Shownotes
Are you a work from home homeschool parent struggling to balance earning income, educating your children, and maintaining your sanity?
In this episode, Crystal and Anthony Obey reveal seven battle-tested strategies they use daily to reclaim nearly two extra hours in their day — time that transforms from chaos into opportunity for growing their business, deepening their homeschool experience, and actually enjoying life.
Discover how to turn your eliminated commute into prime teaching or business-building time, why prepping the night before saves you from starting every morning in crisis mode, and how strategic break-stacking keeps your kids happy while your productivity soars.
FREE INTRO CLASS: Get $30,000+/Yr to Fund Your Homeschool Without a 9-5 Job
Crystal and Anthony share honest, practical wisdom straight from the trenches of working from home with five kids, including why letting your children sleep later isn't lazy — it's strategic, how Sunday planning sessions prevent weekly disasters, and the workspace boundaries that signal to everyone (including yourself) that your work matters.
This isn't theory from someone who's never lived it. These are real-world strategies from parents who understand that you don't need more hours in the day — you need to reclaim the ones you're losing to inefficiency, poor boundaries, and systems designed for traditional workers, not work from home homeschool parents.
In This Episode, You'll Discover:
- How to reclaim 10+ hours per week by strategically using your former commute time
- The 15-minute nighttime routine that eliminates morning chaos and saves 30-45 minutes daily
- How to make your work breaks serve double duty for productivity and family connection
- Why letting kids sleep later creates golden work hours and better learners
- The Sunday reset strategy that transforms reactive scrambling into proactive success
- How to create workspace boundaries that actually work (even with young children)
- The tech support systems that prevent five-minute problems from becoming hour-long catastrophes
Perfect for you if:
- You feel like you're juggling 12 full-time jobs and dropping all of them
- You want to grow your income without sacrificing family time
- You're ready to stop conforming to schedules that don't serve your family
- You need practical strategies that actually work in real homeschool households
FREE INTRO CLASS: Get $30,000+/Yr to Fund Your Homeschool Without a 9-5 Job
Stop drowning in inefficiency. Start building the spacious, abundant life you're working so hard to create. These seven strategies will help you breathe, grow, and thrive as a work from home homeschool parent.
Transcripts
what if I told you that hidden inside
your chaotic day or nearly two extra
2
:hours just waiting to be claimed.
3
:Now these are hours you could
spend building your business.
4
:Homeschooling your kids, or
dare I say it, enjoying a much
5
:needed break from everything.
6
:Intro: A fast growing number
of parents are starting their
7
:homeschooling journey while others
have been homeschooling for years.
8
:All of these parents are asking one big
question, how can I afford to homeschool?
9
:We are here to answer that
important question once and for all.
10
:Hi, I'm Crystal Obby.
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:And I'm Anthony Obby.
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:We've been homeschooling our five
kids for 13 years and we funded it.
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:Through our online consulting business
that we've been running for over 17
14
:years now, we're combining Crystal's
financial coaching expertise with my
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:digital marketing background where I help
entrepreneurs launch and sell online.
16
:We're here to help fellow homeschooling
parents self-fund their homeschool
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:journey and create lifestyle businesses.
18
:For financial freedom without a nine to
five job, are you ready to start living
19
:life on your own terms and make your
homeschooling experience a lot more fun?
20
:Well then sit back, crank up
the volume, and enjoy this
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:episode of Homeschool Money.
22
:Hey there.
23
:We wanna welcome you to the
Homeschool Money podcast.
24
:My name is Anthony Obby.
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:I'm Crystal Obby.
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:Listen, if you're a work from home
homeschool parent, you're already juggling
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:what feels like 12 full-time jobs.
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:That's right.
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:You are the teacher, the employee,
the cook, the referee, and somehow
30
:also the IT department when the
wifi inevitably goes down during
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:your biggest meeting of the week.
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:But here's the truth, you don't
need more hours in the day.
33
:You need to reclaim the ones
you're losing to inefficiency.
34
:Poor boundaries and strategies
that worked for office workers,
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:but absolutely do not work for you.
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:Today we're talking about seven game
changing strategies that will help
37
:you free up time, reduce stress, and
actually have the bandwidth to grow
38
:your income and enjoy your life.
39
:These aren't theory.
