Online Soup

As a work at home mom and freelance writer, I am aware of the struggles and challenges that many stay at home moms face.  I am proof that no matter what the circumstances are, if you have the abilities and the determination you can succeed and be a successful momprenuer.

If you are a work at home mom like myself, chance are that many of your friends and family probably think you have the best of both worlds and you have it easy in every sense of the word. In some respects they are right but in many they are wrong. A work at home mom doesn’t just sit there and bake cookies and play games with her little ones all day while having one hand feeding a bottle to her newborn and the other hand clicking the enter button on the computer raking in hundreds of dollars for eight or more hours a day.

 Being a work at home mom, no matter what you do is a very hard and challenging job, not to mention exhausting. There are benefits and rewards, you are there for your children to help aid in their care at different times throughout the day and you can set your own hours, but you do have to make up those lost hours of work time.  The theory is quite simple, if you don’t work, you don’t get paid. You don’t have saved up vacation time or sick days you can cash in like you would at a regular job, so that also has to be taken into consideration.

Whether you are a seasoned veteran or just getting ready to start working from home, here are a few tips to successfully manage both your home life and your work at home career while keeping your sanity and making it all work-

Set up your own workspace.

This task should be at the very top of your list. You need to have a designated area set aside from the rest of the household that has your workspace set up and ready to go twenty four hours a day and seven days a week. Whether you work at home talking on the phone, writing, assembling items, creating and selling crafts, or listing eBay items, this space needs to be set up and treated as a work area.

Set up a logical work schedule.

You need to set up a logical work schedule and stick with it. Treat it like it was a job where you had a boss and you had to punch a time clock and be thereto clock in and clock out at a certain time.  Once you get into a routine of familiarity, your work habits will flow better, your family will adjust better and you will actually be more productive with your work.

Keep up with your books.

It is very important that you keep all of your financial records up to date for tax time. Don’t wait until April 14^th to worry about taxes. Meet with an accountant and set up a quarterly payment plan. This way there will be no surprises at the end of the tax year.

Display the rules.

With most moms, their kids come first and this one of the biggest reasons why we chose to be at home and work, so we could be there for our children. There still has to be structure and the groundwork has to be laid for your family and friends to know that during a certain time frame of the day you cannot be interrupted. Set up a system and have it in place so that if an emergency arises or someone needs something desperately that they alert you quietly in a respectful manner as to not disturb your while you are working. This could be anything from an instant messenger system such as a text message or simply a light knock at the door. Let the children know they need to keep quiet while mom is working and that if they need a snack or have an issue that they will have to wait until your designated break time. Display your break times and stick with the schedule.

Have a backup plan.

If you are a work at home mom, you have a boss somewhere, whether it be yourself or someone in the cyber world, they are depending on you to fulfill your obligations. So having a backup plan for health emergencies or vacations is always a good idea. Have a few back up babysitters for those days when you have conference calls or you need to work outside of the home. If you are a customer service rep, you need to have a quiet setting set up and minimal background noise, make sure a babysitter is set in place for those times when a child gets sick at school and you can’t leave the house or when school closes unexpectedly.

Take time out for yourself and your family.

The perks of working at home are great but you also have to let your family know that you need to take time out for yourself too.  Mark some time in on the calendar that will allow you to go out and socialize with other moms and friends, or just take a day out to pamper yourself. Setting a family day aside is very important also. Plan a day to take the kids to the park and pack a picnic lunch. Make time for you and your husband or significant other to have a date night where you can focus on your relationship for the evening.

Looking at the big picture, working from home is surely a challenge, but by implementing a few key steps to your everyday life and sticking by them, you are well on your way to years of a beautiful relationship with both working at home and being a stay at home mom.

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