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M+A Edit
Work From Home Mom? You Need to Read This
In a lot of ways, work from home moms have the best of both worlds — but that doesn't mean they have it easy.
Between juggling work responsibilities, squeezing in household maintenance, and caring for their kids, work from home moms manage to pull off some serious juggling acts. But while it's certainly a challenging setup, it's also a pretty sweet one —and if you take cues from these work-from-home moms, you just may find the perfect arrangement for your family.
The moms shared their top tips for balancing motherhood and career...all under one roof.
Create a child-free zone
'Be organized. I can’t stress that enough. Stick to schedules, with your work, but more importantly with your kiddies who are at home during the day. Designate an area of your home that is your office and enforce a 'no-kiddie' zone.' -Elaine, @realreviewinc
Delegate, delegate, delegate
'Get help, have a solid support team, and learn how to time block for efficiency. We can maximize our efforts by delegating and getting help and support when we need it. This may include handing off certain household responsibilities or having help with the kids at certain times so that productivity is increased. A
Have fun!
'Take time out for you, when you can. Do something that’s not work-related. Take the kids out of the house for playtime - to the park, a cafe… getting out of the house can take your mind off work. It can be easy to fall into the trap of thinking you need to be doing work tasks whenever there seems to be a window of possibility, but maybe that time is better served by making a cup of tea and putting your feet up. Oh and connect with other work-at-home moms. Community is really important. probably that we don’t really work! Or perhaps it’s not possible to work and be attentive to your children. Neither is the case.' - Shannon, @ecobeautyeditor
Set your hours
'Have strict work hours and stick to them. When work is located at home, we can have the tendency to want to always rush to the computer to get work done, but this is not healthy for yourself or for the family. I end my workday at 4:30 pm so that I can spend the evening with my children. If there is anything I need to pick up again I resume at 9:30 pm after they have gone to bed.' - Hilary, @hilary_themarketingmom
Don't forget to take care of yourself
'One of the biggest challenges is there are no 9 to 5 hours when working from home. Business hours continue into the wee hours into the night, even into weekends. There is no 'going home and leaving it all at the office'. As much as it is a challenge, it is also a huge positive too since I get the flexibility to juggle what is needed when it is needed between family and work. Self-care is imperative. Decompress, energize yourself, exercise when needed. You have to be the best version of yourself first before you can give so much to others.' - Alma
Dress for success
'Get dressed, even if you aren't seeing any clients. There were days when I would be in my pajamas until 5 pm and other days where I would get dressed as if I was going to an office. I felt better and was more productive when I got dressed as if I was going to 'work'. Another tip is to be grateful for the opportunity to work from home. Like everything in motherhood, working from home has its challenges. However, there are some amazing benefits to the situation, and appreciating those awesome perks helps deal with the challenges. You absolutely need child-care for your child. Clients don't want to hear a screaming child in the background, and if you have a boss she probably doesn't want you to jump off a call early because you have to tend to your child who woke up from a nap.' - Lauren, @nutritionnowcounseling
Cut yourself a break
' consider yourself a stay-at-home-mom. Just because you work at home doesn’t mean you will be able to necessarily attend every school event, though the flexibility helps you attend some of them, at least. And it doesn’t mean you will get more done at home than if you went to the office. If you forget to take the meat out of the freezer for dinner, don’t beat yourself up. You are working when you are at home and if your 'work brain' doesn’t talk to your 'mom brain' that is normal.' - Nicole, @babysleepsite
Create boundaries — literally and physically
' need a dedicated space with a door that they can close and make off-limits to help kids understand the boundaries. The biggest misconception I think most people have is that because I’m home I’m available to them all the time. They forget I’m home but not always free. It requires a lot of discipline to stay focused at work so I figured out pretty quickly that I needed a way to politely decline all the requests from well-meaning friends who needed a play date or to run an errand or wanted to set-up lunches etc.' - Heather, @heatherdnelson
Know your worth
'It's ok to take it easy sometimes. You don't need to do everything all the time. Taking time off and de-stressing yourself is necessary if you want to excel in any work-at-home role. Go for a walk, take a long drive, have a playtime with kids, do something that rejuvenates you. Over the years I have come across many people who think working from home means either you are not doing anything worthwhile or you are not earning enough, especially because you are a work-at-home mom. This process of thinking needs to change. I am a work from home mom and I earn a full-time income from home. And there are many others like me. It's high time people realize work-at-home moms are in fact doing more than any other office goers. They handle family and work at the same time and it's not an easy task.' - Sireesha, @sireeshan
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