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:These are practical battle tested
tips from the trenches of work, from
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:home homeschooling, and in particular,
these are seven strategies that we
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:use every single day of the week
that we know will help you too.
43
:So I'm gonna get going
with no further ado.
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:Tip number one, trade your commute time.
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:So here's the shift instead of commuting,
invest that time in homeschooling.
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:Think about this for a second.
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:The average American commute
is about 54 minutes round trip.
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:Now, if you live in a, a, you know,
congested metroplex like we do in the
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:Dallas-Fort Worth area, you can bump
that up to about two hours round trip.
50
:Some of you are spending closer to
two hours, like fellow DFW people
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:spend just sitting in traffic
or on public transportation.
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:That's 10 hours a week.
53
:That translates into
about 40 hours a month.
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:Do you know what you could
do with two hours a day?
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:You can teach an entire day's
worth of curriculum to your kids.
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:You could teach them
math, reading, science.
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:All done.
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:You could also use that part of your time
to take on an extra freelance project,
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:build a side business, or even just
batch cook meals for the entire week.
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:When you work from home, you're not
just saving gas money and wear and
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:tear on your car, you're reclaiming
massive chunks of your life.
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:The key is being intentional about
how you spend and reclaim that time.
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:Don't let it evaporate into
scrolling or busy work.
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:Protect it.
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:Use it strategically.
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:It is your secret weapon.
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:Tip number two, prep
everything the night before.
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:This is one of my favorites.
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:You can win the morning
before you go to bed.
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:We've all been there.
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:It's 8:47 AM and you have a nine o'clock
meeting, and suddenly you realize nobody
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:has pants on breakfast hasn't happened,
and you can't find the math workbook
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:anywhere when you prep the night before.
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:You eliminate the chaos, set out
the clothes, pack lunches, or prep
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:breakfast, lay out the homeschool
materials, check your calendar and
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:make sure you know what's coming.
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:This takes maybe 15 minutes before bed,
but it saves you 30 to 45 minutes of
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:frantic, scrambling in the morning.
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:But here's the real magic.
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:When you're not starting every day
in reactive mode, you're calmer.
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:Your kids are calmer.
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:You actually show up on time
to appointments and to co-ops.
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:Yeah, you start work feeling in
control instead of already behind.
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:And that mental shift, that alone
is worth the 15 minute investment.
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:Your morning sets the
tone for the entire day.
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:Prep it the night before and
you'll hit the ground running
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:instead of tripping over toys.
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:Yeah, that's really good.
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:And Crystal, just another thought on
this, like, one thing I always do before
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:I leave the office, especially whenever
I have client appointments or meetings
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:the next day, I like double, triple,
maybe sort of obsessively, quadruple
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:to check my calendar to make sure I
got the right times on everything.
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:Because it does just what you
described, it helps me to be able to.
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:Rest for the rest of the evening a
lot a lot more knowing that I know
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:exactly what times my meetings start
and I don't have the wrong time
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:zone or something like that off.
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:And so it just makes a huge difference
and we use it every single day and
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:it's important for you, especially
whenever you're working from home
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:because you get to an opportunity
to own your time a lot more.
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:And so upleveling.
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:Those sort of executive function
skills are super important.
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:1 Comm: Hey, real quick, if you're liking
the show, hit follow so you don't miss
103
:a single episode and drop a five star
rating and a review to let us know that
104
:you're loving the content and tell us
what topics you'd like us to cover.
105
:This will help more people find
the show, and please share this
106
:episode with a friend, your
co-op, or anyone who needs it.
107
:They'll be glad you did.
108
:Now, back to the show.
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:Tip number three, use
your breaks strategically.
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:So stack your breaks.
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:So, so they serve double duty.
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:That's one thing that we do.
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:So most jobs give you breaks, like
15 minute coffee breaks or lunch,
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:lunch hour, and then there's just
kind of jive time hanging out by the
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:water cooler, that kind of thing.
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:But when you work from home.
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:And you homeschool, your breaks can do
so much more than just recharge you.
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:They can keep your entire
house running smoothly.
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:Take your morning break and use
it to give your kids a snack.
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:Boom, you've just prevented
three interruptions during
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:the next conference call.
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:You're you.
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:You can use your lunch break to
change a diaper, help a struggling
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:reader, or let your toddler tell
you about the epic battle between
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:their stuffed animals, right?
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:And here's a beautiful one.
