Love Your Business: Guest Post #19


All month long join me here as I welcome amazing contributors with one thing in common
we love our business {blog/shop/etc} and we want you to love yours too!
To keep up to date with this series view all posts here.


Hey everyone!  My name is Maryam and I run the blog Pamplemousse1983 and the shop of the same name.  I'm very excited to be a part of this great series Heather is putting together and I hope what I have to say is relevant to at least a few of you.


Being a first time mom is really hard.  Being a first time mom who works at home is even harder.  It took me a few months to get the hang of balancing baby responsibilities, home responsibilities, and creative responsibilities (ok, 8 months in and I'm still getting the hang of it!) but I've learned a few things along the way that I'd like to share.

1. You can't do everything every day.  Some days you're just not going to be able to get the whole house clean, the baby fed and bathed and in bed, AND get your work done (whatever that may be).  While my house isn't ALWAYS a mess, it's never spotless.  While it does drive me nuts if it starts to get REALLY messy, I do let some things go like doing laundry every week or picking up Margaux's toys every night.  If you're in the zone and getting work done like a boss let the dishes hang out in the sink for the night.

2. Make the most of nap time.  When I was first trying to find my groove, I used that precious nap time to clean up around the house.  While this was productive  it didn't leave me with any time to work on my own projects.  It's much easier to clean and watch the baby than it is to do your creative work and watch the baby.  I don't know about you but when I'm editing photos I kind of get in a zone and don't like to be interrupted or have the capacity to make sure the baby doesn't put something in her mouth she shouldn't.  It's not fair to you or your baby to try to work while you're trying to watch them.

3. Don't be hard on yourself if you aren't producing work immediately.  Having a baby is hard.  Really really hard.  Probably the hardest thing I've ever done ever.  While I knew I'd have a baby to take care of I thought I would have much more free time than I actually did.  After I had Margaux it took me a few months to actually find time to get around to producing work.  I had tons and tons of ideas and inspiration but no time to put it into action which was VERY frustrating.  I started to get into the habit of keeping a small notebook and pen around so I could write down all my ideas without feeling the pressure of implementing them right away.  That way, when I did find free time (and a teensy bit of energy) I could pick from my list and get to work.  This was actually really great because I could work at my own pace and still felt like I was being productive when I wasn't actually producing tangible work.

4. Set aside a block of time each week for yourself.  Every week I get my husband to watch Margaux for a few hours.  I don't have a set thing I do during that time it's just "me" time.  Sometimes I go to the mall.  Sometimes I work on a project.  Sometimes I go grocery shopping alone.  The point is that I have that time all to myself without having to think about the baby waking up or needing to eat or take a nap.  This small amount of time lets me recharge and refuel mentally and in the long run helps me get my head in the game.

5. Don't settle.  Since I can't just work work work continuously, it's frustrating when an idea I have doesn't come out quite right.  It can be tempting to just use what I ended up with but you're not doing yourself any favors by settling.  You wouldn't have done that before the baby so why would you do it now?  By settling you're telling yourself it's ok to slack and you're also telling your customers that your work isn't as good as it used to be.  You owe it to yourself to put out the best work you can produce and not just put work out just to put it out there.

One for the fridge ;)

Getting back to producing work after having a baby is definitely a learning experience but it's so worth it. The fact that I can spend time with my babe and watch her grow up AND fulfill my creative side as well is pretty amazing.  Every person will have a different experience but I hope these 5 little tips can help you know what to expect if you're planning to have a baby or, if you already have a little one, help you get a work routine going.

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4 comments:

  1. Great guest post! I love learning about how others keep their businesses going even when life gets really busy. It keeps my own life in perspective, and offers insight on how to keep on chugging :)

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  2. Girl...I don't know how you do it....and manage to look so cute!

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  3. Great tips! Thank you! As a new mother myself, it's good to hear that other moms are able to keep it all going :)

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  4. This is so what I needed to read right now! I just started my own business and feel... bad? guilty? if it's not WORKWORKWORK all the time with immediate success.

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