Being a work-from-home mom sounds like it should make balancing work and motherhood easier.
It’s more about learning what needs my attention in that moment—and being willing to shift when life doesn’t follow the schedule I wrote down.
And in some ways, it absolutely does.
I get to be home with my children. I get to homeschool them, build the things I’m passionate about, work on my businesses, create content, write this blog, and still be present for so many of the everyday moments that I probably wouldn’t experience in the same way if I worked outside of the home.
That’s something I genuinely don’t take for granted.
But working from home also means there isn’t always a clear line between work and home.
My office is home.
My coworkers are occasionally asking me for snacks. 😂
And the perfectly planned workday I had in my head at 8:00 in the morning can look completely different by lunchtime.
Over time, I’ve realized that being a work-from-home mom isn’t really about perfectly balancing everything.
At least it isn’t for me.
It’s more about learning what needs my attention in that moment—and being willing to shift when life doesn’t follow the schedule I wrote down.
There Really Isn’t a Typical Workday
I wish I could give you a beautiful little schedule and say, This is exactly what every day looks like.
But that would be a lie. 😂
There are certain things that give our days structure, but every day is different.
Some mornings feel incredibly productive. I’m up, I’ve had my coffee, the kids are doing what they need to do, homeschooling is flowing, and somehow I’m checking things off my list faster than I expected.
Those are the days when I’m sitting there thinking:
Look at me. I have this whole thing figured out.
And naturally, that’s usually when life decides to humble me. 😂
Because the next day might look completely different.
Someone needs extra help with school.
Something around the house needs my attention.
A child needs me.
I have an unexpected phone call.
Content takes longer to film than I expected.
I sit down to write something and my brain suddenly decides it has absolutely nothing to contribute to the conversation.
Or maybe everyone is just having one of those days.
And because I work from home, my workday has to be flexible enough to make room for that.
Homeschooling as a Work-From-Home Mom
Homeschooling is probably one of the biggest reasons my workdays don’t fit neatly into traditional work hours.
I’m not dropping the kids off somewhere in the morning and then coming home to an empty house where I have six uninterrupted hours to work.
We’re all here.
Together.
A lot. 😂
And I genuinely love that.
Homeschooling gives our family flexibility, and I love being involved in what my kids are learning and having the freedom to structure our days in a way that works for us.
But it also means that when I’m working, I’m still Mom.
I might be answering an email while someone is working independently and then stop because they need help understanding something.
I might have an idea for a blog post while we’re in the middle of the school day and quickly write it down so I don’t forget it.
Sometimes I can get a little work done while they’re occupied.
Other times?
Absolutely not. 😂
I’ve had to learn to stop fighting that.
If homeschooling needs more of my attention that day, then that’s where my attention goes.
The work will still be there.
Some Days, Mom Comes Before the To-Do List
This one has taken some learning.
When you work for yourself, there’s always something else you could be doing.
Another email you could answer.
Another video you could film.
Another blog post you could work on.
Another idea you could develop.
Another task you could check off.
There is no magical moment where the internet announces:
Congratulations, Gaby. You have officially completed all possible work. Please enjoy the rest of your day. 😂
It doesn’t happen.
So I’ve had to learn that just because there’s more work available doesn’t mean I always need to be doing it.
There are days when my kids need more of me.
There are days when something happening at home is more important than whatever I planned to accomplish for work.
And one of the biggest reasons I wanted to build a life where I could work for myself was because I wanted that flexibility.
It wouldn’t make much sense to create that freedom and then make myself feel guilty every time I actually use it.
And Some Days… Everybody Better Stay Right Where They Are 😂
Now let’s discuss the opposite situation.
Because every once in a while, the stars align.
The kids are doing their thing.
Nobody needs anything.
The house is reasonably quiet.
I have my coffee.
My brain is cooperating.
The lighting is good.
And suddenly I have an uninterrupted block of time to WORK.
Girl.
Nobody move. 😂
Those are the moments when I can get so much accomplished.
I might film several pieces of content, work on the blog, respond to emails, handle brand-related work, plan upcoming content, work on Teva’s Glow, or tackle whatever else has been sitting on my list.
And I’ve learned to take advantage of those moments instead of expecting them to happen at the exact same time every day.
Sometimes my best work happens in the morning.
Sometimes it’s later in the afternoon.
Sometimes I randomly get a burst of creativity when I wasn’t planning to work at all.
That’s one of the things I genuinely enjoy about working for myself.
