Trying to work at home when you have small children is very difficult, and a lot will depend on the temperament of your children.  Nevertheless, here are a few things I've learned in the last couple of years that have made life easier: 

General Tips 

• Plan specific times to work and specific times to spend with your kids.
• If you have a crawling baby, invest in a playpen.  It’s far easier to pop my 11 month-old son into the playpen with some of his favourite toys (and sometimes his sister) for ½ an hour or while I'm taking a phone call, than it is to keep chasing him all over the house, removing his jammed fingers from doors, putting the fridge magnets back on the fridge, racing to lock the pantry door before he can get to it AGAIN, kissing his head as he bashes it on the kitchen table for the 10th time that morning… well, you get the picture.
• Something I thought I'd never do BC (Before Children) but now swear by:  Most kids videos last at least 45 minutes – don’t feel bad about popping one on if you have things to get done!  Also, ABC Kids in the morning is DEFINITELY your friend.
• As your kids get older, start to show them what you're doing.  My 3.5yo daughter is already starting to show interest, and everytime she hears the word "website" on the radio she says "that's what you do Mummy".  She's also starting to understand that when Mummy's mobile rings that she shouldn't talk, but if the home phone rings then that's not work so she might get to chat to someone!  It often amazes me just how much they pick up without you even realising.
• If/when things are really busy for you, consider childcare, creche, a nanny or a babysitter.  It doesn't have to be full-time or a permanent arrangement, but if you've got uninterrupted time to work then you'll probably find you'll enjoy your quality time with your kids that much more.
• Don't be influenced and/or feel guilty by all the media rubbish about what you should and shouldn't be doing for your kids.  Our parents never had that and we all turned out OK!

Kids sleep times 

• Hang onto sleep time as long as you possibly can.  My auntie often tells me how all 4 of her kids had naps until they started school.  I repeat that like some kind of mantra every time my daughter shows signs of not wanting to sleep.  Our rule is that if she doesn't sleep that's OK, but she has to lie down with her eyes closed and have a rest for at least an hour. 
• If you have more than 1 kid, try to get them all down for an afternoon nap/rest at the same time.  It can take some planning and it doesn’t always work, but when it does it’s definitely worth it.
• Make lists and prioritise – if you only get an hour at lunchtime while kids sleep, make sure that hour is spent doing the most important things – NOT HOUSEWORK!
• If your kids sleep time is precious to you, consider turning the answering machine on or invest $6/month for callerID and DON'T answer any social chit-chat calls during this time.  I know this sounds horribly anti-social, but some days I spend all morning planning my to-do list in my head, finally get the kids into bed, sit down at the computer all set to go and... *RINGRING* someone ringing to chat for an hour while THEIR kids are asleep!!
• If your children wake early, make sure they’re in bed early so you can get a couple of hours to yourself at the end of each day.  Or if they sleep in (yeah right) or if you're an early riser do the opposite – get up early and get a couple of hours in then.

Housework 

• Accept that your house will never look as good as it did BC.
• Invest in a house-cleaner.  Honestly, it will be the best money you'll ever spend.  There are a number of agencies around that provide house-cleaning services – check out the Bizmums Business Directory or look in your local paper’s Classifieds section.  You can usually get somebody for 2 hours a week or a fortnight for under $50.  For some reason these people perform magical acts, cleaning showers, baths, toilets, dusting, vacuuming and mopping, at a much faster speed than I ever can.  I tell my husband that if I had to do it all myself I’d need to visit a chiropractor every week and we’d probably have to pay for marriage counselling too, so it’s well worth it!!
• Expect your partner to contribute to household chores.  If he’s working full-time and you’re at home with kids and trying to build a business, then as far as I'm concerned you’re both busy full-time.  My husband is very particular about his business shirts – which he now washes and irons himself.
• I personally believe that ironing is one of those chores that should be banned.  My suggestion is, either buy clothes that don't need ironing or clothes you can dry in the clothes dryer which then don't need ironing.   Or you can shop the way I do - I leave a trail of crinkled clothes behind me in shops - if it gets wrinkly just touching it, I don't buy it.  Unfortunately this means I haven't worn linen for about 10 years, but at least I don't have to iron!!!
• Start teaching your children how to tidy up after themselves as early as possible.  "If you take it out, you should put it away."  "Dirty clothes go in the laundry."  My daughter loves helping and announces "time to tidy up".  I'm teaching her to fold her own clothes out of the clothes basket and put them away in her drawer.  And she already knows that if she leaves her toys lying on the lounge room floor that "Mummy will sell them on eBay"! 

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