Disaster Recovery Plan For The Work From Home Mom

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We’ve all been there. You spent Sunday night mapping out a careful plan of how to balance work, family, and social events for the week. You know you have deadlines looming and your clients are counting on you, but as long as you stick to your plan, you’ll get everything done on time. Monday morning, everything goes south. Your son throws up oatmeal all over the kitchen, your dog picks then to eat part of a jump rope and isn’t looking too good, and you’re late getting your daughter to school because your car battery was dead. By the time you put out all the fires that need your attention, you’ve fallen behind with your work and don’t know how you’ll ever catch up.

A crisis like this doesn’t have to be the end of the world if you develop a plan of attack before you need it. Take a minute to review this advice, and then create your own Disaster Recovery Plan with all the names and phone numbers you’d need. Then stick it in a drawer and hope you never have to use it.

• Call in reinforcements – Now is the time to call in every favor you can. Think of every time you’ve helped someone out recently from the neighbor kids you watched overnight to the the weeklong petsitting you did for your sister. Let them know you’re in a jam and need a couple hours of their time to watch your children while you dig yourself out from under your pile of work.
• Outsource – Is there anything on your todo list that can be farmed out to other people? Check to see if Peapod delivers groceries in your area or your dry cleaner has a free pickup service. If your budget allows, hire a one-time maid service or a mature teenager to scrub your floors while you work. If school pickup and drop off is one of your daily tasks, enlist another parent to transport your kids for a couple of days — but make sure you return the favor right away. If your todo list includes tasks like invoicing clients, transcription, or word processing, consider hiring a Virtual Assistant.
• Eliminate distractions – It’s fine if you need to play music while you work, but make sure to sign out of Twitter, Facebook, your email account, and anything else that will tempt you to goof off.
• Set small goals, and one big one – Tackling a mountain of work can seem daunting, but if you break it down into small chunks you can get it all done. Promise yourself 10 minutes of downtime for every hour of work, so you have something consistent to look forward to. Use the time to refresh yourself by stretching, going for a walk, playing with your pets and kids, or, yes, even surfing the Internet. Set a timer to make sure you get back to work promptly. It’s also a good idea to set a larger reward for when you’re all caught up. Use whatever will motivate you; a manicure, some premium chocolates, or even just two extra hours of sleep.
• Feed your mind and body - Keep healthy snacks and brain food with you for when the munchies strike. It might be tempting to give yourself a burst of energy by eating four cupcakes but you’ll pay for it a while later when your sugar high wears off. Use coffee and energy drinks judiciously for the same reason.

What are some of your sure-fire ways to get things done when you’re under the gun? Let me know in the comments.

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