How to Stay Motivated as a Work at Home Mom

Last night my husband and I were discussing how challenging it is to actually get stuff done when you’re working from home. As a work at home mom, I know you know this struggle all too well. So, I’ve put together my personal top tips that help me stay motivated while working from home AND parenting two toddlers. (One note, I get to make my own schedule, so you might need to tweak these tips if you have to stick to an external work schedule.)

Tip #1 – “I don’t feel like it” is a lame excuse.

Guess what? I don’t feel like doing dishes. And I don’t feel like folding laundry. I extra super duper don’t feel like going grocery shopping. Especially when I have an editing deadline approaching or need to get some writing done. But I’ve trained myself to ignore that little whiny voice in my head. How have I done that?

Well, we all know the consequences of not doing the things we need to do: no food in the house, no clean clothes, no clean dishes, toddlers ruling the world, etc. But honestly, sometimes that isn’t enough to convince me to ignore the I don’t wanna. What does work, though, is thinking about how I’ll feel later in the day if I don’t get those things done. Which brings us to tip #2.

Tip #2 – Stack your mornings.

There are few things I hate more than feeling behind. And if I’ve succumbed to not feeling like doing a task, I will end up feeling behind. The best way I’ve found to combat that is by stacking my mornings. In short, I get all the things on my “I don’t want to” list done as early in the day as possible.

Here’s what my ideal morning looks like:

• Night before: Order groceries for pickup the next day (saving myself from a big I don’t wanna).
• Wake up before the kids and write until they get up. (This is something I actually love doing, but I’m much happier if I can do it uninterrupted, so it gets top slot in my day.)
• Put away clean dishes (don’t wanna).
• Make breakfast and promptly put those dishes in the dishwasher. (It’s tempting to leave them in the sink, but unless they need to soak, I’m better off just putting them in the dishwasher.)
• Put a load of wash in (the easiest part of laundry).
• Clean an area of the house for about 45 minutes. (I’ve grown to enjoy this, but it took a long time to get past not wanting to do it. It’s SO worth having a clean house all the time, though!)
• Switch laundry into the dryer (already feeling the anticipation of not wanting to fold them).
• Workout (50/50 on whether I actually want to).
• Fold the laundry and put it away (solid don’t wanna).
• Go pick up the groceries (much less painful than shopping).
• Put the groceries away (neutral).
• Eat lunch! And have the rest of the day to get work done between playing with the kiddos.

So, as you can see, I do A LOT in the morning, but getting all the things done that I don’t really want to do frees up my afternoon! And a free afternoon is the best motivation for me as a work at home mom!

Tip #3 – An object in motion stays in motion.

I’m pretty sure Newton wasn’t thinking about staying motivated as a work at home mom when he wrote his first law of motion. However, it has proven immensely useful to me! Getting started is the hardest part.

Once I get rolling in my morning routine, the “I don’t want to” task list doesn’t seem so bad anymore. I just keep on moving right through it.

How do you stay motivated as a work at home mom?

I’m always looking for more ways to stay motivated. What’s your favorite trick to stay motivated as a stay at home mom? Please share in the comments! I can’t wait to learn some more tricks!