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If you are anything like the three of us, you’ll very likely have several projects on the go at once. That plus looking after the kids and maybe travelling the globe makes for a tribe of busy parents!

Jonathan & I frequently ask each other “What on earth did we do with our time before we had Mali?” – yet when we look back over the past few years of being location independent and running our own businesses, we have launched more projects, serviced more clients and generally just achieved more since being pregnant with, and then subsequently having Mali.

It’s most certainly not been easy…working until 2 or 3am as a new parent, when your baby still wakes for feeds every 2-3 hours is tough – and when you add travel to the mix, you can quite easily find yourself reaching breaking point much sooner than ever before.

So just how can you fit it all in? I asked both Sharon & Amy for their tips, and I’ve added mine at the bottom…

Here’s what Sharon said:

As a location independent parent you are always juggling. I know I am. Yet I still manage to handle parenting responsibilities, keep my writing clients happy and have some fun.

One of the things I have struggled with is letting e-mail be a tool instead of a distraction. I manage that by checking email at set times during the day (8 AM, 12 PM, 3 PM and 7 PM). I also use a get-things-done (GTD) approach to processing mail, by responding immediately to what I can deal with, or archiving and labeling mail as “do now”, “do soon”, “someday” or “wait for response”. This keeps my inbox under control and then I can work through email in priority order.

Two more important tools are Remember The Milk (RTM) and Google Calendar. RTM is a task list application, which integrates with my calendar and email. It’s easy to set priorities and move tasks around. Google Calendar is not only great for managing work commitments, but for scheduling family time. I have multiple calendars: one for my daughter’s increasingly hectic social life, one for my personal commitments, one for holidays around the world and a work planning calendar.

It’s important to me to make time for family — that was part of the point of becoming location independent — so in my head I schedule a couple hours every afternoon for family time.

My last big productivity “secret” is matching the work I do to my creativity peaks and troughs. That means that I do most of my writing in the morning when I am most alert, saving the afternoon for editing and other less creative tasks (though sometimes editing can be quite creative too).

I also operate a reward system for myself, especially when handling a task that I don’t find particularly inspiring. For example, I’ll allow myself a 10 minute social media break after one hour of successful work or set a target for completing a certain number of articles before making myself a cup of coffee.

Here’s what Amy said:

Prior to establishing my social media business, I was engaged in full-time education as I completed 3 degrees in English literature. Juggling research, work and home-education has been exceptionally challenging and it has only been possible to keep all the balls in the air through the establishment of routine.

For example, when the children were much younger, we established meal times, bath times, nap times and bed times and these remained fixed for as long as those times suited us as a family. By setting this structure it then became much easier to work in and around business and study commitments.

As the children got older we started to introduce a certain amount of structure to their learning. While we are ardent supporters of autonomous child-led education, for practical purposes, some established routine to daily learning has allowed us to establish and grow our business while ensuring that our children are receiving the education they need to continue widening their horizons.

Today that routine consists of maths exercises, project work and music practice before lunch, followed by free-play, story-writing, drawing, science experiments, documentary watching in the afternoon, and then a film before bed. This obviously does not account for the days when they have lessons in music, tennis, drama, and Hungarian or when we have excursions to workshops, historical sites, family visits etc.

This kind of structure means that when the children are engaged in their learning I can be working on emails, article writing, research etc. while remaining available to them if they should need assistance. I can also monitor that everything is going smoothly, give comments on their work and mark the exercises they’ve been set.

Without this basic structure, it would be very difficult to keep everything in balance. It also allows me to look back over the week and assess what has been achieved both by my kids in their learning and myself in my work, and gain satisfaction that we are all making progress and attaining a desirable level of productivity.

Here’s my advice:

To some extent, as relatively new parents, we’re still finding out what works best when it comes to running a location independent business, being nomadic and being parents to a 6 month old. My best advice so far is this:

As soon as you figure out what schedule your baby is on (or you determine what schedule they’re on, depending upon your parenting approach), fit your work in around it. One of the main benefits of running your own business and being location independent is that you don’t have to stick to the norm, you can simply implement what works for you.

For example, we currently choose to spend pretty much the whole day together as a family and then, when Mali goes to sleep (usually around 7pm), we get to work. In the days when she wouldn’t sleep until 10pm, it was exceptionally hard and Jonathan would often find himself working until 3am. These days it’s more manageable – knowing you only have a certain amount of time in which to get your “to do” list done, really focuses the mind and reduces the time-wasting. We’ll often get done in 3-4 hours what seems to take many people (often non-parents!) a day or more!

Another important part of being productive and utilising your time in the most effective way is to focus on what matters most. That is, when you have a “to do” list as long as your arm (as I frequently do), I often have to accept that I am just not going to get it all done when I want to.

Instead, I focus on what matters most. I do this by asking 2 simple questions:

1. If I don’t do this today, what is the real impact going to be tomorrow?
2. Which of these tasks will take me closer to where I want to be?

It’s hard to let go of the other stuff but I’m getting increasingly better at it, out of sheer necessity. As I said, we’ve not got it perfect yet but we’re getting better.

