More and more moms are choosing to work from home. Whether you’re part-time in the office with some days at work, work freelance, or are starting a business, most jobs can be done from home. However, it can be challenging to juggle the demands of work with children.
Get Up and Get Dressed
This might sound obvious, but if you can, you need to get out of bed. You might be able to reach your phone, tablet, and laptop from bed, but you need to set boundaries for the sake of your health. Try not to reach for your laptop as soon as you wake up and start checking emails. Do not think that it does not matter because you can conduct all your meetings without needing to put your camera on.
Get into a routine, like getting out of bed at the same time every morning, and saving your lie-in for the weekend, if the kids will let you. It might be a bit ambitious to decide you’re going to start each day with a yoga session and a green juice, but try your best to have healthy habits that will set you up for the day.
Find what works for you and your family and stick with it. But what about what you wear to work from home?
While it might be tempting to treat yourself to a nice onesies to wear as work attire, or to just shove a cardigan on over your pajamas, it’s not a bad idea to have a selection of comfortable but still smart clothing that will make getting dressed for the day easier so you feel mentally prepared for work.
Avoid the Munchies
It can be hard to resist the fridge when you’re looking at it all day, especially if you’ve somehow let it become full of the high-calorie snacks you said you wouldn’t buy while you’re working from home.
The key to avoiding this is preparation. Working from home will go well if you have a selection of tasty, but healthy food in the house. Remember that you aren’t going to be getting as many steps in as you would in the office too.
Another consideration is alcohol. During the pandemic, many new remote workers admitted they were drinking a lot more than usual, even during work hours. If you fell into this trap, it might be worth looking into rehab centers.
Talk to Other Humans
When you work from home all day, it’s not enough to just chat with the dog or shout back at daytime television.
Interacting with other people during the course of your day is important for your mental health whilst working from home.
Your colleagues might notice if your out-of-office goes on at the same time every morning, but try to find a time, perhaps during your lunch break, to go to a class, walk the dog, chat to the postman, or talk to other Moms at the school gate. Call a friend. Talk to your children. Arrange calls with colleagues for social time so you can stay in touch.