.jpg)
As I shared before, I have worked from home since May of 2005. My job has gone from a childcare provider, to a free lancer and while they are very different, they still provide many of the same challenges. If you are a stay at home mom looking to make some extra money by working from home, great! There are some awesome posts at the end of this that may help you. If you make the go of it though, I want to let you know three challenges you will face by working from home!
Work is ALWAYS There
When you work from home, you are ALWAYS attached to your work. You don’t get a break from it. I found the easiest way to handle this is to set work hours, and stick to them! Now, this is hard. Especially in today’s world of technology where our phones allow us to have constant contact with our email. However, for your families sake, it is necessary to turn it off sometimes and try your best to stick with those work hours.
Here are some posts that can help you meet this challenge:
Finding Time to Work from Home by Sarah Mueller at Early Bird Mom
Balancing Your Time is Hard
Honestly, this is my #1 challenge. I have written posts before about managing time, but honestly, I struggle. Daily. I keep a to do list up in my dining room of the days tasks. They include my daily cleaning list, my work responsibilities, and the day’s laundry tasks. Rarely is every item on that list marked off by the end of the day, so it carries over. However, I have to remember the items that are NOT on the list. Things like our homeschool duties, the books I read to my son, the games I played with my daughters, or the time I spent with my husband. So, if your to do list is overwhelming, remember the items NOT on the list. Your time is valuable and chances are the really important things won’t need to be on reminder list 😉 .
Here are some posts that can help you meet this challenge:
Confessions of a Work at Home Mom by Heather Bowen at Upside Down Homeschooling
5 tips to Make being a Work at Home Mom Less Stressful by Becky Mansfield at Your Modern Family
People “Assume” You Have Free Time
Someone needs cupcakes for a bake sale? They will ask you, because after all YOUR HOME! The same goes for help at the church functions, teaching a co-op, or babysitting a friend’s child. Because you are a stay at home mom first, they assume you have plenty of free time. I get this even though I also homeschool. In reality, I don’t have the time and have had to learn to say NO gracefully.
Here are some posts that can help you meet this challenge:
Success strategies for Moms who Work from Home by Successfully Homeschooling
Learning to Say No by Jill Savage at Focus on the Family
Homeschool, and not sure if you can balance working from home too? Here are some posts of how moms just like you do both!
Heather at Upside Down Homeschooling shares her day to day in A Day in the Life of a Work at Home Homeschool Mom.
Marcy at Ben and Me shares tips on how she makes working at home while homeschooling work for her in How to Successfully Homeschool and Work from Home
Jennifer at Godly Glimpses shares tips on Running a Small Business while Homeschooling
Need Work From Home Ideas? Here are some great posts that can help you get started!
Growing Slower shared over 6o Real Jobs for Stay at Home Moms.
My friend Davonne at Davonne Parks.com shared Work at Home Opportunities for Moms.
Anita at Live Like You are Rich did a whole series on How to Make Money as a Stay at Home Mom.
Linda at Teach 4 the Heard shares her story about God Providing her with a work at home job in Yes, You Can Be a Stay at Home Mom
The best book I have ever read about working from home is this one by Tricia Goyer. A MUST READ if you plan on working from home!
Working from home can be a huge blessing to your family, but it is not without challenges. Hopefully these tips and posts can help you if your are working from home now, or plan on it in the future. If you need more tips and ideas check out my Work at Home Pinterest Board!
Want more information about schooling at home while working at home? Check out my book!
Great!! Glad it helped 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!
I really want to try working from home, so this is extremely helpful. Thank you! #SHINEbloghop
People always assume that I have free time. I work part time and work on growing my blog part time. People assume that if I have a day “off”, I’m not doing anything. My days “off” from my part time job are usually my busiest days!!! You’re right: it’s super important to learn to say no. Thanks for linking up at #SHINEbloghop 🙂
Yes, and our kids are the clowns 😉
What wonderful tips and such a great collection of resources. I don’t work from home but I treat “blogging” like work… especially when I am dealing with sponsored posts and freelance work.
It feels sometimes like we’re the jugglers in a circus act doesn’t it?
Thanks for sharing (and for linking up to the #SHINEbloghop)
Wishing you a lovely weekend.
xoxo
It is SO hard to find that balance. Good luck, and thanks for your comment 🙂
I’m not even a MOM yet and I have these issues! I tend to let my blogging and writing get in the way of taking care of my man. When I’m old and grey, will I be proud of my blog/twitter/pinterest/facebook followers, or of my great marriage with Justin? I loved the quote you posted, it’s so true.
Yes, I ran myself ragged last year by not saying no to outside commitments. I learned a lot. When I did daycare it wasn’t as bad, cause people could “see” the work (AKA children), but with freelancing they don’t seem to think it “counts” as work hours.
Thanks for stopping by!
Such wonderful tips! I have to admit that I have a low stress tolerance. After having my third child I simply couldn’t keep working the same number of hours at home that I used to. I’ve had to cut back a lot.
…And I totally get the “they will ask you because, you’re home!” thing. I need to be better about saying no and politely explaining that, though I stay at home I am also working and teaching my children.
Thanks for the great post!
This is great! Thanks for sharing! I’m doing a series right now on Work At Home Moms (I’m interviewing them and sharing the Behind The Scenes look). This is awesome!