Hello, welcome back to you a success cake business talk first of all I just apologise for the missing episode last week now I've had a couple of messages to say that they missed the episode which has been lovely so I just wanna say thank you for those of you who did miss the episode and I wanna explain.
So it was hard time last week in the UK, which means children were home.
No, I don't have a child as such.
I have a teenage boy, that i 'm trying to record anything whilst he is home is extremely difficult.
And I know you will relate if you've got kids, whether they, you know, whether it's school holidays, or if you've got little ones at home all the time , it can be really, really difficult.
So I'm back.
He's back to school today.
Thank goodness.
Um, so yeah, so we're back to our usual schedule um and hopefully no more episodes will be missed.
So this episode isn't about having the perfect balance, but it's about finding realistic ways to make it work.
Now, my realistic way to make that work was to just skip an episode, but as a cake maker that's going to be really, really difficult and I completely understand that and that is why I wanted to do this episode to explain. It's okay to change up your work schedule to work later in the evenings to work earlier in the mornings.
We have to make it work. Um and we children around that can be difficult. So what is the reality of working with children at home?
Well, you know, you might start the school holidays thinking, I'll just work while they play, but suddenly you're dealing with the food requests every five minutes or can you watch me do this?
Can you play with me?
Can you read me a story?
Can you watch me do this?
You know it's constant bombardment.
So thinking that you're going to work whilst they play, although is a you know, is a great idea. It rarely rarely happens.
You know, I know that when my son was a lot younger, it was a case of mum watch me this, watch me do this, watch me do this.
And I wouldn't be able to because I was making cakes and it was difficult.
You know, it was difficult to say to him , I don't have time for you, which is essentially what we're saying.
Obviously we don't quite say it like that, but that is essentially what we're saying, and we feel like bad parents, we feel like we sh we're failing. But we're not.
We are running a business if we were working in a in an office in a you know, nine to five job, it would be different.
Our children would be in some kind of childcare and we still wouldn't be able to see them.
The only difference is we're in the house they know that we're here, so it makes it harder.
Now, if you've got young kids, you've got the constant supervision, unpredictable nap times, playtimes, feeding times.
If you've got school age children, they are more independent, but they still need entertainment.
You know, my my son when he was sort of school age when it was half time, he wanted to be around me because he hadn't seen me every other day because he was at school.
And then when you have teenagers, they are definitely less demanding, I have to say they are far less demanding , but they can still be a distraction.
For example, my son playing his PlayStation, he doesn't have a volume control on his voice and it is extremely distracting so if I'm in the kitchen trying to bake a cake, although he isn't physically coming in to distract me, the noise that he's creating is a distraction and I can find myself not working to the best of my ability.
Sometimes working at 100% capacity isn't possible and that's okay so how can we work around this?
How can we still create cakes still be a present parent and still be a functioning human being all at the same time, you there is a lot, but we do have to do it . So there's a few sort of ways that I was able to to get over this when my son was younger and was constantly physically distracting me with requests to play, requests to go out, requests for food, et cetera, et cetera.
And my first suggestion is prioritization. Work in short, focused bursts.
We're not talking hours on end, we're talking sort of 25 30 minutes sprints, which is, you know, for young children.
It could be during nap time or it could be screen time and I don't encourage screen time, but sometimes sometimes it's essential you know grab those short sort of bur of of time that you can grab doing what you can in those sort of 25 to 30 minute time frames does help now I found that it took a while to get used to this idea because I would take those 30 minutes and I'd probably scroll on social media because you know it's like my time, my child is sleeping or my child is is keeping him herself entertained so it's time for me to relax, but I have a business so for me as much as I would love to just sit and scroll or read a book or take 10 minutes to myself, I have to get my work done.
I have to prioritize the high impact tasks will actually need to get done versus what I wanted to do or versus what can wait.
So the task that you cannot put off are the ones you need to do in those short bursts of time.
It could be if you've got some baking to do in that 30 minutes of free time get your cakes in the oven.
You can always take them out again running from the playroom into the kitchen for two seconds to take them out of the oven.
That doesn't matter, but it takes time to actually get them in the oven to make the mixture and get them in the oven so use that time that you have free to do that task Another option is time blocking now I say this over and over and over again time blocking is the best way to control your time.
You might have to get up earlier if your child has a regular get up time you know my child was at school so I knew what time he would usually wake up in the morning to go to school and so I would wake up earlier.
I would wake up before them so I could get some work done . Then I would do the school run and then obviously I would have the day to work, but when it comes to the school holiday is that not possible during the school holiday is we tend to have a school holiday too.
