We have realised that being a stay-at-home mum is a career and over the next couple of sahm articles we would talk about how we can define all these parts of our lives to create a wholesome experience for us in our stay-at-home-mum season.

Today our focus will be on family life;

We look at how to define your family in these 4 categories;

- Define the family values: This can not be done by you alone but you can facilitate the process. Prepare your spouse and children(if they are old enough) in advance for a family meeting where you are all going to discuss what your values are and the way everyone can stick to those values. Set time aside on a Saturday or Sunday to make this happen. When you are done you will have the final list printed and posted everywhere in the house as a reminder.

Here are a few articles to help with the process:
Article 1
Article 2

It is important to note that the values will continue to evolve over time and this is a new addition, you or your kids may not instantly get it but the values will be imbibed by constantly reinforcing it which is why everyone must be involved in the process.

- Define the family goals: We set individual goals, career goals, financial goals etc but do we remember to set the family goals? What do we want to achieve as a family? It is important that the family has something they are working on together this helps to increase the bond and gives you a sense of direction as a family.
Here are a few articles to help you get started;

Article 1
Article 2

- Define how your family runs: You take some time to define how your family will run;

Here are some questions to answer to define this; 

  1. Will you get domestic help?
  2. When will your kids wake up? 
  3. If you have domestic help, how will they conduct themselves (e.g no phones while they work, deep clean every month, change bedsheet every week, cobwebs, no dishes overnight,  etc.) 
  4. How do we go to market? When do we go to the market (weekly, monthly), How do we store food?
  5. What is the monthly budget to keep the home running?  

- Schedules & Routines: A routine something you do every day and a schedule is a documentation of how your day will go. This is one of my favourites, creating routines and schedules. Children thrive on routines and it is important that we put our kids in a routine if we haven't already and stick with it. You'd see how much happier they will be. Your routine will be different based on what you decide to do, for example, my routine with my son as a homeschooling mum will be different from a mum who has her child in school. The most important thing is to incorporate all the aspects of your life into it and stick with it.

Here are a few articles to help
Article 1

Having a schedule for everything you want to do each day is also important especially when you stay at home, it feels like the work never ends and there is a tendency to continue without putting the breaks in, it also helps you to be productive and keep track of all your activities. Here is how I create a weekly schedule that I follow;

  • Every Sunday I take some time out to plan my week and review my last week. 
  • I think through and also based on commitment define where we are going. E.g Events, swimming class, mummy & me class etc. 
  • After putting in a journal (I use Power planner) you can also insert into your google calendar or download a scheduling app which will send you reminders. 
  • Follow through! 

Are you a stay-at-home mum? How do you define your family life?