*I wrote this article for SmartParents, Mum Says segment back in September this year, right before Will was born.

As work from home mums, we often have many deadlines, emails to respond to, people to contact, while dealing with house chores and the constant demand for attention from our children.

You can attempt to do all of the above by yourself. I tried. When I first started my business, I felt like I shouldn’t be spending any money when I don’t have any income. So I did everything by myself. I built my own website, I answered to each and every email, I designed my own logo and Pinterest-worthy post images. I was the first to wake up and I worked late into the night. Sadly, I wasn’t going anywhere.

I realised I was still trading time for money and may I add, the amount of money I earned at that point was so little and negligible, it was far less than what I used to earn when I worked for someone else.

However, leaving the kids at home while I go to work elsewhere isn’t an option that I would consider. I want to spend time with the kids while they are young. I want to be there through their formative years.

I knew I had to try something different. I invested in myself and attended seminars, read books and spent thousands of dollars I haven’t earned to upgrade myself as a stay-at-home entrepreneur. Although not all the lessons are applicable to my situation, through trial and error, here are some things I learnt about productivity for work from home mums.

Tip #1: Start the day with a to-do list

Before you do anything, sit down and write down everything you absolutely need to get done before the day’s over. For now, skip all those things you’d like to see happen and include only the musts.

Then schedule them into your calendar so that you don’t forget them. I use Google calendar, which is also synced to my phone.

Having a to-do list also cuts out guessing time. When you find yourself with a biggish chunk of time (10 to 20 minutes), drop everything else (dishes, busy work) and focus on these tasks. Those are your priorities for the day.

Tip #2: Purge the tiny things that take up time

The daily annoyances in our lives actually take up a lot of our time.

For example, an unorganised wardrobe might cause you to have to walk back and forth between two chests of drawers trying to find a pair of jeans, or struggling to find matching socks for kids. Have you found yourself  spending your free time picking and sorting out pieces of jigsaw puzzles? Who has time for that?

These things might seem like they don’t take much time, but when you add them up, it can take up many hours of your day. They also drain your mental reservoir.

We keep putting up with these distractions day after day, not recognising the invisible cost of each individual annoyance. We never make the connection between these 50 tiny inconveniences… and the big things that we always seem too tired to do.

So how do you deal with this?

Make a list of every tiny annoyance in your day and schedule in time to fix each of them. Put an actual appointment on your calendar to reorganise your wardrobe, buying multiples of each style of sock so that you don’t have to play the matching games, or to make a rule to only play with one set of puzzles at a time. You’ll be amazed at how your day changes when small problems vanish.

Tip #3: Set a timer

Before you get started on a task, calculate how much time you should be spending on each task to get everything done for the day. Then stick to your budget. Set a timer so that you don’t run over your allotted time. Don’t just watch the clock – there’s something about a timer counting down that inspires us to work harder and faster.

If you work while your child takes a nap, your child’s nap time is a great natural timer. When you know that you have to finish the job before the child wakes up, you’ll be motivated to work harder to get that job done.

Tip #4: Don’t get sucked in by constantly checking your email

The average person checks his or her email dozens of times a day. A quick glance at your phone may only take a few seconds, but it adds up, and most emails aren’t so urgent in nature that they have to be responded to immediately. Designate a time for email. Save your energy when you’re fresh and free of distraction for your most important tasks. Once you’ve worked through your task list, you can check email and re-prioritise your remaining time.

Tip #5: Make a decision and move on

Save your brain power for major decisions. Stop wasting time deliberating on minor decisions. Stop agonising over optimising small decisions that will have no meaningful impact on your life. Pick something — and move on. Small things – what to eat for dinner, what to wear, and what to buy, are not life-changing. Pick something and move on. Save your thinking for the things that really count.

I know I promised only 5 tips, consider this a bonus. If you can afford it, consider hiring help. A part time cleaner who comes in for a few hours a day can do wonders for your sanity. I now have a full-time helper at home and an assistant who helps me with my emails, scheduling and seeing to my client’s needs when I’m tied up with my children.

Remember that as a work-from-home parent, you are juggling multiple tasks at once. But it is possible to work at home and care for your family and complete household tasks at the same time. It just takes a little bit of prioritising, organising and learning to say no to superfluous tasks.

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If you want to learn how to start a business from home successfully, I’m opening enrollment to my #MomBossGoal Mentorship Program very soon. Click here to sign up so that you will be notified when enrollment begins.