If you are a WAHWM (work at home wife and mother), you are probably familiar with this conversation. You have this one with friends when you tell them you work from home. They always tend to say how jealous they are and how you must have it so easy.
Being on the receiving end of this statement can often be frustrating as work at home moms still work incredibly hard. In fact, as you are juggling work with your childcare, rather than just paying for a nanny, one could argue that it is even harder than a regular office job. If you work from home, you know the importance of not getting distracted, or having something interrupt your day. If this happens, it can set your schedule back by a good few hours – not great if you are on deadline and you have to take your kids to their music lessons in an hour! The most vital thing you can learn is how to prevent these distractions, and how to cope with them should they arise.
Children
Although it pains us to say it, the first and biggest distraction when we work at home is our children. You could be deep in thought and committed to your work, but then you hear your youngest crying for attention, or begging you to play with them. This is why it is important to set boundaries with your child when it comes to your work. It is hard for your children to distinguish between you being at work and you being ready to step up to all mom-related duties. After all, in their eyes, you are still in the house, and still mom. To counteract this, make sure you have a separate office and have a talk with your children to let them know what the rules are. Reassure them that you will always be around on regular breaks and to make them lunch – but stress that you are at work, and that you cannot be distracted. Even simple things such as asking them to knock on your office door rather than just barging in can make the world of difference.
Computers
There comes a time when technology fails us all – although, as it would seem, it tends to come at the worst times possible. You might be just about to finish a great blog post, or you might be on call with a client when BOOM! Your system falls victim to yet another virus attack, meaning your work is lost or the deal not secured. PC infections are very common and have pretty much being around since computer systems were invented. In order to protect yourself and your work, make use of an antivirus free download. It’s quick and easy and can save you a lot of long-term hassle.
Television
The beauty of being a WAHWM is that you can work from the comfort of your own home. However, this can also be your productivity downfall. The fact that you have a television and the entire internet at your disposal with no physical boss breathing down your neck means that it is very easy to give into temptation. If you are finding yourself logging onto Netflix just for one quick episode of NCIS Los Angeles, you are already heading for disaster. Unfortunately, there is no such thing as ‘one quick episode’. In the interests of your work, it is best to stay away from such sites completely until your working day is done. If you need to, put a temporary internet blocker on sites you know will distract you.