Routine

No matter how much you may hate it, routine is a necessary part of life. Routine is not only helpful for us working moms, but also very helpful for our kids.

Let me explain...since my daughter was 3 weeks old, we had a bedtime routine established. We did the same thing every single night. Guess what? She was sleeping through the night around 5 weeks old. It started with a warm bath before bedtime using the Johnson's Bedtime Lavender Bath, a quiet bedtime story, lotion, brush hair, put on pajamas, and nursed/bottle now. It happened the same order every night. Within a week, she knew that bathtime meant almost bedtime. Twelve months later, the routine is still the same. She even heads toward the bathtub at 8:00 on the dot without a fuss. Having a baby that slept through the night at 5 weeks can mostly be contributed to the bedtime routine we started early. She could anticipate bedtime the same time every night. I am a routine fanatic. I have routine in almost every single aspect of my life; without it, I would be lost.

My daughter, Macy, sleeping through the night at 5 weeks.

Where am I going with all of this? Well, I am glad you asked. Being a working mom requires us to have routines in our day to day life. We need to set our business hours around our family and stick to them. This includes making a family calender to post where everyone can see so that all involved know what comes next. The entire family needs to learn when mommy is working and when mommy is not. Not only will this help you stay grounded, focused, inspired, and energized, but it will help the whole family stay on board. They will be able to anticipate when mommy has to work, which in turn, will help fussiness and drama.

Routines also need to be established with your business. Set 1 hour a day which you will respond to all emails. Set another hour when you will network. Set another hour when you will call clients or make follow up calls. You get the picture. Your clients will learn to appreciate a business owner who is set in a routine. Doing the same thing everytime makes happy clients/customers and a happy business owner.

I read a story today about a lady who hired a k9 clean up company to clean up the yard on a weekly basis. The company was owned and operated by an 18 year old boy from her neighborhood. Yes, 18 years old with a LLC company. He was always 5 minutes early and did the job to near perfection. He even left 2 dog treats and a thank you note on the owners front door every single time. This kid knew exactly what he was doing, and we should all appreciate this story. He was consistent and had a routine that made his customers incredibly happy. Happy customers = more business! If you can establish simple routines like this with your business (responding to emails within 24 hours or less everytime, sending thank you notes everytime, etc), you are bound to keep your current customers and gain new ones.

Routine my friends will not only help your family life, but your business will grow as well. As hard as it may be for some of you, trust me on this, and make it your goal this week to establish routines. Start small and work your way up.

~Amber