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:Use a break to call grandparents.
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:Your kids can get to get the
opportunity to connect with family.
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:Grandma gets her fix and you just
bought yourself another 30 minutes
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:of focused work time because now
the kids are happily chatting away.
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:The trick is intentionality,
so don't just wander into the
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:kitchen and stare at the fridge.
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:Plan your breaks to solve problems
before they become interruptions.
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:When you align, your work
breaks with your kids' needs.
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:Everybody wins.
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:You stay productive, your kids stay happy,
and the whole machine runs a lot smoother.
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:This is one of my favorite ones
because whenever you are intentional
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:about your breaks, you just anticipate
everything that's gonna happen, and
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:so your kids actually feel like.
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:Their cups are full all day, and
you could be super busy with work,
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:but yet the kids don't feel like
you're neglecting them or anything.
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:They feel like you're really giving
them a lot of attention, but really you
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:just kind of know what needs to happen.
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:So one thing I like that we do is
every day when the kids are up.
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:We all, we give lots of
hugs, lots of kisses.
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:How was your dreams and all that.
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:And it feels like it's a lot of time.
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:It's a real luxurious time
that we take to do that.
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:But we know exactly when
that's gonna happen.
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:We know when, when everybody's gonna
get up, when someone's gonna take a nap.
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:And so we know how to prepare ourselves
to be ready to just take those few extra
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:minutes that makes them feel amazing.
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:But it doesn't interrupt our
work because we planned for it.
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:Yeah.
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:And so we just really get a
really better quality of life.
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:Yeah, absolutely.
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:And that's kinda attached to tip number
four because one thing we do is let
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:the kids wake up a little bit later.
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:And that's a big thing that a
lot of homeschool families do.
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:Yeah.
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:We really value sleep and so we make
sure that the kids get all their rest.
162
:And so what you wanna do is let the
kids sleep to protect your golden
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:morning hours, because whenever kids
go to public or private school, they
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:have to get up super early 'cause they
have to get dressed, they have to.
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:You know you know, just get
outta the house so early.
166
:But with homeschooling,
they don't have to.
167
:You know, conventional wisdom says
kids need to wake up at 6:30 AM to
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:prepare them for the real world.
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:But guess what?
170
:You are the real world now,
and you get to design it.
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:Our real world, real world includes
them being able to get their full sleep.
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:If you're working from home, your
most productive hours might be early
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:morning when the house is quiet.
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:Why would you give that up?
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:Let your kids sleep in, let them
get the rest they actually need.
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:Most school aged kids are
chronically sleep deprived anyway,
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:because school start times don't
align with adolescent biology.
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:2 Comm: Hey, friend, quick break.
179
:If you're ready to fund your homeschool
without relying on a nine to five
180
:job, you have to check this out.
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:We're giving you instant access to.
182
:Our free class is called Get 30,000
a year to Fund Your Homeschool
183
:Without a nine to five job.
184
:In just 90 minutes, you'll learn
how to create consistent income.
185
:Afford a world-class education for
your kids and get the lifestyle freedom
186
:you deserve, that's gonna give you
more time to invest into the people
187
:that matter the most, your children.
188
:This is the system that changed everything
for us, and it's changed everything
189
:for hundreds of other families too.
190
:Go to homeschool money.com
191
:to register and watch the free
class on demand and get our
192
:newsletter full of tips and support.
193
:Don't wait.
194
:Your freedom starts right now.
195
:When your kids wake up at eight
or eight 30, you've already gotten
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:two solid hours of focus work done.
197
:You've answered emails, tackled your
hardest project, maybe even exercised.
198
:You're starting your homeschool day from
a place of accomplishment, not resentment.
199
:Plus, real rested kids learn better.
200
:They're less cranky,
they focus more easily.
201
:Letting them sleep later isn't lazy.
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:It's strategic.
203
:You're optimizing for everyone's success,
not conforming to an arbitrary schedule
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:that doesn't even serve your family.
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:Love it.
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:Tip number five, reset
your week on Sunday.
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:Treat Sunday like your
strategic planning session.
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:Sunday is not just a day before monday,
it's your secret weapon for a smooth week.
209
:This is when you sit down, look at
the week ahead and get intentional.
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:Have a family meeting.
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:Pull up the calendar.
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:What appointments are coming?
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:What deadlines do you have?
