5.6.12

Working From Home With Children

First: Working from home is not a replacement for childcare looking after children is a full-time job, so if you already have job, trying to mix the two together can be an enormous challenge. While working from home does mean you no longer have to deal with the daily commute, working while your kids are asleep really isn't the most effective way to work. To get over this you might want to consider finding a nursery that syncs with your schedule. This will give you the flexibility to focus on work when you need to and spend the rest of the time with your children.

Second: Making the home office. If you work from home then it is best to make yourself a work space (even if it just a desk). You don’t need to spend a lot of money in making your office, but you should have some sort of desk space. This space should be in a place where you can concentrate on your work and be comfortable working. You should really see this as an opportunity to make an office you could actually work at, meaning getting a nice chair and desk. You can do this quite cheaply by using sites like eBay and Craigslist with online transportation marketplaces, like uShip, who offer thousands of courier services.  
Third: Be Strict with yourself.
One of the major advantages of working from home is that should a situation arise you are able to be flexible and adapt to a change in situation. However, you should really strive to set up a work timetable, just like you would do if you were in the office. One of the greatest difficulties when working from home is telling yourself when it is time to ‘go home’ and stop working. Therefore, it is best to define when your working begins and ends.  This will give you, your workmates and your family some structure to your day and ensure that you have enough time for everyone.


Fourth: Know the places you can work other than your home.
We all need a change of scenery from time to time. The chance of there being a great place to work in your local neighborhood to used as a "secondary offices" is great. Try your local library or coffee shop for starters they are very likely have free wireless and enough space for you to spend a couple of hours.

Separation of work and life is especially difficult. However, working from home can be an enormously beneficial way of allowing you to spend more time with your family and more time "at work." However, in order to manage personal and work commitments you need to be ready to be a little flexible and be ready to adapt your approach

Guest Post by Amar Patel

4 comments:

Motherof2 said...

I've been working at home for years and raising my 11 year old who has Epilepsy and running a household while my husband works long hours outside our home. But my job is not sitting at a desk, I am an on-site property manager at a large apartment complex, and am expected to be actively involved in the maintenance and janitorial aspects of running the complex. I have a handyman once a week and the rest of the time I fix things myself as they arise. I also paint and clean the apartments as tenants move out, and deal with inspectors and the such, while my boss is about 90 miles away so I see him maybe 1-2 times a year. It is VERY stressful at times and living on-site means little privacy for me but it has given us the opportunity to save a little money towards buying a home, plus I can get my daughter to all of her appointments, etc. If I knew just how demanding this job was before I accepted it, I would have walked away. Sometimes I am lucky to get an hour to myself after making dinner, etc.

Sarah said...

Great tips. I can hardly hear myself think most days, I can't imagine working from home.

Maureen said...

This is a great post! I work out of the home at night when my husband is home but I have paperwork to do when I am at home with my kids. It is hard to be disciplined, especially since my kids are often interrupting me and I lose my focus. I love these tips!

Maureen
maureen.tenney@gmail.com

Elena said...

Working from home is not easy. My kids are constantly innterrupting me and it takes longer time to have the work done.

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