With technology making the world a smaller place, it seems like more and more folks are working from home. Especially moms. As parents, working at home is a great way to provide some extra income while not giving up [too much] time with your family. My husband and I are both blessed to work from home at least part of the time. He runs a non profit ministry and pastors a church from our home office and while I teach outside of the house 2 days a week, I do all of the rest of my work at home.
While working from home is a WONDERFUL thing, it also takes a little creativity and a lot of…well…work to be successful. So, as I gear up for another school year I thought I’d share some of what we’ve learned in our home office journey.
1. SCHEDULES ARE YOUR FRIEND. While it is tempting to just sit back and go with the flow when you work from home, it can end up feeling like you work all the time but never accomplish anything. To avoid wasting time and energy, give yourself a schedule. My husband and I both sat down and made a list of all the things we need to accomplish in a week and then customized a schedule for each of us…even for the tasks that aren’t actually work related (i.e. grocery shopping, lawn maintenance, etc). Our schedules help keep us on track and greatly increase our efficiency (and decrease our tendency to leave things until the last minute).
2. WHEN YOU’RE NOT WORKING, DON’T WORK. Once you have your schedule in place, stick to it. Especially your downtime. Resist the urge to work on your website on Saturday morning, unless that’s your scheduled time to do it. Sure, when you work from home you can work any time, but you shouldn’t work all the time.
3. CONTAIN YOUR WORK SPACE. We live in a fairly small home and within it we house a non-profit organization, a church headquarters, a teacher’s office, a home school, and a family of four. Yes, sometimes my lesson plans end up on the dining room table and sometimes our coffee table doubles as a mail center for our non-profit…but as much as possible we try to contain work to the office, which was finished in our basement with the help of family and friends. If you don’t have extra space for an office, at least try to have a designated desk or storage box to contain your stuff. Then when you’re finished with work you can put it away and really be finished.
4. BE FLEXIBLE. Okay, so this is the one I am really trying to work on. I love a schedule. I thrive on schedules. But one nice thing about working from home is that when the schedule gets thrown off course, or thrown overboard altogether, it’s not the end of the world. So I was supposed to grade papers on Friday morning and my kid woke up with a fever of 102. The papers will have to wait. The ability to be flexible is a gift, so don’t freak out when the day runs askew (I say to myself over…and over).
How many of you work from home? If you do, what are some of the things you do to keep your sanity and your job??
I do most of my work when my kids are in school & after they’ve whined down for the evening. This makes it much easier to hang on to sanity! LOL
The key to keeping my job is doing what I enjoy, this way it doesn’t become a daily arduous task. I’ve learned over the years that just because a job is done from home doesn’t always mean it will be easy & enjoyable.
Thank you for sharing with us, you brought up very valid points that I’m sure will be helpful to many!
Yes, I should have mentioned that having your kids otherwise occupied is paramount (preferably out of your house or asleep)! Also, this site has moved, you can check out my new and improved blog at motherhoodoutloud.net or paulanix.com Thanks for commenting!