“Urgh… I don’t wish to work today… I can’t concentrate at all” How many of you have experienced this kind of thoughts in your head? I have, and it has happened so many times!

Working from home is a good way to take care of kids and at the same time, supplement your family’s income. On the flipside, it can be quite challenging to be a Mumpreneur and a mother at the same time. Due to the higher, added responsibilities and own self-discipline, our stress level will rise quickly when you have deadlines to keep or phone calls to make while handling a cranky baby. I realized that this is all taking a toll on both me, my hubby and my girls. And changes need to be made if I want to continue this dream of working and taking care of my girls. So, did I manage to overcome it? Definitely, here are some ways you can try!

1. Do what you love 
Choose a business that you love to do, not want to do. If you don’t enjoy what you are doing, you are definitely going to experience the burnout and the negative feeling every now and then when shit happens. Although it may take a while to find out what businesses suit you, you will never know without going through the trial period!

2. Stick to one
If you own a business, stick to one until it runs by itself. Or employ someone to run it for you. Don’t burn yourself out by trying to run several businesses at the same time. Running a few business while the 1st is not stable is no joke. Day to day operations and manpower matters is enough to stress you! That’s why you need HR when you have a big team.

3. Set your productive timings
This will take some trial and error to find out which time of your day is your most productive time. Because of mum’s duties during daytime, I have to break my work into different hours in order to accomplish my work. Hence, my most productive time will be at night when I feel like I have completed tons of work! Create a schedule or to-do-list also help you to plan your work properly and complete them on time.  Mission accomplished!

4. Outsource your task
As a business owner for the 1st time, outsourcing your task is always a difficult step when you are always thinking of cutting costs. You will tend to think the staff may not accomplish what you want. But hiring ad hoc virtual assistant from either Fiverr or Upwork to do some of your simple admin work, or tasks that you “hate to do” can reduce your work load and stress level! And furthermore, it leaves you more time to think about the growth of your business.

5. Enjoy your family time
When we focus too much on work, we tend to neglect our loved ones. It’s good to assign a time to play with your kids every day. Have a picnic lunch in the yard, take them on a little field trip or just play catch for a while. You choose to be a work at home mom because you want to spend time with your kids. Work and house chores can wait while you play. Don’t forget your husband too. Make date nights a regular event as he will be the one listening to your rants and help you to take care of the kids while you build your business.

6. Reward yourself
When we are employed, the company will reward their staff for their hard day of work like DnD or some other special staff benefits. But as a business owner, we tend to be in a constant state of working without receiving any rewards. This will further decrease our moral when we encounter setbacks. Rewarding yourself can be as simple as treating yourself a nice lunch alone or lying on the bed without doing anything. You have the right to treat yourself when you need it! Don’t be too hard on yourself, Mummy.

7. Support System
Never underestimate the power of a listening ear when you need one. You may love your business a lot, but there are times when you just need to vent out your frustrations when dealing with difficult clients or supplier. A support system means having either your best friend or people who understand what you are going through or what you are experiencing is very important. It does WONDERS on keeping your burnout away.

Start implementing a few ideas today and watch your stress level go down! Remember that you choose to work at home or become a Mumpreneur for a reason. Your family will appreciate you for spending time with them. A relaxed and happy mom will have happy children. That’s what it’s all about – spending quality time with your family!

Author: Qiqi Low @missyqiqi

A Singapore Mom with 4 lovely kids. She got to be crazy enough to have 4 kids. Love coffee, food, sleep, and blog. She loves to bring her kids out to drain their energy. She's a website designer and a content creator.