Today is our sixth entry in our series interviewing moms who have successfully achieved their goals while being present moms.  In the first article, I interviewed two single moms who were able to make full-time income freelancing and were therefore able to stay home with their kiddos.  You can check out their stories here. 

Then we met a mom who found a balance between working a full-time job and raising her daughter. She loved her job and loved being a mom so she found a way to make it work.  You can find her interview here. 

Next we heard from two mamas who created their own businesses after becoming parents. Both of these amazing ladies had a passion to help other people with their knowledge and skills and were able to find a way to do it even while being busy moms.

Then we heard from Dr. Sarah Reck, anesthesiologist and mom of 4. She talks about how she was able to create a resource for other women and moms in medicine even while working as a doctor and being there for her family.

Following that article, we met two goal getting moms. First we had Mandy Youtz who together with her husband was able to pay off $40,000.00 in debt in just 2 years.  They were able to do this after they already had 2 kids. 

We also met Gloria Mondragon who has figured out how to earn an income from home while raising her two daughters.  She didn’t want to miss out on all of her babies’ firsts so she figured out a way to make it work.

Last time we met Darya who was able to complete her Master’s degree in Natural Resources while pregnant and then raising her first child.

Today, let me introduce you to Sharon who was able to create a website to help people live a gluten free lifestyle without the stress. She wanted to use her experience and expertise to provide a resource for people who need to adopt this eating style and she has done an amazing job.

Anyway, without further adieu, meet Sharon!

TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOURSELF AND YOUR FAMILY.

I'm Sharon McCaskill--I'm a work at home mom (founder of thehelpfulgf.com) and have just begun a graduate program in Nutrition and Dietetics. My husband Tyler and I have been married for 7 years and we have two little girls (ages 5 & 4).

WHAT IS ONE MAJOR GOAL YOU WERE ABLE TO ACHIEVE, PERSONAL OR PROFESSIONAL, AS A MOM?

It's hard to say I 'achieved' this goal as it is constantly a work in progress, but in spring 2018 I launched thehelpfulgf.com--a website designed to make living gluten-free totally stress-free by providing education, tips, and recipes!

At the time I was working a full time job and had various other volunteer commitments such as leading a Bible Study for moms. I am *not* a 'tech' person, but I knew it was something I was supposed to do!

WHAT WAS THE WHY BEHIND YOUR GOAL?

My husband has Celiac Disease--an autoimmune disease that causes him to become very ill if he eats gluten (a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye products). Being gluten-free can be difficult, but we are blessed to have an amazing family and community that support us!

However, I've met so many people who need to transition to gluten-free but don't have a good support network (and many aren't given extensive guidance by their doctors). I decided that I wanted to use my experience to help all of them!

WHAT KIND OF PLANNING AND TIME MANAGEMENT TACTICS DID YOU USE TO ALLOW YOU TO ACHIEVE YOUR GOAL?

There are a couple tactics I used.

First is to write down EVERYTHING. I have a notebook where I 'brain dump' all my ideas in one section. This keeps me from getting overwhelmed by all my ideas and keeps me focused. Once a week or so I sort out these ideas into priority--immediate priority, come back later, or not necessary.

In the next section of my notebook, I create a weekly 'to do list.' These 'immediate priority' ideas go here broken down into specific tasks to accomplish them. Depending on how much time I have that week I may add some 'future priority' tasks.

Once I'm done with my weekly to do list I try to estimate how long it will take me to do each task. Many of the tasks are 5-10 minute tasks while others may take an hour or longer. By estimating time, once I have a few minutes here or there I can tackle smaller tasks (like resizing pictures or creating an instagram post) and get them checked off.

If I have a longer stretch of time (an hour or more) I can focus on the things that will take longer (such as writing a blog post or reorganizing my website menu) instead of being distracted by many smaller tasks.

DID YOU GET HELP FROM OTHERS, FAMILY MEMBERS OR FRIENDS?

Yes! My husband is good at ensuring I have at least one evening a week to dedicate to focusing on my website. He also is pretty good at assisting with some of my 'technical difficulties.'

My mom is great at 'troubleshooting' recipes to ensure that they work as I've written them. I also have a couple friends who edit material for me (such as ebooks). I could never do this business alone!

IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE THAT YOU FOUND ESSENTIAL TO ACHIEVING YOUR GOAL?

Having a morning routine! If I don't start my day right, I'm off the rest of the day and find myself playing 'catch up' with the kids, with my business, with the chores!

I wake up at 5am each morning which allows me to exercise, get ready for my day, have my quiet time/devotions, look over the schedule for the day, and get breakfast going before the kids wake up at 6:45! This helps me begin my day in a better mood and ready to serve my family (and my business) well!

TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR BLOG AND WHERE WE CAN FIND YOU.

I blog at The Helpful GF. My blog is dedicated to gluten-free living and full of tips to live gluten-free without stress.

Cheers,

Emily