Working From Home Moms

Until quite recently, women had to choose between two life paths: to dedicate themselves to their family or to pursue a successful career. This sacrifice is something that caused (and still causes) an internal conflict. Women who want to have both find themselves in an unfavorable position – those who decide not to have a family deny themselves a beautiful experience and those who decide not to go back to work often regret that later, when their children grow up. Although there are still some women who feel like this, today’s career possibilities enabled us to have it all – most women decide to work from home and keep their careers.

Today, there are plenty of opportunities for people who want to work from home – whatever the reason for doing so. These work-from-home options are especially valuable for new moms who don’t want to go back to the office only weeks or months after having a baby. Some of them realise that working from their home office offers more advantages than downsides and decide to keep their part time/full-time home jobs as long as they can. Thanks to the development of technology, we are now able to do jobs we would never dream of doing from home, such as being an online fitness trainer, teacher, lawyer or even a nurse.

Working from home has both pros and cons and sometimes they don’t depend on your personality traits and individual preferences – they happen to almost everyone. One of the things that most people experience is lack of contact with other people (social isolation), procrastination and the lack of motivation for work. Some things that are perceived as great at the beginning may become a burden later – such as working in your sweatpants or not having to go out to commute to work. So, to avoid this just get dolled up. Trust me this will make a world of difference.

However, the cons are heavily outnumbered by the pros. By keeping your job (whatever it might be) you increase your self-confidence, stay in shape (physically and mentally), invest in your future and build financial stability in case that something unexpected occurs (additional expenses, divorce etc.) However, none of these reasons can compare to the fact that you’ll spend more time with your family – enjoying your children’s first steps and words without missing out on all those precious moments.

What can we, working mothers, do to prevent the negative effects of working from home? Experience tells me that setting up an office and having a space just for yourself is essential for success and maintaining motivation at a high level. Having good equipment is one of the most important things: a secure and fast Internet connection, quality camera, Skype, VoIP and other apps and devices that might be necessary for doing good work without obstructions.

Also, paying attention to your interior certainly won’t hurt, especially if you meet clients in your office. Be creative and let your office decorations and furniture speak for themselves and reflect your personality. Set up a nice desk in a cupboard, fill it with books and decorations, put your kids’ artwork on the walls and always have lots of plants and sunlight in your office. A clean, healthy, beautiful and, above all, personalised office space is something that makes women happier at their jobs.

Some work-from-home options don’t allow you much flexibility as you need to be online 8 hours in a row. However, if you don’t have fixed working hours, there are some rules and tips on how to improve productivity and don’t allow yourself to become lazy and disorganized. It doesn’t have to be a 9 to 5 routine, but it’s good to establish a time of day intended for doing business and time reserved for fun and family. It’s up to you how you’re going to organise your day as long as you have a plan you’ll stick to.

It’s important that you’re aware that you can have both a happy family and a great career, only if you want it – there are plenty of means to achieve this. If you stay strong and committed both to your work and your children, you leave numerous possibilities open for your whole family. Later, if you change your mind, you can easily go back to “conventional” work or even establish your own business and be your own boss. By being a stay-at-home working mom, you can have your cake and eat it too.