We have a work holiday.
It's like right, I don't have to get up in the morning because my child doesn't have to go to school so I'm going have a lion. But you have a lion until you child wakes up and then you have no free time. So keep to the same routine time block when you should get up in the morning to when your child is likely to wake up on a holiday day so for example, my son would get up for school about 6:3030 and then I would come home from dropping him off at about 8:30 so you know for those two hours whilst he's awake and getting ready for school, I wasn't able to work in the school holidays he doesn't actually wake up until about 8 8:30. If I'm lucky or I mean even if it was sort of 730 if I stick to my routine of waking up at 6 AM I've got six till say 730 of work time.
I don't change my routine just because the school holidays have arrived stick to it.
Block out the time in the morning before they wake up to do urgent work.
Then you want to find time during the day.
Now obviously this depends on how old your child is so you know, if you've got a baby, then you can work in nap times if you have a 567-year-old, they probably don't have napimes anymore and they just want to play play play but is there anyway that you can sit them down for an hour with some kind of supervision whether that be a family member, a friend something like that where you can quickly get an hour's work done if that's not possible that's OK it's OK to focus your energy on your children.
It just means you have to prioritize your evenings and your mornings as your work time you know and that can be a lot because children are a lot so having a full day with a child or children you know it's tiring , but if you want to make this business work, then these sacrifices have to be made unfortunately so time block the times you can work and if you cannot work during the day, if you really cannot work during the day, then you will have the time block your evenings.
So what time do you usually have your dinner?
Block out that time on the calendar so you know what time you're gonna be finished and what time you can start working. Then time block how long each task is going to take so if you've got a bake a cake, it's 30 minutes.
For example, block out 30 minutes for baking, then block out an hour for filling and gashing or for making a sugar flour or for making fillings for whatever it is that you need to do. But make sure you don't work too late because if you start working till three four in the morning, you're gonna be very tired the next day and I am talking from experience . The way to do this if you have no daytime strategy, I mean, this even works for those of you who don't have children but do have a day job.
It's the same principle in this situation.
You cannot physically do your cake business during the hours of say 8 AM to 6 PM because you either have children to look after or you have a day job so if you cannot physically work in those hours, you have to rely on the hours either side of those, and if you work too many of those hours, you are going to burn out.
You have to change the way you work.
So if you're a last minute person, if you are decorating the cake, the night before they' collecting, then you need to stop.
You need to reevaluate.
Can you spread the work out over more days?
Do less work each day just spread it out over more days.
There's nothing wrong with that.
There is nothing wrong.
We're taking more time to do something.
Can you bake at the week end and freeze your cakes?
Freeze them for when you actually need them in a couple of days time, then you don't have to be baking in the evenings.
You can focus solely on decoration if you need to create decoration.
There are ways around this . OK creating a kid friendly routines. Obviously we're going back to the children and having half term or having them permanently at home.
If it's possible, can you set up activities then keep them engaged?
So whether that would be like craft work independent play, or even work together time whilst you're baking, they can be coloring next to you at the table.
Can you give them something to create out of sugar paste or fondant have them work with you ? They get that time with you, but they're also creating it, but you're also working.
It may take you longer to do the work, but you can plan for that . You can say right OK so I need to make a sugar rose.
That's gonna take me one hour.
If I have to have my child working with me and creating something alongside of me, that rose probably won't take an hour.
It'll probably take an hour and a half and you will just make sure you have time blocked that time correctly.
You could have a special toy box or activities that only come out when you need to focus on your work . So this is the time where you can say right children.
Here's your toy box.
Have at it go and play and keep yourself entertained.
I will just be here doing some work.
Call me if you need me. Obviously you have to realize that if your children are safe enough to do this on their own, this isn't gonna be suitable for everybody, but I hopefully, if your child's old enough, then time to themselves activities that come out when you need to focus is a really, really good idea.
It just have a chance to get some work done.
You can involve the children so for school age children explain when you need quiet time and then create a do not disturb signal like headphones in.
I mean ideally you do have to make sure that that child is not going to endanger themselves if you've got headphones in and you can't hear anything, then, obviously use your judgment.
You're not silly.
If they're old enough to make sure, you know, for example, my teenager, I can put headphones in and know that he's going to be okay if I'm listening to something and keeping myself engaged in my work. You know if they're old enough, give them small responsibilities or let them work alongside you.
Help let them help you if if they are old enough, you know, ask them to clean the kitchen and offer them money, employ them to be your helper . Even little kids will do that.
