Working at home sounds like a great occupation for a Mom. It is something that allows you to be home with the kids and you can also earn extra money, if not full-time income, to pay the bills. If you are a work at home Mom, you can relate to this and if you are looking to work at home you should definitely read on. This is mostly for Moms of young children as once they start school, you will have a little more free time to work. This article may sound like the obvious but it is way to easy to get side-tracked, distracted and you won’t be able to focus on family or the business if you get distracted and frustrated.
When you first start working at home, expect some obstacles. I wish I could tell you it is all smooth but I wouldn’t be honest if I told you it will go smooth. There are many ways to work at home and it does depend on what you are doing online when it comes to balancing your home life as well. Certain businesses or home jobs require you to make phone calls which can be difficult if you have young children. Some businesses can be done all online or mostly online, these are more recommended when you have young children as your hours can be flexible and you will not be holding your baby while on the phone. Being able to hold your baby and work sounds great but you cannot do this if you are calling customers or making other business calls.
Your business is mostly online, if you are building your own business or freelancing then this is even better!
Make the most of your child’s sleeping time. When your child is sleeping you can easily get some work done online. Make a list of things that you would like to accomplish during sleep time so you can maximize your time. Of course your child will vary in their sleep schedule but keep a list of things you would like to accomplish each day as your child is sleeping. Be very detailed so you can go right down the list and get as much done as possible. Make sure you leave yourself a note as to where you left off on the list.
Make your child or children breakfast. Once they are awaking make sure they get to eat breakfast. While making them breakfast, make sure you get something to eat also. Eating breakfast together is very important for young children. You will also get nutrition you need to make the most out of your day. Breakfast is a very important meal of the day.
Play with your children for some time. Children need attention and they need play time. It is very important to spend quality time teaching them and playing with them.
Go back to work for some time. If you can put your child in a play pen or pack and play for a little while. Keep them in the room with you. Giving them some toys will keep them occupied for some time (usually, but all kids are different.) This also depends on age and if they are old enough but not too old to be in the playpen with toys. Infants sleep more so you will have more time with an infant, just more distractions. If you give your child toys and they are content in the playpen, go ahead and accomplish more things you had on your list.
Make some lunch. It is probably about lunch time by now and you can enjoy some lunch along with your child. It is a good idea for you to have some lunch with them also.
Take some more time to play. Maybe go for a walk with your child or you can get on the floor with them and play some. If you have a local park, you can even pack a lunch and have a picnic at the park on nice days.
Take the time to accomplish all you can again anytime they are napping. Just remember to leave yourself a note of where you left off on your list.
Take the time out for the evening (unless you really need to meet a deadline) for the family. Your family is the most important thing, you must not forget that when getting caught up online. Make dinner, go out to dinner or whatever you may decide to do with the family. Make sure the whole family gets some quality time with you each night.
Take advantage of bedtime. Continue to work some more online after bedtime. Make sure that you do not neglect your spouse or significant other though. It is easy to get caught up in business and stay up all hours of the night. They need your attention and time too.
This is just an example of how a schedule can work with young children. You need to make time to do things with the family and these are examples of fitting some work in too. It may sound like an exhausting day but it really is not. This is better for your own health also, family time is very important for everybody. You also will enjoy the break from business. Don’t stress about it when you are away from the computer, just relax when you are doing family time and enjoy the day. It takes some time and some practice but working at home and raising the kids is definitely worth it.
I have been a work at home Mom for the past 6 years. If you ever have any questions about how I managed, please feel free to ask. It was rough in the beginning but much easier now.