3 Tips To Manage Life
With 3 Kids And A Business To Run
by APTO, March 15, 2023
Last October I gave birth to my daughter, my third child. As a small business owner going through a rapid growth phase, I knew I would not be able to take much time off work. This being my third rodeo, I also knew how important it was to make time for my older kids (3 and 5 years old) and for myself. Let’s face it, there've been very tough days when I did not want to even open my computer, or be on another Zoom call while breastfeeding. But overall, we have managed quite well as a family and there are 3 things that I can credit with helping me navigate the last few months.
#1 Having a family menu
My kids take lunch to school and my husband and I work from home several days a week. That means that there’s a lot of meal planning, grocery shopping and prepping that goes on in our household. Having a simple menu on repeat has simplified my shopping and cooking time. It has also considerably improved our grocery bills and amount of food waste. And although it may sound boring to have the same lunch every Monday or the same dinner every Thursday, my kids find it reassuring and it allows me to make sure we have a nutritious and balanced diet.
#2 Merging my work and family calendars
I used to have separate calendars, but I recently decided to display all of our family’s scheduled activities on my work calendar, which is the one that I always have open. This allows me to have full visibility on what’s going on that day and week for everybody, including upcoming birthday parties that will require gift shopping or pediatrician appointments for which I will need to block work time off . It also helps me make decisions about making a not-so-important call during a time I could be taking one of my kids to an afterschool activity or preparing myself in advance for the evening if I see my husband has a late work event.
#3 Carving a non-negotiable hour per day to myself
Although some weeks I am also able to schedule a Pilates class or a quick lunch with a friend, having this one hour is essential for my well being. For me, it happens very early in the morning, before anyone else wakes up - I have a coffee, connect with my friends back in Spain, check my agenda, read the news or scroll down on TikTok. There’s no agenda, there’s no need to be “productive” - I do whatever I feel like doing for that hour a day.
