To those moms who have to kiss goodbye to their kids and head off to the office each day, working from home can seem like the Holy Grail. Sadly, though, as many moms working from home now are starting to realize, this seemingly perfect arrangement isn’t always the ideal solution that it pretends to be. In fact, studies have revealed that stay at home working moms have to make compromises in both areas, leaving work and family life severely lacking.
That is no way to a successful home business or home setup, but it does not mean that working from home should not remain a viable option. Instead, moms interested in this way of life merely need to think about how they could better dedicate themselves to both work and home. Moreover, these tips for improved WAHWM balance are a guaranteed way to do just that.
Set clear boundaries
An astounding amount of moms assume that they can tackle work and family at once, or that they can pick jobs up and drop them again depending on family needs. However, guess what? This leads to precisely the distractions you are attempting to avoid. Instead, you need to be strict about boundaries that separate both work and home life. That means setting clear hours for work/family so that you can fully dedicate yourself to each. You may even find it useful to invest in an out-of-house office space in your garden or similar to get this point across. Then, you should find that you have more time for each of the loves in your life.
Always ask for help
So many WAHWM’s think they can take care of everything themselves, but it simply isn’t true. By trying to manage work and childcare alone, you’re effectively attempting to take on two full-time positions at once. Spoiler – it isn’t going to work. Instead, get into the habit of asking for help. In a business sense, that means considering working with either employees or freelancers, and turning to managed IT support services that can keep your tech-based operations running. You’ll also want to get help with the kids, whether that be childcare or family members so that you can rest easy they’re safe and sound without you during those pre-set working hours.
Organize, organize, and organize
Organization always matters as a mother and at-home worker but never is it more vital than when you’re juggling the two. While it may seem odd to write a to-do list before spending a day with your kids, this guidance will help you get the most of every minute, and ensure that you’re then able to take care of every little family-based chore so that you can better focus on work next time you’re in the office. In addition, the same rules apply in reverse!
Finding balance when you work from home is surprisingly tricky but, when you turn your mind to it using these pointers, you should find that it becomes the ideal setup for you, after all.