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:What does the homeschool week look like?
215
:Are there field trips, co-op
days, or doctor's appointments?
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:What meals will you make?
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:Does anyone need supplies or materials?
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:When everyone knows what's
coming, there are fewer surprises.
219
:Your kids know what to expect,
you know what to expect.
220
:You've identified potential problems like.
221
:Needing a poster board for a project
on Wednesday before they become crisis.
222
:This doesn't have to take long.
223
:30 minutes on Sunday can save you
hours of stress during the week.
224
:You're moving from reactive to proactive.
225
:You're planning for success instead
of scrambling to avoid disaster.
226
:The families that reset on Sunday
are the ones who don't feel like
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:they're constantly drowning.
228
:They're the ones who have margin,
who have time to actually enjoy
229
:this life that they're building.
230
:A funny thing that happened
literally just today was we had
231
:our meeting on Sunday, looked at
the week ahead, planned it all out.
232
:And was.
233
:Totally made sure to get
to a guitar class today.
234
:And everybody's ready.
235
:Everybody gets there.
236
:I made sure to leave in plenty of time.
237
:And we get there and it turns
out I was a week too early.
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:And so I was so hyperfocused
on the two in front of the day.
239
:I didn't realize there was
a A one instead of a seven.
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:It was seven.
241
:Yeah.
242
:And I was like, oh, I'll check my email.
243
:And I was like, you know what?
244
:It was actually right in some kind of way.
245
:I just.
246
:Messed up to date.
247
:So even being super organized, you
can still make human human error.
248
:And I'd rather it be that I showed up
to a class for my kids a week early
249
:instead of showing up a week late.
250
:And they're all like, oh, I,
we didn't know where you were.
251
:Yeah.
252
:You missed the first week.
253
:Exactly.
254
:And so we're all ready
and everything now, but.
255
:Definitely because this is
a week full of appointments.
256
:I'm glad that that was the
thing that I messed up on.
257
:'cause you know, whenever we go
to appointments, we roll deep with
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:five kids or two kids and things.
259
:So this week and last week we've
got dentist appointments, doctor's
260
:appointments, this appointment,
friend appointment, all this stuff.
261
:Yeah.
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:So, you know, it takes a lot and
it's still even being organized.
263
:You can still drop the
ball a little bit, but.
264
:Yeah, it's okay.
265
:Yeah.
266
:I mean, like you said, that
worked out that you were a week
267
:early instead of a week late.
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:So, yeah.
269
:All good.
270
:So tip number six, have
a dedicated workspace.
271
:Create a visual boundary
that protects your work time.
272
:One of the biggest challenges of working
from home with kids is that they don't
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:always understand when you're at work.
274
:To them, you're just there.
275
:So why can't they ask you 17 questions
about Pokemon, right this second, right?
276
:A dedicated workspace solves this.
277
:If you can swing it in office with a
door is gold, close the door, you're
278
:working doors open, you're available.
279
:But even if you don't have a
separate room, you can create a
280
:designated zone, a specific desk
or corner that's clearly workspace.
281
:The magic happens when you
pair the physical boundary
282
:with clear communication.
283
:Teach your kids when mom's at her desk
and with her headphones on, she's working.
284
:If, if it's not an emergency,
write it down and we'll talk During
285
:break time, you're not being mean.
286
:You're teaching them boundaries,
respect and patience.
287
:That also helps you mentally.
288
:When you sit down at your
workspace, you're in work mode.
289
:When you leave, you're in family mode.
290
:Without that separation, everything
bleeds together and you end up
291
:feeling like you're always working,
but never accomplishing anything.
292
:Your workspace doesn't have to be fancy.
293
:It just has to be intentional.
294
:It's a signal to your kids and to
yourself that your work matters
295
:and it deserves protection.
296
:It That's really good, and it's so
true, and all of this stuff works.
297
:Except whenever you have a 2-year-old,
the house, the 2-year-old, 2-year-old,
298
:2-year-old careth, not careth less,
gives no concerns at all to your space,
299
:to your boundaries, to the door being
closed or locked when the door is locked
300
:with two, with our 2-year-old right now.
301
:He will just scream and shout and bang
on the door and tell, it sounds like
302
:he's literally gonna break it down.
303
:And so we have to just go ahead and open
it up and give him what he, what he wants.
304
:And so but yeah, all of
this stuff is really good.
