Working from home can be a lifeline as a busy parent, allowing you to balance work with home life, reduce the cost of childcare and further your career, but working from home is often not as easy as everyone thinks. Here are 4 tips for getting the most out of working from-home as a mom and as a boss or an effective employee.
1.Create a Workspace
Working from home may help you to balance your work and home life by eliminating your commute but it can also make it harder to separate the two when it comes down to switching on and off. The best way to ensure that when it’s time to work, you work, is by creating yourself a work-from-home workspace. This could be a home office or an easy to set-up station in the kitchen, but whatever it is, you should design it to help you work – this means having everything you need on hand, a comfortable place to sit and a reliable internet connection.
2. Set Boundaries
If your children are old enough, then it helps to set up some boundaries with them about when you are working and when you are free to play. Don’t let mom guilt get the better of you here, it’s important that your children see you working and learn to respect that at certain times throughout the day you will need time to work. Keep them busy with activities like crafts or educational programming. If you have younger children, many moms find it easier tow work during nap times.
Of course, working from home gives you the freedom to schedule in play-time with your children too and you’ll be able to make their lunches and see more of them throughout the day, so although they may not be able to have your attention 24/7 they are still getting to see far more of you than if you were working in an office.
However, your younger children may find it challenging to accept and appreciate your boundaries as you work from home. You could enroll your younger children in an educational institution such as a private daycare or a private school that meets the needs of your family.
3. Get Help
As a work from home mom, every minute counts, and so you won’t want to be wasting even a second on something you don’t need to be doing. Look at the things you spend the most time doing during the day and see if there is any way that you could outsource some of them to free up your time for more important things. One task that often takes up a lot of time is answering the telephone, in which case a call answering service can step in to ensure that only answer the calls you need and not those pesky cold-calls that waste everyone’s time. You can also take advantage mommy helpers to watch the kids while you take meetings or have errand runners handle daily tasks like picking up groceries or dry cleaning.
4. Adapt Your Schedule
Finally, take a breath, it’s okay to accept the fact that as a work-from-home mom your schedule isn’t going to be the same as someone without children. You may need to start your day a little earlier to start work and you may need to work a little later in the evening once they’ve gone to bed, but that’s okay, the work still gets done. Adapting your schedule is the key to getting the most out of your productive hours whilst still maintaining an all-important family balance which may have been why you wanted to be self-employed or work-from-home in the first place.
5. Find Time For You
Working from home is no walk in the park, especially if you have younger children or homeschool. It is very important that you allocate time for yourself every day. It doesn’t have to be an hour massage or fancy pedicure, because for some moms that’s just not an option. But a 20 minute walk, 10 minute bubble bath, or even 5 minutes alone with a book and a cup of tea can make all the difference.
When it becomes to much, go in your closet and pray. Ask the Lord to give you strength and patience as you battle work stress and your children’s needs.
Whatever you do, don’t neglect yourself. A schedule of some sort will keep you organized and provide some sense of structure to your day. When we are more structured, we feel less anxious. Do your best and trust God to lead you. You’ve got this!
