If you have a home business, you want it to grow enough to pay your bills, give you some extras and put some aside for savings. Maybe more than that, but you want to earn more than just a little. But it’s frustrating sometimes trying to make it grow. Your business growth can stall, or things can start going worse and you feel the need to work still more to get things going.

Perhaps it’s more that you need to do something you haven’t considered to help your home business grow. Some surprising things can help.

1. Take a break.

When you’re at your most frustrated is often when you most need to take a break from things. I don’t mean taking a break of several days, a week or anything, unless that’s what you really need. Just take some time to get your thoughts away from the stresses and do something else.

It’s very common to have stress slow you down when you work. Taking a break, even just 10 minutes or so can get your mind off work and give it a rest. You may find that you get better ideas after a break.

You should be taking several short breaks a day. There are good reasons why employers are legally required to allow employees to take breaks throughout the day. Give yourself the same courtesy.

You can use your breaks in a few ways. You can read something unrelated to work. Take a walk. Do some exercise. Watch a favorite show. Play with the kids or pets. Just make sure that it’s something to ease the stress and get your mind off work for a while.

2. Work somewhere else.

If you have a laptop, this can be pretty easy. Find a new place to work and see if it helps your productivity or gives you new ideas. A good Wi-Fi connection may be nice, but you can always just type into your word processor if there’s no internet connection available. Not that you have to leave your home. Try working in the back yard or a different room of the house. Just make sure there aren’t too many distractions.

If you don’t have a laptop, don’t feel confined to your desktop computer. Grab a pen and paper and find a place to work with them. You don’t have to have a computer for everything you do for your business even if it’s entirely online.

3. Talk it out.

When things aren’t going quite right, don’t hold it in. Talk to someone about it.

They don’t have to know too much about what you’re trying to do to be a good listener and sometimes come up with helpful ideas. My husband has a general notion of what I do, but doesn’t understand the specifics. He can still listen when something’s frustrating me, and whether or not he comes up with useful suggestions, he has a different perspective.

None of these ideas are going to do specific things to help your business grow. They won’t get you x new leads or subscribers or earn you a particular amount of money. That’s all up to you. What they may help you do is to keep things moving and get away from the frustration that’s making your life more difficult.

The post 3 Ways to Face the Frustration of Growing Your Home Business appeared first on Home with the Kids Blog.

The only ones who think working at home is easy are the ones who have never done it. Working at home is hard. You have to actually get the work done, and there are a lot of distractions and no boss.

You have to plan for and cope with the distractions in your home if you want to work at home successfully. Here are some tips to help you cope.

1. Keep the kids busy.

Children top the list of distractions, and you can’t always ignore them. If you’re at home, sometimes they will need you.

The best way to cope with them as a distraction is to plan your work day. If they go to school, that can be a major part of your work day. If they nap, work during naptime. You can also work early in the morning or late at night, depending on what works best for you.

If you have to work while the kids are home, awake and active, plan things they can do. Have special toys or activities for those times when you really need them to leave you alone for a while. Let them have a friend over or send them to a friend’s house.

Don’t just expect little kids to figure out ways to keep themselves busy. They might manage it, but it might be the kind of thing that makes you realize they’re being too quiet. Giving them something fun to do helps.

You can also have your spouse help. Your spouse can watch the kids while you work and he or she is home. No different from you watching the kids while he or she goes to work, right?

2. Internet

The internet is a particularly challenging distraction, as many people who work at home use the internet as a part of that work. It’s all too easy to start wandering around interesting links. Sometimes you can even tell yourself it’s in a productive way when really, it’s just a distraction. Are you really using those social networking sites for work or for fun?

If you get distracted by the internet, set limits for the different ways in which you use it. Decide how often you can check your favorite social sites, forums and email. Set a time limit as well, so you don’t spend an excessive amount of time on any one activity.

3. Television

How easy is it to get sucked into watching some television show or other? For most of us, it’s pretty easy.

I consider DVRs to be great productivity tools. No worry about watching the few shows I do watch when they’re actually on. No wasting time waiting for the commercials to end and wondering if I can do something really fast during them. I can pick the right time to watch the occasional show, usually with my husband.

Don’t watch television during the hours you plan to work. Work in a different room if someone else has the television on. The television will slow you down otherwise.

4. Telephone

The telephone can be a major distraction if you have friends or family members who love to chat, or if you love chatting. Your work hours are not the time to be talking on the phone.

If someone you know has a habit of calling while you work, ask them not to. Explain that you need to work. If they keep calling, take advantage of caller ID and don’t answer the phone unless you think it’s necessary. It can’t be avoided all of the time.

