Important Secrets to Help with Homeschooling This Year

Which of these tips about how to work from home and homeschool do you like best?

homeschooling and working from home
How to Work from Home and Homeschool (Successfully)How to Work from Home and Homeschool (Successfully)How to Work from Home and Homeschool (Successfully)How to Work from Home and Homeschool (Successfully)How to Work from Home and Homeschool (Successfully)

Hi there! I’m so glad you’re here! I’m Jen, a former reluctant homeschool mom who is ready to help you actually enjoy homeschooling too. Read more here…

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