With proper planning and good time management, work at home moms can achieve balance in their work, parenting and personal lives. That’s not to say it will always be smooth sailing. Kids get sick, computers crash, and spouses say things like “Oh didn’t I tell you, the boss invited us to his summer home this weekend” and it’s Thursday night. Some things are out of your control, and your attitude will determine how far off balance you become when life unexpectedly takes a wrong turn. Getting back on track, however, is much easier if you have a plan in place before those incidents occur.

Here are some tips for work at home moms to live by:

1. Create a schedule and stick to it whenever possible. Divide each day into blocks of work time, family time, and personal time. You determine how much of each is best for you. Do not work during family or personal time. Close the door to your office when you’re not scheduled to be there. It will help you resist the temptation to “make just one more call”.

2. Stay focused on one thing at a time. This will be a challenge to most work at home moms who tend to multitask, and why wouldn’t you when the laundry needs to be folded and the living room is screaming “vacuum me!” Keep in mind, however, that several studies have revealed that multitasking (carrying on several duties at one time) may in fact reduce our productivity, not increase it. Leave the dishes until family time and do them together. Who knows, maybe somebody will notice them first and toss them in the dishwasher while you finish up that proposal.

3. Prioritize your daily workload. If one task has a deadline and the other is open ended, start with the former. If you need to make several phone calls, or answer your email, try doing them first thing in the morning. You’re more likely to reach your party which then allows you to avoid having to wait for the return call or email several hours or days later.

4. Minimize distractions such as ringing phones and doorbells. If you’re no good at ignoring them, then turn off the ringer and post a sign on the door that says “Leave Deliveries on Doorstep Between 8 am and Noon” or “Work At Home Parent – Do Not Disturb!”

5. Take “should” out of your vocabulary. Make a conscious decision to do something because you want to or because of the benefit to you, your work or your family, not because you “should”. You can also say “no” if it doesn’t fit into your schedule or you don’t want to do it. Others will respect you and value your time if they see you value yourself first.

6. Hand over chores and obligations that you don’t have time for or just plain don’t like doing. If there’s nobody in your family or circle of friends to help, hire someone. The acquisition of more time will likely outweigh the expense.

7. Wear a watch or set a timer so you are aware of the transition between your work time, your family time, and your personal time. Try not to develop “just 10 more minutes” syndrome. Those ten minutes, usually spent working, can sabotage the rest of your day and make you and your family cranky.