5. Separate your work area

The best work space at home is the one with the fewest distractions. A door is a big help. The more separation you have from the rest of the house, the less the distractions around the house will hinder your productivity.

6. Take a break

Distractions getting to you? It may be time for a break.

Taking a break lets you take care of all those distractions, give the kids the attention they’re after and lets you refresh your brain. You may find that you’re more productive when you take your breaks regularly. There’s a reason why employers are required to allow employees to take breaks. Don’t be so hard on yourself that you get completely worn out.

The post 6 Ways to Cope with at Home Distractions and Be More Productive appeared first on Home with the Kids Blog.

Some parts of running a home business are really difficult. Getting it going, picking up new skills, finding customers, and so forth. But when you’re really trying to get things going, the hardest part is remembering to take time for you. Time to breathe.

When you love your business, when you really need it to succeed, it’s hard to take a break from it, even when you need one. The guilt makes you feel stressed even as you try to relax.

Can you take a break without feeling as though you’re damaging your business?

You’d better. You’re more likely to damage your business by not taking enough breaks. A good break really clears your mind. It can help you work faster.

The strain to succeed isn’t good for you, and it’s not good for your business if you give in to that strain and overwork. You need to take the time to enjoy life and focus on something other than directly building your business.

Go out with your family for a few hours. Play games at home with your family. Just sit and talk. Take time out on your own.

Do something that helps you to decompress. It’s amazing how much easier it is to work when you aren’t completely stressed out from not having a break. Your focus improves when you aren’t driving yourself up the wall trying to be excessively productive.

You’ve probably heard from your family if you’re working too hard. They want your attention too. And often they know that you’ll work better for having the break.

That doesn’t make it easier to give yourself permission for the break. Those closest to you can be the hardest ones to hear when they give you advice. So take mine and take a break. Soon.

Not Everything Counts as a Break

Don’t count everything other than work as a break. Making dinner isn’t a break. Hugging your kids good night is not a break. Going grocery shopping is not a break. Cleaning house is not a break.

These things need doing, and they can help clear your mind from work. Some are even pleasurable. But they aren’t breaks.

Things that must be done aren’t breaks. Taking a break means doing something that you want to do that will help you to relax. Don’t cheat yourself by calling chores, errands and daily routines breaks. Find a way to really enjoy your breaks, alone or with your family.

What If Inspiration Strikes?

The trouble with being away from your work area is that sometimes inspiration strikes at awkward moments. What can you do if you’re taking a break and you have a great idea.

Write it down. It doesn’t matter whether you write it on a piece of paper, type it into your cell phone or find another way to remember it. Get it written down, then go back to relaxing.

Don’t skip too much detail when writing it down, but don’t take a lot of time from relaxing either. Get enough information down that you can work with the idea when you’re working.

The post Take the Time to Breathe appeared first on Home with the Kids Blog.

It’s easy to let motherhood take over your entire day. There’s a lot to get done, and kids don’t take weekends off from being kids. It’s easy to skip taking a little time for ourselves, and such a help when we can manage it.

It doesn’t take a lot of time to yourself to feel better. Even a short break can work wonders at decreasing your stress level. You may not even need to leave the house to take a break… although getting out on your own feels really good!

1. Get enough sleep.

This is really hard if you have a baby who still wakes up in the night. You can’t always do anything about getting enough sleep. But try.

Don’t get caught up in making everything perfectly set up for the next morning. Prepare what must be ready before the next day, but make sure you’re giving appropriate responsibilities to your husband and to your children. Having things go smoothly in the morning helps them too!

2. Get some exercise.

This doesn’t have to be strenuous. A walk is a good excuse to get out of the house on your own, and is a nice, light form of exercise that fits in all budgets. Or you can take advantage of your gym membership if you have one.

3. Go do something you enjoy.

Once in a while, get out to do something on your own that you enjoy. Go to the spa, a movie, the library, get out with friends, just do something!

4. Read a book.

Take some time for that novel you’ve been meaning to read. A bit of time reading something you want to read just for pleasure is good for you and a good example for your kids.

5. Take a relaxing bath.

Add some bubbles to the water or your favorite bath bombs and just relax. Maybe give yourself a facial if that’s your style. This is easiest after the kids are in bed if you don’t want them pounding on the door. I make no promises as to the behavior of your husband. He’s your problem.

6. Work on your hobbies.

What do you like to do? Motherhood is no excuse to give up all of your hobbies, even if it limits the time you have available. You’re still a woman with interests outside of your beautiful, charming, fascinating children, and you should take time to indulge that side of yourself often.

7. Take a class.

You know how good it is for children to take classes on topics they love, why not do the same for yourself? Community colleges offer a good range, and most areas have a community center you can also find short class offerings for a wide range of interests.

