Mommying Your Tweens While Managing Your Business? Good Luck! Try One Mom’s 5 Sanity-Saving Tips

The streets of mompreneurship are littered with many raging rumors. One is that as your child gets older, it will be easier to balance mommying your kids and managing your business. I’m here to tell you that, managing your business and your tweens does not get easier.

When I started my business my children were toddlers at the time, which seemed to be a challenge but a manageable one. Sure, there were diapers to change and feedings to do. But I could rock the baby in the swing with my foot and keep typing away at the keyboard while singing 8 rounds of “The Wheels On The Bus.” I can’t keep my six and nine year olds occupied so easily anymore. Much of their activities involve me. And they involve me driving them somewhere not sitting behind my laptop singing.  There are track meets, girl scout meetings, dance lessons and team sports!

After many years of running my business and helping other mompreneurs do the same, I’ve found the keys to staying (marginally) sane involve energy management, prioritizing and preparation.

Here are some strategies on how to set boundaries effectively so you can stay focused, and be more productive when dealing with your tweens and their demands.

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2. Delegate: You do not need to do everything yourself. Identify activities that only you can do effectively, and those that could be done by someone else. What are you spending most of your time doing. Are you putting out fires all day or coming up with creative ideas that can generate cash flow? Make sure youexplain to your family, especially the children, that you aren't choosing work over spending time with them, but that you have to work during work hours. Once your workday is over, you can focus your energy on your family.
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4. Schedule a mommy day: This is also known as a “Take Your Mom to Play Day” this is not considered me time, this is just time that your kids have a day that they want to hang with you by themselves. For example, since I have two kids, my daughter chose Friday nights to do something together and my son chose Wednesday for me to watch wrestling with him. 
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6. Stay focused, and don’t get sidetracked: There are only 24 hours in a day. There is also a price to pay for spending too much time on one activity, which can limit your ability to do other things. It is important to focus on the fact that success is equal to results, not effort. Avoid spending time on an activity that is personally satisfying, but not driving the results you want.
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8. Just say NO: You will cure some of your frustration and burn out by just giving simple answers without elaborating why YES or why NO.  Family, friends and yes, your precious tweens have a hard time understanding what NO means.  Try it for one week without using the words “Maybe”, “I might”, or “I will see what I can do”. This helps avoid the pressure of feeling obligated or frustrated to commit to someone.
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10. The Agenda. Even the most successful and conscientious business owners need help handling the day to day activities. Planning tomorrow's agenda is a great way to get ahead. At the end of the day write down a to-do list of things you want to accomplish tomorrow, in order of priority. That will get you prepared for tomorrow.