Coach’s Corner: How to Carve Out Work Time with Kids at Home

We all live busy lives, and sometimes finding time to carve out for work is a challenge. With constant interruptions and distractions at home, our time is so fractured that it feels like we’re making no headway.

Sound familiar?

First of all, you are not alone. Whether you have young kids or teenagers, they’re notorious for needing us at exactly the wrong moments. Second of all, it’s not your responsibility to entertain your kids all day, every day.

Now that we have those two things out of the way, let’s talk about how to carve out work time when you have a busy home life:

Work in Pockets of Time

You have responsibilities away from work that take up time. From carpooling to keeping up with housework to taking care of your pets to…oh, yes…taking time for you. That leaves limited time for doing the work you love.

Sit down and outline the pockets of time you have available to you each day or each week. Maybe your house is quiet for three full hours on a Wednesday afternoon. Or you have a chunk of time each day where you’re sitting in the carpool lane.

Whatever time you can carve out, write it down in your calendar.

Know What Needs Done

Usually the same tasks need to be done each week or month. Knowing what those tasks are and about how long they take is key to plugging them into your pockets of time.

As a coach, you need to invite people to join you, do your own workout, post about client successes, and do your personal development. Find time each day or week for all of these, wherever they’ll fit.

Change Up Your Schedule

If your schedule feels really tight and uncomfortable, consider changing up your routine a bit. What if you got up 30 minutes earlier to do your workout first thing in the morning? Or if, instead of going home between carpool runs, you stopped at a coffee shop close to school instead? That would save some drive time and give you more time to work.

It is possible to get your work done and grow your coaching business, even with a busy schedule and busy kids. It’s just a matter of getting creative with your schedule so you can carve out the time while also taking time for you.