8. Take some time with your husband.

If you’re married, making time for your husband is a part of making time for yourself. Who else makes you feel like he does? Go have fun together without the kids.

The post Moms – Do You Make Time for Yourself? appeared first on Home with the Kids Blog.

Somehow I don’t anticipate spending much time online this week. It’s Christmastime and time to relax with the family.

Are you taking a break too?

I got a lot done yesterday, but there’s still more to be done. No doubt most important to my kids on that list is making Christmas cookies. They like to make chocolate chip cookies with frosting on them for Santa. They don’t much care for sugar cookies, which is why we end up frosting chocolate chip ones. Who am I to complain?

Yesterday was just plain hectic trying to get things done. I made a bargain with the kids right at the start: 15 minutes of decorating the tree (at last!) for 15 minutes of house cleaning. That worked really well with my daughter, not so well with my son. But what can you really expect from a 3 year old who isn’t in his most helpful mood?

But the tree got done. House still needs help but it’s getting there. They’ve been warned that we don’t want Santa to trip.

Then shoe shopping and other shopping with my daughter when my husband got home from work. It just hit me the other day that we still didn’t have appropriate shoes to go with her pretty holiday dress. She wore it for Thanksgiving anyhow, but pretty shoes would be a nice touch. This late in the game, the selection was pretty poor, though!

Plus just a touch of other shopping to do. I’m not a fan of Christmas shopping crowds, but I did what I had to!

Overall, this is a great time to take time for your family, and remember the important things. If you can do it, I highly recommend it. But even if you can’t take time off, find some way to make some special times for your family. It doesn’t have to cost money, just be together.

The post Countdown to Christmas appeared first on Home with the Kids Blog.

Life’s been crazy here lately. That happens in most families, but since I’m pregnant I’m really feeling it. This got me thinking about ways to take just a quick break from the stresses parenting sometimes causes.

The goal here is to think of things that can be done at home, although breaks can be taken more easily if you can get away from the house. But any stay at home mom can tell you that for much of her day that just isn’t practical.

1. Fix a favorite drink.

I don’t necessarily mean alcoholic. My own preference for relaxing when the kids are awake is hot chocolate. I’ll often make it for them too, as it means they will ignore me in the hunt for marshmallows melting in their drinks.

And they don’t fight over whose cup is whose.

2. Take the kids to the park. Just sit and watch.

My kids don’t make this one easy. My son in particular would rather I follow him. But if you insist, you can get the kids to let you relax and watch them play at the park once they’re old enough.

3. Leave the dishes, laundry, etc. alone.

Just let them sit for a while. You can’t do this if things have been piling up for a while, but sometimes letting things pile up can allow you to relax.

4. Have Daddy put the kids to bed at night.

If the day has just been that rough, have your husband put the kids to bed while you relax. For some this may be routine, but for other stay at home moms this may be quite a treat.

My husband and I share the job, but on those nights that I’m extra tired he takes over. It’s amazing how much lying down in a quiet room while someone else puts the kids to bed can help matters.

Daddies can take over at other times too, but if he’s had a rough day too it can be nice for him to not be responsible for the kids alone until bedtime.

5. Turn on the TV or computer for the kids.

At the age my kids are, letting them play on the computer most times gets me more peace and quiet than the television. They’re only 6 and 3, but there are plenty of kid friendly websites they can use without my help. I have a page set up so that they can easily click to the sites they’re allowed to go to.

Similarly, TiVo is a huge help. They always know their favorite shows are available, and my 6 year old can easily use the remote to pick one.

6. Take a nap with younger kids.

There’s a reason why so many people tell new moms to nap at the same time as baby. It’s one of the few times you can get away with it.

Even children who aren’t much on napping may be willing to fall asleep if they get to snuggle with you. My son gave up naps shortly after turning 3, but even now, with his 4th birthday approaching, I can sometimes get a nap by curling up with him in my arms.

7. Turn on some of your own music.

Even the best children’s music gets wearing after a while. You can use your MP3 player and headphones if you want it to yourself, or let your kids listen along with you.

8. Let your husband bring dinner home.

Not as healthy as home cooked as a rule, and it certainly costs more, but nice for a treat. My family is rather fond of the fried chicken our nearest grocery store offers. Much cheaper than ordering anywhere else.

Alternatively, he can cook, but that assumes he gets home early enough for this to be reasonable. It can be awfully hard to wait extra long for dinner if your husband isn’t home all that much before the time your family usually eats.

9. Trade time with other moms.

A classic, but so very nice! Get to know the other stay at home moms in your area, especially if they have kids in the age range of your own. Sometimes you take their kids; sometimes they take yours.

What other ways do you take a break? What do you do with your break time?

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