There are many benefits to being a work at home mom. Your schedule is more flexible, you can do housework at any time (day or night), you don't have to commute for hours, and you can wear your pajamas to work if you so desire! But, one of the things that comes with being a work at home mom is having children at home during the day when you're trying to work. How do you balance work and children--especially during the holidays and summer months?
I have worked from home for six years. I've had babies, toddlers and school aged children during that time. My hardest challenge has been achieving that coveted life-work balance. I've always wondered how other moms balance their businesses with children.
Joyce Moseley Pierce, emergency preparedness expert, suggests that you set your goals as a family. Joyce says, "To get the cooperation you want from your family, set goals that will affect everyone. Maybe you're working just to make ends meet, but if that means some extra money for a family vacation, then you can use that as a reminder when you're not getting the support you need. Children, and spouses, too, will be more cooperative when they can see that the time you're spending with your work can benefit them."
Some work at home moms have children that are not school aged. Diana Barnum, ghostwriter expert, has some very useful tips for moms with babies:
~Balance time with a variety of help that you have lined up well in advance, a list you maintain regularly, keeping current phone numbers, emails, Twitter/Facebook IDs, rates/pricing info, etc. for:
- Local daycares that accept part-time clients in 3- to 4-hour time blocks.
- Friends, neighbors, relatives, church members, and others to contact for help with child care, cleaning, meals, errands, etc.
- Publications and websites, online and off, for placing classified ads to get help.
- Contacts in the offices of local high schools and colleges for posting flyers on bulletin boards for help, too.
~Do with less to help make ends meet. Reuse, recycle, reduce your need by buying in bulk, trading, cutting back, etc.
~Enjoy being a mom;revise your project load at home. Work online when baby is sleeping or with helpers. Find loads of helpful articles online about freelancing from home and start searching for paid project work at bid sites like Elance.com."
- Diana Barnum ghostwriter expert
Now tips for the work at home moms that struggle with how to work during the summer or school holidays. Terri Zwierzynski, self-employment expert, offers three tips for balancing your work at home business during the summer or holidays.
1. Scale back your expectations of how much you will get done each week. Even if you manage the same hours, your schedule will likely be disjointed, making you less productive. So don't beat yourself up about it! It's ok for you to relax a little in your business, too.
2. Keep a list of short projects that don't require the Internet. When you are taking the kids to the pool, now you have something you can quickly grab and get some work done even when you don't have Internet access.
3. Arrange play date swaps with other parents. It will be a little more work when the play date is at your house, but I find I actually get more work time when they have a friend over than if they were just in the house with their squabbling siblings!
- Terri Zwierzynski self-employment expert
Lastly, here is my tip. I have found that if I tell my children that I need to work until a certain time, then if they have let me be productive we will do something fun together. It could be as simple as playing a game, running through the sprinkler, watching a TV show together, or going to the pool.
Setting limits, being flexible and enjoying being a mom will help you be successful in your quest for life-work balance!
Keywords: work at home mom, set your goals, life work balance, being a mom, work at home business, work at home moms, play date
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Tips for the Work at Home Mom