Whew Girl!

It’s been quite a ride over here in these parts. And lovely at the same time. Is it Charles Dickens who wrote ‘It was the best of times and the worst of times’. I probably edge toward the middle most days. I appreciate homeschooling and remember a time that I committed to this with our son when he was younger. I am actually happy to have this time to work with my young daughter. But this ish is mandatory. Focused shelter in place…so the mindstate has to shift. Don’t you think?

And while we are having this glorious talk of influence and time with our families and children. Momma has to work. I’m a mother with a semi-flexible schedule and let’s just say it has gotten more than intense. In my field of Applied Behavior Analysis and Speech Pathology, I was busy moving a practice that provided 33% telehealth to a 100% telehealth model to keep our clients services and maintain our staff employment status. I put a lot on myself and was in complete overdrive in getting this out not only for me but for clinical leaders like myself.

But here is the thing…homeschool from teachers to this Type A momma has moved into serious project manage and Excel sheets. And before you judge me, it is the back end support needed to make sure my children can skip around, snack, play, and still get their work done. It’s not about being balanced 100% each day for me …it has always been about doing what I can during my high energy hours. I have about 4 hours a day that I can zero in and burn through a lot of things. But after that time, I am on my computer being the most unproductive.

So here is what this semi-workfrom home #mompreneur has to say about this added level of responsibility:

1. Treat the organization of home-school assignments as if you are leading a project with time based deliverable.
2. Understand that the little people who will deliver need snacks, treats, time, and fun to feel good about getting their assignments done.
3. It is a good time to teach your children to knock on your door and wait for you to answer…it just helps you while you are in your workflow
4. Come up for air. That means…eat lunch, put out snacks, take a walk, make dinner
5. Make time for cookies and other homemade baked goods….its math, reading, communication skills
6. Realize your best hours and work during that time only.
7. Headphones. Give your children over the ear headphones to listen to stories and such on their tablet devices.
8. Create a schedule for your family and follow it on days that make sense for you.
9. Be flexible
10. Don’t tolerate anyone’s BS. A good friend of mine said there is zero tolerance for optional people to bring stress and BS in your life…so I’m going with that.

Figure out your new dreams…because no one should come out of this with business as usual.

Let’s Stay Empowered!

~Landria Seals Green,MA., CCC-SLP,BCBA