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Work-life balance is something that everyone wants to achieve, whether one works at home or in the office. But people who work at home probably find it more difficult to realize this balance as the distinction between the two is elusive. When you work in the office, it is much easier to leave work at work and home stuff at home because they do not happen in the same place.
For most freelancers, the drive to become workaholic comes from the desire to earn more. I’ll confess I was guilty of this when I was just starting out. I would normally work until 3:00 in the morning. Then the following day, I would have to wake up early because my son should be in school at 9:30 A.M. I like the fact that I’m able to help pay the bills. But I like it even more that I have money for shopping. Not just for me but for my hubby and kiddo too. Along the way, I realized, it is no longer healthy. No one can keep up with the Energizer bunny, that’s for sure.
Taking short breaks from your work and taking a day off or two are still important even if you work at home. During your break, leave your work space. On your “rest days”, try to do something else aside from work. As one blogger puts it, get off the roller coaster ride. This will help you with your creativity, productivity and will help you stay sane too.
Do not overbook. You must learn to say no if you no longer have the bandwidth for additional projects. More projects translate to more dollars. But at the end of the day ask yourself, are you willing to sacrifice your health and your family over more moolah?
Share the load on household chores. As a mom, you do not have to do everything. You are only stressing yourself too much by doing all the work. Talk to your significant other or your kid who can already help you do some chores. Better yet, hire a household help, someone who can help you with the chores on a regular basis. This way, you are able to do your work and you still have time to enjoy with the family.
Having work-life balance is not an easy task especially for a work at home mom. But with planning, time management, and help from your family, everything is manageable.
For most freelancers, the drive to become workaholic comes from the desire to earn more. I’ll confess I was guilty of this when I was just starting out. I would normally work until 3:00 in the morning. Then the following day, I would have to wake up early because my son should be in school at 9:30 A.M. I like the fact that I’m able to help pay the bills. But I like it even more that I have money for shopping. Not just for me but for my hubby and kiddo too. Along the way, I realized, it is no longer healthy. No one can keep up with the Energizer bunny, that’s for sure.
Taking short breaks from your work and taking a day off or two are still important even if you work at home. During your break, leave your work space. On your “rest days”, try to do something else aside from work. As one blogger puts it, get off the roller coaster ride. This will help you with your creativity, productivity and will help you stay sane too.
Do not overbook. You must learn to say no if you no longer have the bandwidth for additional projects. More projects translate to more dollars. But at the end of the day ask yourself, are you willing to sacrifice your health and your family over more moolah?
Share the load on household chores. As a mom, you do not have to do everything. You are only stressing yourself too much by doing all the work. Talk to your significant other or your kid who can already help you do some chores. Better yet, hire a household help, someone who can help you with the chores on a regular basis. This way, you are able to do your work and you still have time to enjoy with the family.
Having work-life balance is not an easy task especially for a work at home mom. But with planning, time management, and help from your family, everything is manageable.
I agree with everything you said...
ReplyDeleteand of course, thanks for the tips!
XO
thanks for the comment Butteryfly :)
ReplyDeleteI'm beginning to get hooked on your site:)
ReplyDeletevery interesting blogs I'm now considering to be a WAHM, this could be my fall back if something not so good happen to our company:) thanks for the info's!