As a work-at-home mom, there are going to be challenges that you will face, and this article will highlight some of them and talk a little on how to overcome them.
It's a great transition and a brave move to decide to work from home, to give up your guaranteed income and go out there and start up on your own, and what makes it even more challenging is that you are working in the home environment - it was initially not designed for work.
What are some of the obstacles that you are going to face, and how are you going to overcome them? Children This will probably by far be your biggest challenge, especially if they are still little and require a lot of attention from you.
They expect that when you are at home, you are paying them attention, and of course because they are so happy to have you home, they want to be around you all the time.
You can manage it.
If they are of the age where you can send them off to a day care and you can afford it, do so.
If they are a bit younger, arrange to work the time when they fall asleep.
Make sure that you establish a routine; a task list is very important.
While they are awake and you cannot really focus on work, you can get other things done.
Get the laundry, get the dishes, and cook the day's meal, so that when they sleep, you can then completely focus on work.
Interruptions from the phone, neighbors and others People will know that you are working from home and they will probably want to pop in all the time or call for a chat.
Don't be afraid to tell them that you're running on a schedule and maybe you can see them or talk to them another time.
Sometimes, when you really need to focus, leave the phone off the hook.
You can have your mobile to answer calls only from your children's school and your partner in case of emergencies, but all else should wait until you're done.
Household chores You must decide on when chores will be done.
If you have people around who can help, let them help you.
If your kids are old enough to get the laundry after school, it won't kill them.
Dishes can wait till later.
Set aside a day in the week when you go over everything so you don't accumulate too much household work to do.
Let your partner help where he can.
You must be disciplined about this because most work-at-home moms confess that this takes up a lot of their time.
Company It doesn't seem like a big deal until it happens.
You're suddenly working from home, and you're alone probably all day and you start to miss the company of others.
Its ok, it happens to most people who have to work in an environment where they are completely alone.
Get some online friends if you can.
If you have good neighbors who are at home most of the time, you can take a break and pop over for 10 minutes.
You get to realize after some time that this ceases to be a big concern.
Motivation Working online is competitive and sometime things are down.
Its time to get yourself all the things that you know that can motivate you.
Set goals and go for yourself and even if they seem like they are not working out, give yourself time.
If you have especially chosen something that you love to do, you will find it easier to stay motivated.
Find people you can talk to about how business is going too, it helps a lot.
These are just some of the things that you will experience as a work at home mom.
Don't let them discourage you.
You must keep going, because eventually, you will get there.
Head over to Home Work for Moms to learn even more about how to deal with the everyday things that will seem like obstacles for you.