305
:I just, my mind immediately
went to our 2-year-old and, but
306
:that's just that season, right?
307
:We've experienced that.
308
:You know, this is our fifth
time experiencing that.
309
:And, and he's given us a final run.
310
:He's going out with a big bang for sure.
311
:Grand finale.
312
:Grand finale for sure.
313
:Tip number seven, have great tech support
for your curriculums and technology.
314
:So you wanna eliminate tech frustration
before it derails your entire day.
315
:Let's be real.
316
:Nothing kills momentum faster
than technology that doesn't work.
317
:You're ready to start the
school day, but the online math
318
:program won't load your kids'.
319
:Video meeting for co-op keeps freezing.
320
:You're in the middle of a work
presentation and suddenly the
321
:internet decides to take a vacation.
322
:Ugh.
323
:When you're working from home and
homeschooling, you're completely dependent
324
:on technology, your curriculum apps,
your work software, your video calls,
325
:your wifi, when any of these fail.
326
:Things grind to a halt, and the worst part
is that you're usually, you're usually the
327
:one who has to fix it while simultaneously
being a teacher, employee and keeping
328
:the toddler from eating crayons.
329
:Here's what tech support looks like.
330
:Choose homeschool curriculums that
have responsive, accessible customer
331
:service before you commit to a program.
332
:Check reviews about their tech support.
333
:Can you reach a real person?
334
:Do they respond quickly?
335
:Is there a robust help center with video
tutorials for your home technology?
336
:Invest in reliable equipment
and have a backup plan.
337
:That might mean paying for
better internet service.
338
:Yes, it costs more, but how much does
it cost you in lost productivity when
339
:you're constantly troubleshooting?
340
:Have a tech savvy friend
or service on speed dial.
341
:Know who to call when things break.
342
:And here's a pro tip document solutions.
343
:When you fix tech problems, next time that
curriculum app acts up, you'll have your
344
:own notes to reference instead of spending
another 45 minutes on the same issue.
345
:The goal is not perfection.
346
:Technology will always have hiccups.
347
:The goal is minimizing the time
you spend in tech crisis mode.
348
:When you have a solid support
system in place, a tech problem
349
:becomes a five minute inconvenience
instead of an hour long catastrophe
350
:that throws off your entire day.
351
:This is your valuable time.
352
:Don't let bad tech support
steal it away from you.
353
:Here's what I want you to remember.
354
:You're not doing this
because you have to do more.
355
:You're doing this because
you deserve better.
356
:You deserve to have time
to grow your income.
357
:You deserve to have fun with
your kids without feeling guilty
358
:about work you're not doing.
359
:You deserve to finish your day feeling
accomplished instead of exhausted.
360
:These seven strategies, reclaiming
your commute time, prepping
361
:the night before, using breaks,
strategically letting kids sleep.
362
:Resetting on Sunday and
creating workspace boundaries.
363
:They're not about squeezing more
productivity out of yourself.
364
:They're about creating space,
space to breathe, space to grow,
365
:space to actually live the life
you're working so hard to build.
366
:Outro: If you like today's episode,
make sure you tap the follow button
367
:so you never miss a thing, and if it
help you share it with a friend or your
368
:homeschool group sharing is caring.
369
:Do you love free stuff?
370
:Like me?
371
:Sign up and watch our free games
class called Get 30,000 a year
372
:to Find Your Homeschooling.
373
:With our nine to five job, when you sign
up, you'll gain instant access to a class
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:and you'll get our weekly newsletter.
375
:For tips and strategies to make your
homeschooling journey affordable,
376
:go to homeschool money.com
377
:and register right now, ready
to get your homeschool money.
378
:Head over to homeschool money.com
379
:to enroll in the full Homeschool
Money Makeover course.
380
:You'll get the tools, templates,
and step by step help to
381
:find your first $1,000 fast.
382
:And create 30,000 or much more every year.
383
:Each module of this program is designed
to transform your finances and help you
384
:experience financial abundance, so you
have the flexibility and lifestyle freedom
385
:to homeschool your children with a nine
to five job and without sacrificing.
386
:And right now we have an amazing limited
time offer that gives you huge savings
387
:and bonus gifts you're going to love.
388
:Go to homeschool may.com
389
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:It'll help more people find ourselves.
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:Have a great day.
393
:Bye.