There is structure, but there’s also room to move.
Content Creation Doesn’t Always Look Like Work
This has been another interesting adjustment, especially as content creation has become a bigger part of what I do.
Work doesn’t always mean sitting at a desk anymore.
Sometimes work looks like filming myself making coffee.
Sometimes I’m photographing a skincare product.
Sometimes I’m planning content in my planner.
Sometimes I’m editing a video on my phone while sitting on the couch.
Sometimes I’m writing a blog post at the kitchen table.
Sometimes I’m taking photos of something I was already doing because I realize it could become part of a story later.
And sometimes I’m doing something completely normal with my family when an idea pops into my head and I’m suddenly reaching for my phone to write it down.
My work has become intertwined with my actual life because so much of what I create is lifestyle content.
But I’m also learning that not every moment needs to become content.
That’s important to me.
I want to share my life.
I don’t want to feel like I have to document every second of it.
There are things I want to experience simply because they’re mine.
Being a Work-From-Home Mom Doesn’t Mean I’m Always Available
I think this is one of the strange things about working from home.
You’re physically home, so it can sometimes feel like you should be able to do everything.
Work.
Clean.
Homeschool.
Cook.
Answer messages.
Run errands.
Keep up with appointments.
Film content.
Do laundry.
Handle business tasks.
Spend time with your family.
And somehow have enough energy left at the end of the night to do something for yourself.
All because you’re “home.”
But being home doesn’t magically create additional hours in the day.
And working from home is still working.
I’ve had to become more intentional about recognizing when I’m actually working instead of treating everything I do as something I’m squeezing in around the rest of life.
That’s part of why planning has become so important for me lately.
Not because I want every hour controlled by a schedule, but because I need somewhere to see what actually needs my attention.
Otherwise everything feels important at the same time.
And when everything feels urgent, it’s really easy to feel like you’re constantly behind.
I’m Learning Not to Measure Every Day the Same Way
There was a time when I probably would have looked at a day where I didn’t accomplish much work and thought:
I wasn’t productive today.
I don’t look at it quite the same way anymore.
Maybe I didn’t film the videos.
But we had a great homeschool day.
Maybe I didn’t finish the blog post.
But I handled things around the house that had been bothering me.
Maybe I didn’t answer every email.
But I was present with my family.
And sometimes the opposite happens.
Maybe the house isn’t perfectly put together because I had an incredibly productive workday.
That’s real life.
I’m learning that productivity doesn’t always have to look the same.
Some days move my business forward.
Some days pour more into my family.
Some days I somehow manage to do a little bit of everything.
And some days?
We regroup and try again tomorrow. 😂
The Flexibility Is Still One of My Favorite Parts
Even with the interruptions, overlapping responsibilities, unpredictable schedules, and occasional chaos, I genuinely love being able to work from home.
I love being here.
I love that I can build something I’m passionate about while still being deeply involved in my family’s everyday life.
I love that my children get to see me creating things.
They see me filming.
They see me working on my skincare business.
They see me writing.
They see packages arrive for collaborations.
They see me get excited when something I’ve been working toward finally happens.
And they also see that sometimes things don’t go according to plan.
Honestly, I think there’s something valuable in that too.
They’re watching me build something in real time.
I’m Not Trying to Perfect the Balance Anymore
I don’t know if there’s actually such a thing as perfectly balancing motherhood, marriage, homeschooling, work, home, creativity, business, and taking care of yourself.
If someone has discovered the formula, congratulations to her. 😂
I’m still over here moving things around on my planner.
But I don’t think perfect balance is really what I’m looking for anymore.
I want flexibility.
I want to be able to focus on my work when it’s time to work without feeling guilty about it.
I want to be able to focus on my children when they need me without staring at my unfinished to-do list.
I want to build businesses and create things I’m proud of.
I want to enjoy my home.
I want to be present in my marriage and with my family.
And I want enough room in my life to recognize when something needs to shift.
Some weeks I’ll probably feel like I’m doing an amazing job at all of it.
Other weeks?
We’ll be surviving on coffee, prayer, and moving tasks to tomorrow. 😂
And I’m okay with admitting that.
Because this is what being a work-from-home mom actually looks like for me.
It’s not perfectly scheduled.
It’s not always productive.
It’s definitely not quiet.
But it’s flexible, creative, sometimes chaotic, and filled with people and work that I genuinely care about.
And right now?
I wouldn’t trade that for a perfectly balanced schedule anyway.
