Create a Work from Home Schedule for Your Craft Business

Working from home is exciting, but many people struggle with time management. When you are your own boss you have to think about how you will schedule your time wisely, especially if you are also a mom who is trying to keep all things under control at home as well. Creating a work from home schedule will help you balance your work from home life, but you must also understand that your schedule may need to be flexible when life throws bumps on the road and as each season changes. 

Treat the Day Like You Are Leaving for the Office

Start your day out like you are actually going to leave the home to go to work. You will put yourself in a work mindset. Ensure you have a place in your home where you can have an actual office even if it is your dining room table. Set yourself up to work comfortably and remove all distractions. 

Get dressed for the day even if no one is going to see you all day. When you get dressed, it makes you feel more productive and it helps shift your mind from lounging around at home to work mode.

Set Work Office Hours

In order to create a work from home schedule, you’re going to need to set office hours. You’ll want to decide which days a week are ideal for you to work, and how many hours you can sacrifice to dedicate to your craft business. 

Working from home can mean that your hours will look different than a 9 to 5 job. You might need to work from 5 to midnight, midnight to 5, 9 to 12 or whatever hours you can squeeze into your day. Keep these hours consistent so that you can create a routine so that you have structure. 

Create A List of Work Priorities 

As soon as your day starts, think about what you want to accomplish today. Try to think of up to three tasks a day, and anything else you accomplish will just be icing the cake. Having a list to work off of will help you to stay focused and to feel accomplished. 

It’s a good idea to try and batch your work. Dedicate a chunk of time to doing just that task before moving onto the next item on your to-do list. This will help you to accomplish more and to stay focused when you dedicate your time to just one task. 

Don’t forget to work on your goals along the way. Having goals to work toward will help you stay motivated and also allow your craft business to grow. 

Take Work Breaks

Taking work breaks will help you to relax and also keep you from feeling burned out. Set timers to take a break when you feel like you need them. For some people it might be best to take a 5 to 10 minute break every hour, where others might need a 15 minute break after a 90 minute work block. Don’t forget to schedule in a lunch break so that you take care of yourself because it can be easy to forget to eat when you’re busy doing what you love. 

You can set timers or reminders on your phone or computer to help you to remember to take breaks. It can be motivating knowing that a scheduled break is coming soon, and it will help you from being distracted when you know you only have a certain chunk of time to work on a task.

Limit Your Distractions

It’s so easy to get distracted when working form home. You’ll need to discipline yourself so that you don’t get distracted easily. This may mean turning off your phone or the television, wearing headphones with noise cancellation or telling friends and family members that you cannot be disturbed during your set work hours. 

I like to set up time limits for myself on my iPhone. Check out this article on Apple’s website to find out more. This will help you to stay focused when you only allocate a certain amount of time on your phone to social media or whatever else you find distracting.

Work from Home Sample Schedule

My work from home schedule has changed a lot because I have little ones who also have different needs as the grow. During this season of our lives, my work schedule is a little less chaotic as I can dedicate more time to my business. Here is a sample of what my work schedule typically looks like, but it can change if I have other obligations. 

I tend to only work four days a week and anywhere from 2 to 4 hours a day Tuesdays through Fridays. It’s just too hard to fit more into more work day because I have little ones to tend to at this stage of my life, but I know as they get older I’ll be able to adapt and work more.

6:00 AM Wake Up and Make Coffee

I wake up on time somedays, and other days I have been known to hit snooze a few times. I try to get up as soon as I can so that I can start the day by having time to myself.

6:15 AM Start My Morning Routine. 

I’ll take a shower if I need to, drink coffee, check my email, and then I will spend time journaling, planning and reading my bible devotional. This is really important to me to spend time to myself reflecting and being in the words of the bible as it helps calm my anxiety and sets a nice tone for the day. 

8:00 AM Wake Up Girls for School. 

My daughters have to be at school at 9 AM. I wake them up to eat breakfast, get dressed, and then I take them to school. During this 45 minute window of time I also get myself dressed for the day, and I’ll work on packing their lunches and making sure they have everything they need for school. We don’t live far away so it only takes about 10 minutes out of my day to get them to school. My youngest only goes to school four days a week and for 3 hours in the morning so I’ve structured my work days around her school schedule. 

9:00 AM Get Set Up to Work

I come back home usually between 9 and 9:15 depending on if I drove to school or walked. I set up my computer and office space, and then I work on getting things done. Since I only have close to a 3 hour time window to myself without distractions, I stay as focused as possible. I try really hard to stay off social media, and I avoid procrastinating the best I can. It is so easy and tempting to just get lost doing other things, but I’ve learned over the years to be more disciplined to make the most out of the time I have. 

9:30 to 12 Time to Work

During this roughly 2 and half hour time block, I work as much as I possibly can on anything that requires me to concentrate. I usually end up spending this time writing or designing, depending on my mood. I’ll take 1 to 2 short breaks if I need them. 

12 to 1 Lunch Time

My daughter comes home on the school bus, and then I eat my lunch. She gets to eat lunch at school so I don’t have to worry about preparing anything for her. She tells me about her day, and I eat lunch and spend time with her while she unwinds from her school day. 

1:30 to 3:30 Priorities Time

This block of time just really depends on what is going on that day. Sometimes I will work an additional hour or two if I really need to while my daughter is home. Other times I have household chores or errands I have to accomplish. On lazier days where I have spent too much time sitting down and working, I will dedicate an hour of this time to working out. 

4:00 to 8:00 Family Time

This time is dedicated to my family. I have to pick up my daughter from school, and then it is mom and wife mode. I usually will work on dinner, clean up the house, listen to everyone’s days and whatever else we need to do during this 4 hour block. At 8 PM it’s bedtime for my girls. 

8:00 to 11 PM My Time Again

This is my time again and I will generally not work if I can help it. I could use this time to work, but that results in me not getting to bed on time because I can get lost working on projects. I’ll usually work on any remaining chores, take a shower if I need to, hang out with my husband some and then I’ll fall asleep reading if all goes as planned. Some nights I just need to binge watch television and eat snacks, and other nights I’ll hang out on my phone for a bit. I try to do what my soul needs, and I make sure I get plenty of sleep so I can do it all again the next day. 

Do What Works Best for You and Your Family

You’ll have to get creative with your work from home schedule, and it may change throughout the year as new priorities and obligations arise. Don’t beat yourself up if you don’t have enough time to work somedays because life does happen. That’s the beauty of being able to work from home. There will be really awesome days where you’ll get a lot accomplished, and then there will be days you wish you had more hours to work. 

Remember that your schedule can be flexible. It’s important to try to set a schedule and stick to it, and then adapt and change it as you need to along the way. If you can get an extra day or two a month when you can have family or your spouse watch kids while you get a big chunk of work accomplished, this is another idea to help you balance your work and home life. Although the weekends might not be ideal to work, you could squeeze in a few extra work hours while everyone is asleep. You may have to work when you can, but the payoff will be rewarding because you are doing something that you love and are passionate about.