Taking up a work-from-home job and looking after the kid at home both at the same time can be a difficult task. It gets even more difficult when you find yourself unable to set boundaries as to what to attend first. Juggling between various responsibilities and trying to build a wall between workspace and home space in a work-from-home situation is not a cakewalk. While working from home, job ideas for mothers all ask for major time commitments.
Ask any parent and they all got similar things to say – The house is always dirty no matter how much to try keeping it clean between work schedules, always running between work emails, deadlines, kid’s demands, errands, no time to prepare dinner on time, and all kinds of similar problems.
Working-from-home jobs are not all cons, the working condition also benefits mothers in certain ways. They get to save time consumed by the daily commute, they get to be more flexible in looking after their kids, they get to attend certain household chores while working remotely.
The idea of co-managing freelancing and parenting might sound difficult, there are ways one can balance the two.
Here are some tips for moms: home office furniture indianapolis
Flexibility is the key
Being a full-time parent and managing work from home mothership is a very unpredictable and difficult job. You never know what your kids would adamantly demand the next minute. In such a situation, you should never delay the task for an 11th hour let alone thinking of giving final touches to your assignment at the last minute.
Especially if your kids are very young and are home all day long, you will have to learn to be flexible with your daily routine. No matter how hard you try, life will always come in the way of work and you need to tell yourself that it is okay that way. You might put efforts into setting a work routine and home routine, you should always know that not all day is going to be perfect. There will be days when your kid would urgently need you and you would have to push aside work deadlines. In such situations, try being kinder to yourself and give yourself as well as your kid sometimes.
Plan activities for your kids that ask for minimal supervision –
Working from a home mom job is not only to look after the kid but also to keep them engaged. In accordance with the age of your kid and your own work schedule, plan such play activities for your kids that ask for minimal adult supervision. In order to keep your kid busy, you can also resort to some trustworthy apps that run the favorite shows of your kid. Also always have a backup activity planned ahead in case the activity you planned fails in engaging them. If you have an older kid who no longer takes interest in activity boxes and puzzles, try engaging them by asking them to catch up on the missed calls or make them attend online classes.
Plan the meals the day before –
We all love to have a nice chit-chat with our family over a delicious dinner. A feast like a dinner puts a beautiful end to a hectic day. Work for a mother at home also includes preparing meals along with the husband’s help but preparing such dinners asks for a considerable amount of time and effort. While an idea for preparing a nice delicious dinner for your family might sound tempting, you should not prepare all of it from scratch in the daytime and end up missing work deadlines. Instead what you can do is do all the planning and prepping the night before.
Like you can get all the raw materials at one place, do the chopping of vegetables the night before. This way you can save yourself time for office work and would not have to waste the productive day hours on non-work tasks that consume energy.
Plan yourself a morning routine –
While waking up early might not be something you would like to do voluntarily, it makes a great difference if you are a stay-at-home mom who works. Waking up an hour or two early before the kids will help you in setting the right mindset for the entire day. Also with fewer distractions and interruptions, you will get a lot of your important tasks done in less time. You can also use the morning time to engage in self-care activities.
Like meditation, writing a journal, or simply doing things that you love most without the work deadlines and kids troubling you. In the morning when your mind is most focused and less occupied try fulfilling the toughest task be it your work tasks or home tasks. You can consider planning your entire day right in the morning by writing down a to-do list. This way you will feel a little organized and will be able to complete all tasks well on time.
Ask for help when required –
Accepting that at times you will not be able to pull off all roles as a working mom can do you a lot good. In such a situation, the best would be to ask for help. You can seek help from your trusted friends, your family members, your neighbors, or can hire a babysitter to look after your kid when you are stuck with deadlines and crucial work commitments. There might come situations when you are in between office meetings, your husband is not home, and none of your relatives lives nearby and your kid needs attention. In such a situation, you can easily call up your babysitter as they are the life-saver in such situations.
Set clear expectations –
Work from home for mothers is tough given that they are always required to be on their toes and multitask. Have clear and proactive communication with your boss or your employer regarding your mother’s duties and make it evident to them that you have a kid to look after at home and you will not be able to guarantee that the work calls will be interruption-free. Let your kids know about your work commitments. This will be a little difficult if your kid a still young but if your kid is a bit mature, making him understand your work commitments might get easier for you. Teach the kid that when you are working on a laptop or have microphones on. Ask the kid to go to the father or the babysitter in such situations in case he/she needs anything.
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