What are your top tips for productivity and getting things done as a location independent parent?

Image by LollyKnit

One of the perks of having a location independent business is the ability to spend more time with your kids than someone who has to go to an office every day. But how feasible is it really to combine child care with a home-based, location independent business?

One of the main issues is that you are trying to handle two competing sets of needs. Whether your child is a baby, toddler or even older, what your child most needs is your attention.

Many of the best location independent careers are creative and this means you often need time, concentration and optimal working conditions to be able to focus your attention on your job.

But how do you balance the two? Here are some strategies that might work…

Separate work time and play time

One way to manage this is to make a rigid separation between work time and play time. In order to do this you could try things like:

• Let your clients know exactly when you will be available, by posting office times on your website and in your email signature
• Let your child know what hours you will be working
• Blocking out time for both work and play in your weekly calendar

Real life example: When my daughter was a baby, I was able to arrange my work around her naps because she napped for a long time. As she grew older, I arranged for her to have two days a week in childcare and I worked only on those days. When she went to school, I had a more traditional working week, set between the times she left for school and returned from it.

Bring your child into your home office

This strategy isn’t for everyone, but if you have good concentration skills, then you can create a play area for your child inside your home office. A travel cot or playpen with some toys and books makes a good play area for a younger child, while with an older child you can designate play space with a mat.

Even older children with their own computer can play educational games while you are working. The advantage is that you can keep an eye on what your children are doing and give them some attention (which they love) while continuing to get your work done. This isn’t always easy, as children have a way of demanding even more attention than you are able to give, but it’s a good compromise.

Real life example: Now that my daughter is older, we sometimes play games which involve me being at the office. I can continue to work, while stopping every so often to contribute something to the game.

Get your children to help

Children love to do grown-up jobs, so if they are old enough, why not get them to help you with your work?

Our children have grown up with the technology some of us are still getting used to, so depending on their interests you can get them to help you with creating videos, populating databases or doing some basic research to help you with a project. This is the best of both worlds. Your children are under your nose, getting work experience and getting your attention – a win-win situation.

Real life example: a writer and search engine marketer home schooled both of her children until they were in their mid teens. She had a large home office, where the children had desks and computers. Because of their skills, they were able to help her with creating a new website and integrating social media.

These strategies can help you balance business and family life as a location independent parent. While your children may moan at times because you are ‘always working’ – at least when they want you – they will soon come to realise the advantages of having you at home and on call more than the traditional office worker, as well as the other advantages of the location independent lifestyle.

Image by Pink Sherbert Photography

Ah, the joys of being a location independent parent – the freedom, the travel, the lifestyle – and the kids. Yes, the kids. As a location independent parent you will probably see more of your kids than the average parent.

When they are young, they will be with you all the time and even when they are older, you may choose to homeschool. That means a demanding schedule for you at the same time as likely running your own business.

So just how feasible is it to run a business from home as a location independent parent? One thing to consider is whether you have the right temperament to do this.

Ask yourself the following questions…

Can you concentrate under any conditions?

Having children in the house means regular interruptions and lots of noise. Children will think nothing of interrupting your work flow so that you can solve a major crisis with a doll or get a toy car running again.

That can really ruin your concentration & flow, so if you’re the kind of parent who depends on absolute quiet to run your location independent business, then it’s best to consider offsite childcare and schooling arrangements for your child.

Can you pick up your thread even after interruptions?

There’s nothing more frustrating than getting almost to the point of resolving the design, writing or other creative issue that has been bothering you, only to have to stop to share out kisses, provide drinks or bandage knees. While these things are a natural part of parenting, they don’t do much to keep your business ticking over.

One solution is to segment you work day so that you work when your child is occupied with an activity. Or, if both parents are location independent, create an on call system so that each of you has some time to work undisturbed. Even if you are the kind of parent who can cope with interruptions and lack of concentration, it’s good to consider options that will help you achieve your work as well as parenting.

A couple of options to consider include:

Use A Buddy System

Another technique that location independent parents can use, is to set aside a period each week to work on mission critical stuff and hand your child over to a trusted relative, friend or childminder.

Buddy up with others in your situation so you can help each other out. The expat forums can also be a goldmine when looking for people to help you in this situation. Location independent parents are also likely to get regular visits from friends and family, most of whom are only too happy to spend quality time with your children while you work.

Close The Door

Sometimes you really need to do something that requires concentration. For those times it’s useful to have a signal that lets everyone know that you are not to be disturbed. This can be as simple as telling children that you have to work and occupying them with something they love while you focus on your deadlines. For kids who can read, putting a ‘do not disturb’ sign on the door can show that it’s important for you to have some quiet time.

The Trade Off

Like anything else, the secret to running your location independent business with kids at “home” is balance.

Most kids want their parents to be constantly available, especially when they are younger. However, most kids will understand that this can’t always happen. As long as you balance work time and kid time, they will understand.

And don’t feel guilty that they sometimes have to do without your attention. Your kids will learn to be more independent and self-reliant and will appreciate their time with you even more.