Marie Forleo’s offers top tips for stopping interruptions. There was a little problem though, not all of them work for moms.
Don’t we just love interruptions? I love Marie Forleo more! She offers some awesome time management tips as well as some awesome tips for running and growing your business. Every Tuesday on her show Marie TV she answers a question from one of her viewers and she does it with style every time. One of the main reasons why I love watching her so much is because she is hilarious. We all need a good laugh every once in a while.
She did a segment on interruptions that featured a video that answered her viewer’s question “Do you have any tips on how to keep other house members from causing distractions?” This is a wonderful question and one that many us mompreneurs may have as well. There was a problem with her tips though. Not all of them are for moms who work at home. Go ahead and watch her video below and you will know what I mean. Beware it’s pretty funny!
Marie Forleo’s 6 Simple ways to stop interruptions when working at home
#1. Issue a rude alert.
Well, this doesn’t quite work that well with our children. And working 3 hours non stop without interruptions from our children is not going to happen. Instead, you can say something like “Hey kids it’s time for mom to get a little work done. I am going to work for about 30 mins or so and then I will take a break to help you with whatever you need.
#2. Close the door.
This is probably not a good idea if you have small toddlers running around. One of the things I like to use to stop interruptions while I work is to use activity centers. My kids love these and have fun entertaining themselves while I work. This much safer than closing the door.
#3. Don’t send mixed signals.
This one I have to say is a great tip for mom entrepreneurs. Our kids watch us all the time and you better believe that they are checking you out to make sure you are doing what you said you were going to be doing. So if you tell them you are going to be working but are laughing at a dancing Chihuahua video on youtube you better believe they are going to be right there to laugh and watch it with ya.
#4. Wear headphones.
Now we all need to make sure we can hear what our children are doing while we work. Putting on headphones while we work is not so safe. If I can’t hear what my 3-year-old son is doing then I know he most likely is coloring on the walls or getting into the trash. I don’t have a tip for this simply because it is essential to be able to hear your children while you work. If you have one let me know in the comments.
#5.Have a NUNYA clause.
This is a great one in a way. We need to have a break in between work. So if you are watching a Marie Forleo video or a Justin Bieber video *laughing* that is your right. Your children might want to run up and watch too (remember tip #2?) but just let them know it’s a “mommy break” and redirect them back to what they were doing in the first place.
#6. Get out of dodge.
Well, we can’t necessarily do that if we are the only adult at home right? So, if your husband is at home and the kids are still interrupting you then maybe it’s time to take a trip down to your local Starbucks. Your husband should be able to handle an hour or two with the kiddos right? I love to do this. It feels like a “mommy field trip” I get some quiet time and coffee to go with it. This helps me to finish up on some last-minute projects too!
Here are 6 additional tips to stop interruptions when working at home with children
1. Make sure they are fed
2. Make sure nothing unsafe is left out.
3. Communicate to them what it is you need to get done
4. Have plenty of activities ready to pull out.
5. Have a timer and set it to allow for activity transitioning or breaks.
6. Stop working. If none of these tips are working it is time to take a time out and do something with your kids. An hour at the park to run and play with them will also leave you feeling refreshed and energized when you return home. Your kids just might be so exhausted that they may want to take a nap…yay.
I have found that when I make sure the kids are taken care of before I start to work way fewer interruptions are to occur.