I'll buy you a lollipop if you load the dishasher or you know we'll go to the shops and get you a new book if you clean up the kitchen for me let them help and it gives them a sense of responsibility as well so it's a good good idea.
OK so I know not everyone's going to agree with this one but embracing screen time when needed.
No guilt.
It is a tool, not a crutch.
We are not just throwing an iPad or a device at them 24 hours a day.
We are just using it when we need it and we don't have to show them games that dumb their mind down.
We don't have to put TikTok on in front of them.
We don't have to give them YouTube silly videos.
We don't have to put cartoons on.
You can put educational shows on there.
You can give them audiobooks to listen to.
You can give them a safe YouTube playlist.
There is specialist for children be you know be careful with what you show them, but it could also be really really useful to educate them at the same time.
Don't feel guilty about having to give them a device of some description or TV time because it's not all useless.
Some of it can be valuable.
You know, if they're really interested in animals, put something on like a David Attenborough documentary where they get to see the animals . It's educational and it gives you time to work so use it if it's needed, but then we come back to working in unconventional hours so if it is possible work in the early mornings work in the evenings work during nap time if they have nap time and batch tasks that require deep focus for when they're asleep or when they're occupied so tasks that really need deep focus is sort of creating you know the sugar flowers, creating fondant models, things that really require deep focus.
That has to be at times when you're not gonna get disturbed so save those for when the children go to bed and then when they're awake and they're disturbing you, you can don't do jobs just ones that are very quick or ones that don't need a whole lot of attention like quickly making you know the batter and popping in the oven that sort of thing you can't do it all perfectly and that is okay okay you have to let go of the guilt of the perfectionism.
It's it's the decision we choose to be cake makers.
If we have children, we often choose to do this to be home our children, to allow us to work and earn money whilst still being home and looking after our children so we choose to do this and you have to let go of that guilt that you can't give them 24 hours attention.
You you have to focus on your your business just a little bit.
You can't do it all perfectly and that is OK. Some days you're gonna get loads of work done, other days you're gonna feel like you accomplished absolutely nothing and both are normal . Both are normal regardless of whether you have children or not. Um you know, some days I don't feel like working and I procrastinate a lot and the day sort of goes by and I think oh, well, I didn't do a lot today, but then other days it's like yeah, bam, let's do all this work.
Bam bam bam, all done. And you finished the day and you feel really accomplished and if you have children, that sort of accomplishment makes you want to spend more time with your kids.
So if you can figure out a schedule and stick to it, it's quite important that you stick to it.
You know, if you set the alarm for 6 AM, but you still snooze for 40 minutes well, it's a waste of time, isn't it?
You might as well just not set the alarm and wake up 40 minutes later if you were going to try and do this, you can stick to it.
It has to be something that you can stick to.
Your kids seeing you work if your children see you work, it teaches them independence, wasilience, the value of hard work.
It teaches them all of this . Don't feel guilty for working.
You are teaching them listeners success isn't about doing everything at once.
It's about doing what you can with the time you have so please don't feel guilty that you can't work as much in the school holidays, but you can make a plan.
You can decide you're going to spread things out over a long period of time.
You're going to decide that you're going to only work when the children are asleep.
You can decide to bring in somebody to look after your children, say for one day in the week where you can have a full day of no distractions.
You can bring them in for an hour a day and have an hour of no distractions Time block set prioritize your tasks be realistic create routines.
Yes's a lot of prep to this, but if you prep, you're not gonna fail.
You're gonna get it right and by the end of for instance, the week that we've just had of half term so the children are home for a week by the end of that week you'll be surprised at how much you actually done and how much half time wasn't spent thinking you should be working because I know what that's like.
I know what it's like when you think you're playing with your children.
You're going out for the day and you think I should be working.
I should be doing this.
I should be making this cake.
I should be decorating. Should be doing all of this stuff instead you are spending time with your family.
I know what that is like, but if you create the routines at the end of that half term, you will have created amazing memories with your families and you will have done all the work, but it is about creating the routines and it is about prioritizing the task and it's about being realistic about what is possible during that half time half times don't just sneak up on us.
We know about them usually a year in advance so if you can try to avoid cooking cakes that are going to be due during half term or the week after if you can do that, that would be very helpful.
If you cannot do that if you cannot avoid doing that, then you have to work with the time that you have let go of the guilt.
There is no right way to balance everything.
We do what we can.
You are doing an amazing job even if it doesn't always feel like that so I'd like you to share with me come on to Instagram, the K Business Academy and share with me your best tips all your struggles with working whilst kids are at home those are my best tips.
Try to follow them and I think you will be absolutely fine.
Have a wonderful day.
