A friend of mine jokingly called me a superwoman the other day, in reference to my Etsy shop, and said something about how she doesn’t know how I find the time to do it all. I replied that my kids are neglected, my house is a mess, and there are eight loads of laundry on my bathroom floor, waiting to be washed. While my favorite bathing suit when I was six was a Wonder Woman costume, I can’t claim to be a superhero. I just have a fairly scheduled routine, and it is this routine that helps me to successfully work at home.

I have three kids, three cats and a French husband. I work in the field of communications which means that I help people to more clearly convey their message, be it in a blog, an email or another written support. I also have a rapidly growing blog on finance and frugality and an Etsy shop in which I sell handcrafted baby items, which I’ve conceived, designed and produced. I do translations. All of this from home.

I try every morning to wake up ahead of my kids, around 6:00 AM, so that I can drink my coffee in peace before the deluge of questions begins. I read my blog roll, check my email, log into my bank account and update my budget. Then the kids get up about 7:15 and my husband and I have an hour to get them fed, washed, dressed and out the door to school. I’ve made a promise to myself to get dressed before 8:30, otherwise it seems like the morning flies by without getting accomplishing anything.

I have to pick up my two older children at 11:00, so I have two and a half hours during the morning in which to work. I plan tasks by days: Monday and Thursday mornings are for my blog, Fridays are for volunteer work for a local networking group and miscellaneous paperwork. In between work related tasks I take care of the home related ones: making lunch, doing laundry, emptying the dishwasher. Alternating tasks from work and home allows me to be more productive as I am able to reflect while taking care of the chores. The kids return to school at 1:00 PM and I have three more hours before I need to pick them up again. That time is used for errands, if need be, and on line networking: building my blog’s links, increasing its visibility, furthering relationships with other bloggers and of course upping its revenue.

Tuesdays, when I don’t have to pick up the kids at lunch, I work on my Etsy projects. I have the whole day in which to lay out a project and work on it before having to clean it up. As I produce most of my items in small series, one day a week is usually sufficient. If I have to leave something out in order to continue working on it, then it gets stored in small bins on the living room floor, to be continued the next day. Children do not go to school Wednesdays in France, so it serves as a catch-up day if needed.

After picking up the kids from school I take a break, recharge my batteries and spend some time with them. We then enter into the evening routine; cooking, serving and eating dinner, followed by baths, stories and bed.

My day continues after dinner once the kids are in bed. I’m in France and my targeted audience is in the United States, so I take advantage of the time difference to be an early commenter on other blogs in my field. I answer emails that come in and work on translation and editing projects. I write some more posts if need be, or upload my latest creations to my Etsy shop. I might drink a glass of wine as I unwind my day as it started- in front of the computer.

11:00 PM finds me in bed, falling asleep with a book in my hand. I’ve worked about eight hours, give or take, but those hours have been on my schedule, according to my needs and those of my family. It’s all too easy to become distracted and find yourself off track when working at home. In my experience, setting aside chucks of time in which to accomplish predefined tasks removes the anxiety and stress from the situation. If something doesn’t get accomplished within a certain time I don’t have to panic. I know that there is already another predesignated time for me to work on it. It is this attitude and planning which helps me to successfully juggle my responsibilities… and pass as a superhero in disguise.

This is the first post by our newest featured writer, Kelly Thompson. I’d like to take this time (and I hope you join me) in welcoming Kelly to Obzokee.com.