Working Homeschool Moms Schedule

When you’re a work-from-home homeschool mom, finding a working homeschool mom’s schedule that suits the needs of your work, homeschool, and family can be a struggle.  

Today I’m focusing on five different schedules for homeschool moms who work from home. Here are some ideas to help you fine-tune your time management and nail down a working homeschool mom’s schedule that might suit you and your current situation.

This post is part of my Help for Homeschool Mompreneurs Series of 10 posts full of
valuable resources and tips for working homeschool moms.

Working Homeschool Mom Schedules

Some moms may have more flexible options than others, depending on whether you work from home.

Before diving into the various schedule suggestions, there are a few things you should keep in mind:

• Pick a schedule that accommodates your unique family dynamic
• Schedules change as children grow
• Take into consideration the help you may (or may not) have
• Give yourself time to take breaks 
• Don’t hesitate to make changes when needed 

As you read through the following schedules, remember you can always test each to see what works. Then grab a few ideas from each and come up with your own.

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Early Morning Work From Home Schedules

Do your kids like to sleep in? A couple of mine do. If so, make this work to your benefit with your working homeschool mom’s schedule. 

I’ve been getting up at 4:45 am to work before my kids get up for over twelve years. I typically work until about 8:00 AM. Doing this even just five days a week will give you up to 18 hours of solid, undisturbed work time. 

I usually jump right into work that needs my undivided, focused attention. This is often client work on business and/or financial topics.

I break at 6:30 to have a coffee and read my current devotional, inspirational book or Bible study for about 15 minutes. And sometimes, if I need a laugh, I’ll look for a few funny homeschool memes on social media! Then it is back to work until around 8:00 am when my youngest gets up.

Since we’re a homeschooling and homesteading family, we also fit in our morning chores.

By 9:30 am we’re usually ready to start our morning time and dive into our favorite homeschool curriculum.

Of course, this also means I’m usually in bed (reading) by 9:00 pm, with lights out by 9:30 pm. I need a good night’s rest or get cranky and ineffective and feel rundown. 

If you choose an early morning schedule, consider starting your day with something motivational and a big glass of water, coffee, or tea.

Afternoon & Evening Work From Home Schedules

These working homeschool mom schedules are often called “nap time” schedules.

If you have younger children who still take naps or older children who can work/play independently with an open-and-go homeschool curriculum, working in the afternoon may make sense. 

A typical afternoon schedule would fall sometime between 12 and 2 PM. To make a smooth transition from homeschooling during the day into lunch, nap, then working, consider meal prepping lunches and snacks on Saturdays. (Find a good meal plan to organize your food for the week.)

The same can be said for choosing an evening schedule, except these hours typically fall between 2 and 5 PM. Getting dinner prepped, a set of evening activities, or an afternoon sitter (if the hubby isn’t available) can make working in the evening a go. 

Working from home in the afternoons often gives me an additional one hour to three hours of work time. However, these times are rarely uninterrupted. That’s why I don’t usually work on projects that require my complete focus.

Instead, this is when I do “lighter” work, such as social media posting, creating pin graphics, and responding to emails.

These days, I usually fit in another fifteen hours of work each week by working afternoons.

Late Night Work at Home Mom Schedules

Are you a night owl? If so, a late-night schedule could be the answer you need as a working homeschool mom.

However, late-night work-at-home schedules come with a big warning for moms. 

Don’t burn the candle at both ends. The biggest consideration with these schedules is considering your energy levels.

Work may be the last thing you want to do after being a mom, teacher, chef, nurse, referee, and whatever else your day holds. So make sure you also take time for self-care.

On the other hand, I do know some people (I produced a couple of my own) who are actually more effective, focused, and productive at night. So a late-night work-from-home schedule works perfectly for them.

And if you (like me) are not a night owl, keep your low-focus tasks for the evening. These could include

• reviewing/editing days work
• organizing and filling out my working homeschool mom planner for tomorrow
• Social media or graphics work
• emails

Also,  if your children or husband contribute to evening household chores, you might easily slip in even an hour of work from 7 pm to 8 pm. 

Weekend Schedules

Weekend working homeschool moms’ schedules involve working just Saturdays and Sundays. This works well for working homeschool moms with young children and husbands who can “take over” all parenting and home duties on the weekend. 

If your husband is away long hours on Monday to Friday and the early morning/late nights/afternoons don’t work for you, weekend work-from-home schedules might be your best bet. 

Weekends could offer you the biggest chunks of time to put in a whole week’s work because you could work up to 12 hours each day. However, this schedule comes with a HUGE warning!

Twelve hours is a very long time to sit at a computer.

Ensure you have the proper setup (meaning chair, ergonomic keyboard, the correct screen angle, etc. If you don’t, you could have severe shoulder, neck, or back issues. 

(Ask me how I know. It’s a dreary story but a very real issue that took me over nine months to recover from.)

Working weekends to build your home-based business or professional career can give you up to 24 hours of work time.

Working with a Block Schedule

Another option for a working homeschool mom’s schedule is what’s known as a block schedule.

A homeschool block schedule usually means carving out “blocks” of time for working in chunks or increments. This schedule works for families with many weekly extra-curricular activities or appointments. 

When our sixth child was diagnosed with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis nine years ago, I quickly moved to a block schedule. My husband worked long hours, and I needed to accommodate the many medical appointments and day trips to the Children’s Hospital, which was 2 ½ hours away. 

(Note: we’ve since moved back to the Northwest Territories. The Children’s Hospital is now an 18-hour drive away….or a 2 1/2 flight.)

A block schedule let me keep working with my financial content clients, homeschool her when she felt well enough, and manage (just barely) our home.

Block schedules usually mean breaking up your day into 30-minute to two-hour blocks. Each day could look a bit different depending on what’s happening. 

Create Your Own Working Homeschool Moms Schedule 

Every working homeschool mom has different work, home, and homeschool responsibilities. And each of us goes through different seasons of life as our children grow and our businesses evolve. But remember, flexibility is one of the best things about this lifestyle. 

Try one or more of these schedules based on your own rhythms, work style, family and homeschool commitments, and your children’s ages.

Sample Block Schedule for WFH Moms

Mix and match up schedules and try out a variety until you find something you like. For example, here’s a sample block schedule:

• Sundays: OFF
• Mondays: AM schedule (4AM to 8 AM)
• Tuesdays: PM schedule (1PM to 5 PM)
• Wednesdays: AM schedule (4AM to 8 AM)
• Thursdays: AM/PM schedule (4AM to 8 AM, 12 to 2 PM)
• Fridays: AM schedule (5AM to 7 AM)
• Saturdays: OFF

This sample schedule gives a total of 20 hours of solid work time. If you need to add more or take away time, you can certainly tweak it to accommodate that by adding hours on Saturdays and a few more PM hours.

Find Your Most Productive Work-From-Home Schedule

Make finding a schedule that allows you to be the most productive in your work and business a priority this week. You may need to have a serious family discussion and clearly communicate your needs to your spouse and children. This could help uncover any potential roadblocks or assumptions.

Incorporating independent working and playing times, reviewing homeschool routines, scheduling charts, chore charts, family planning sessions, and the like can help you meet the needs required of being a working homeschool mom.

Also, don’t forget to stay organized in the midst of it all by using your favorite working, homeschooling, and/or family planner. Find a paper or digital planner you love and use any other resources necessary to keep you organized and focused.

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