Do you want some working from home tips to help you as a work at home mom? I have worked from home for several years now and have learned several things that have helped me along the way. Working from home can be absolutely blissful, as in when you are home alone. It can also have some challenges when you are working and parenting at the same time. Let me share the working from home tips that have helped me.
If you can, work while your children are at school, or napping if they are smaller. The point is, use the time you have to yourself to get your work done. I am probably twice as productive when my children are at school as I am when they are home. It is not that I don’t work when they are home, sometimes I need to. But I do get the majority of my work in during school hours. This is one of the most important working from home tips.
You need an office or at least a set aside area of the house as your workspace. This is a signal to you that it is work time and a signal to your family that you are unavailable. This takes some time and training for everyone to adjust but can really help to make you more productive. For a long time, I simply pulled an office chair to the kitchen table to help my family understand Mom was working. It is helpful to all of us.
Thankfully, my children are at ages where I can work with them at home but I have known work at home moms that needed to arrange child care periodically to help them with working from home. If you are working from home on a deadline then there will be more times you need a sitter to help you out. This works even better if the sitter can keep them out of your home so you aren’t being distracted from your work. A preschool program may even be an option for you. A few hours alone can be very productive.
It is great if you can have Dad on board with your working from home job. There may be times he can take the kids out for an outing to give you a quiet house to work in. Even if he is just doing things like getting the kids a snack and helping with homework while you work, that is still very helpful. A little marriage hint here, be sure to appreciate your husband when he helps you and he will be more likely to continue. Having your husband’s support can make a huge difference.
As best as you can, have a set schedule for working. I know that one of the great points about working from home is the flexibility it offers. That is true and it is great to know that you can switch your schedule up as you need to. But I have found that I am most productive when I follow a set schedule. It also allows me to coordinate my time off with my husband and children’s time off.
If at all possible, work ahead when you are a work from home mom. Whether or not you can do this will depend upon the type of work at home job that you have. However, if that option is available, it is wise to do so and here is why. Unexpected things come up fairly often for moms. You may have to bake brownies for your child’s class last minute or all of your children may wake up sick on the same day and you have to squeeze a pediatrician appointment in. If you are ahead on your work, there is no reason to panic.
As important as it is to take your job seriously, you also need to take your time off seriously. Your children need to know that there are times when you simply must concentrate on work. But they also need to see that there are times when they can be your whole focus and have your undivided attention. This also helps you to have a healthy work/personal life balance. Your life needs to have both work and play in it for you to be the best you that you can be.
There are many advantages to working from home but it has its challenges, too. Have you ever worked from home? How did you solve the challenges it presents?