Sometimes when you work from home, things can get a little off balance!
You may put too much pressure on yourself and find yourself burned out and frustrated.
Here’s my two cents on how to give yourself a break while staying focused at the same time.
You’re at home all day…so is the laundry done?
Okay, so I work from home. Does that mean that the house should be spotless because I am at home all day? Hmmmmm….that’s not exactly how it works around here!
I have to admit, though – sometimes I feel pressured to have such a clean house since I’m here and everyone else is away. Why do I feel this way? I don’t know, maybe because when I stayed home with the kids and did not work from home, I had more time to clean up. And everyone in the house came to rely on me to get the laundry done, wash the dishes, plan the meals and so on.
Well, things have changed now! Now I am in front of the computer for most of the time the kids are in school. I wish I had elves to help me clean while I am typing and marketing, but I don’t.
It comes down to this: I simply have to lower my standards when it comes to everything being done around here – like it (kind-of) used to be. So rule number one: realize that when you are working at home, it’s the same thing as if you were working AWAY from home! When you are busy, you are busy! You can’t do two things at one time. Give yourself a break when it comes to this.
And since I am now working from home, we have changed some things around here. Now, on the weekend, we all pitch in and clean up for an hour or two – it’s amazing how fast things can get done when we all work together.
The light – it’s blinding me!
Well, maybe that’s a bit dramatic. But yes, sometimes I can get serious cabin fever – especially in the cold winter months. And even though I am naturally a homebody, I cannot be cooped up for too long. Sometimes I like to go hiking and socialize away from the home, but at other times I find myself working day after day after day without leaving the cave, I mean house :)
So, I have to make myself leave – yes, go to a coffee shop and work there or even head over to the library. Usually, when it is warmer outside, I go for a little walk or hike. But it has been freezing lately, so I have to resort to other ideas. So yes, sometimes you must make yourself leave the house so you don’t get into a rut. Some people don’t have this problem, of course, but I do.
When it’s quittin’ time
Another issue I will talk about is not overextending yourself. At times I will be working on a major project of some sort, and I will be obsessed with finishing it! I have no definite deadline for it to be done, but I just want it to be done NOW! So I will let my work time bleed into my family time. That really leads to a lot of frustration for me, because it’s hard to help the kids with homework or cook dinner when you are glued to the computer.
So now I’m a lot more disciplined when it comes to work and family time. I have a cut off time. When the kids come home from school, I am not going to be finishing up a project on my computer. No, I am going to draw the line there. Of course, there may be times when I have to get on a webinar or make a phone call, but those are planned and not a daily occurrence. I try to limit the amount of work I do during the evenings. But at night, after the kids are in bed, I can start working again if I need to finish up a project or something.
Attempting to get it right
So there you have it – my thoughts about how to (attempt to) strike a happy balance at home even when you are working from home. Even though it has its challenges, working from home has so many benefits – so it’s totally worth it! I mean, last night my daughter was so sick. She was crying due to having such a bad stomach ache. I stayed up with her for a while. I knew she would be exhausted if I sent her to school, and she still felt pretty bad in the morning. I love the fact that I can just take a day off of work to stay home with her – without having to call in to work.
I like having that control in my life. I think I feel so strongly about this because when I first had my daughter, I worked (very part time) for the first year of her life. I remember telling my boss that I had to stay home with her since she was sick – my boss told me that I needed to have a backup plan – that someone else should watch her when she is sick. Yes, I know that is an extreme example, but nevertheless, I see the benefits of working from home. As long as we can work on keeping things balanced, then it can be a wonderful experience.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I agree, balance is always a challenge when it comes to work and family. Thank goodness my hubby is so helpful :)
Heather Calhoun recently posted..How to choose an effective domain for your blog or business website
Sure, Heather – thanks for visiting our site. It is so helpful if everyone in the family can work together. ~Tara
Awesome article Tara! The balance is hard for a lot of us, especially becuase we love our businesses! I was just reading about how we as home based business owners need to make sure we get out in the light (it’s good for us), even if it’s just for 10 minutes… I’ll often grab my phone and return calls while I’m taking a stretch break outside. Anyway, great article!
Alicia Lyttle recently posted..TGIF! Thank Goodness it’s a Free Autoresponder!
Yes – getting out into the light makes a lot of sense for us home business owners. Thanks for stopping by Alicia!
Thanks for posting this article Tara. I agree that when working at home there needs to be balance. I must admit that I go overboard and find it hard to stop working for the day. It’s so easy to just continue working when you work at home. Thanks for the reminder that I need to set more structured working hours and not to let work overlap with family time.
You’re so right as usual.
Terry
Terry Lynn Meyer recently posted..Network Marketing Revolution! (Part 3) | cold calling
Hi Terry, yes it sounds like we both have the same problem with the overlap thing – I’m sure we won’t always get it right, but we can definitely improve. Thanks for stopping by!
Tara, I do need improvement in that area. again thanks for posting this article as a reminder to me that I need to set myself clear boundaries. It is so easy to get totally caught up into the daily tasks of running the business, that it’s hard to say enough is enough.
Your welcome,
Terry
Terry Lynn Meyer recently posted..8 Reasons Why You Should Email Me One Dollar
I work from home also. When I get up in the morning I make my breakfast and check my messages. Then I have my shower and do 1/2 hour of house cleaning. Then I return messages and sit at the computer to train and learn more. I look for prospective clients and promoters and set up appointments. I then take an afternoon break and take the dogs for a walk so they dont feel neglected and get some exercise. Most of my appts are in the evening or weekends so spend as much time with my husband as I can. I think work life balance is very important and you need to sit down a set a schedule for yourself of what you would like to accomplish in a day and put it in your calender like an appointment. After you have done this for a few weeks it becomes second nature. All the best.!
Right, Cheryl! It is so important to set up that schedule. Thanks for sharing how you manage to work from home – it is always a balancing act for me and all of us I think. Thanks for stopping by and commenting!