Is there a right way to handle client meetings when your kids are halfway through their bedtime routine?

“No client calls while the kids are awake” is your general rule, but….

This one time the sales call can’t be moved, and your preschoolers aren’t in bed yet (teeth brushed though!), leaving you uncertain how this call’s going to go on top of your ordinary “am I being a good mom if I block them out” worries. 

(You know what the “good business owner” answer is - you take the call with everyone quiet in the background - but what you aren’t sure of is whether that’s doing a disservice to your kids!)

This is exactly the dilemma my client came to me with - ‘cause her kids were really young, and she had some set time zone work meetings she had to attend, which were all happening after supper but before bedtime - and she was feeling really guilty about it.

You know what I told her? (Not what you’re guessing!)

You’ve got this!

Alyssa

Love your daily life as a work-at-home mom: https://yourunbusylife.com/

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Transcript

This is the Unbusy Mom, and today we’re talking about whether there’s a right way to handle client meetings when your kids are halfway through their bedtime routine.

“No client calls while the kids are awake” is your general rule… but… this one time you’ve got a sales meeting that can’t be moved, and your preschoolers are very much up and about, leaving you uncertain how this call’s going to go on TOP of your ordinary “am I being a good mom if I block them out” worries. 

(You know what the “good business owner” answer is - you take the call with everyone quiet in the background - but what you AREN’T sure of is whether that’s doing a disservice to your kids!)

This is exactly the dilemma my client came to me with - ‘cause her kids were really young, and she had some set time zone work meetings she HAD to attend, which were all happening after supper but before bedtime - but she was feeling really guilty about it.

(Not to mention wondering what she WAS supposed to do when she got to set her own schedule for sales calls and client meetings!)

You know what I told her? I flipped the mom guilt narrative on its head and said “don’t bother worrying about it if this is just a once a month thing that you have to occupy the kids.”

In other words, if it’s less than ideal for your family, but it happens super infrequently? Don’t waste your brain space on it.

Just accept the call, set your kids up with whatever they need (age appropriate) to be quiet, and go on your empowered CEO way that evening.

(Hey, you could even turn it into a special thing - mommy’s on a call, so I’m going to let you guys stay up late and do playdough in the kitchen with the special cookie cutters - this is your “only on calls” treat, right? Make it fun for them!)

And then don’t even bother worrying about whether or not they’re getting enough time with you. 29 days out of 30, they are - 1 night out of the entire month isn’t going to matter. (Especially if you’ve messaged it right as a treat.)

And hey, sometimes my kids interrupt me, too. One time I’d asked my husband to take the kids to the park so I could finish batch recording my podcast episodes for the week - and he did - but he didn’t know how long I was going to take, and came back 20 minutes before I was done.

So what did I do?

I shut off the recording, deleted the Zoom file, didn’t blow up on the kids (or on him), and calmly asked for 20 more minutes so I could finish my last 3 episodes. Which was of course totally fine.

So they scattered to their various rooms, I resumed recording in the living room for 20 minutes, and it was all over in time for supper.

I asked for what I needed, DIDN’T play business martyr of “oh, I just couldn’t get it done,” and DIDN’T yell at anyone for interrupting my expectations of how my late afternoon recording session was going to go.

Boom, done.

What do YOU need to ask for - or stop making such a big deal out of - when it comes to your video meetings, client calls, or recording days, for YOUR schedule, today?

Because this is the ONLY sure way to build that confidence that everything your business needs got done, and you’re good to go, and the kid side of things is completely handled – ‘cause it ALL comes down to mindset. And you have to give yourself the PERMISSION to be upset with the current way reels recording is fitting in, or how the supper prep is going, or how much transition time you’re getting between wrapping up your last client call and sending over those Basecamp notes vs. when you have to show up as MOM and starting grading homework and setting out supper.

Got it?

Where do you need to lean INTO “what would I love to redesign about my day if I could have anything I wanted,” and then take concrete steps TOWARDS that wonderful vision, right now? 

Don’t wait 5 years for that to happen for you.