As a grownup, we have lots of practice keeping it all together, but there IS a dark side. (Cue evil-sounding laughter.) It sounds like a work from home lifestyle would be close to heaven doesn't it? You'll not hear any angelic voices singing in my household. Can you hear the kids screaming? Oh yeah! For anyone who is a work from home mom and has kids screaming, it could be enough to drive a person INSANE!Try sleeping when your mind is racing with wonderful plans for projects. You don't need to be a work from home mom for this to happen. Now imagine that your morning came at 3:00 am simply because your toddler wakes you up and thinks it's time to get up for the day. I feel a rant coming on. Every morning starts off with the feeling of being tired and knowing there is a LOT of work to do. If you don't have small children, you can't relate. But if your kids are older you will still have some tail-ends to kick. So, you may feel drained from a variety of kid challenges and the entire family dynamic of not getting ample work completed. A work from home mom has her hands full all day long. All of you men out there, who can shut all of this out, count yourself lucky! Being a work from home mom implies handling a crazy and unproductive setting.
Today, we made a HUGE decision! My toddler had started preschool about three weeks ago so that she could be with other small children and play. I was ecstatic since this looked like a great opportunity for me to get lots of work done. She was at school for five hours five days a week. I missed her but knew she was in fine hands at the preschool. The issue was from day one, a battle with the transition of leaving me. Today was the last straw! It was pajama day and I was attempting to make her look cute in pajamas then send her off to preschool. She cried worse than any other day over the last 3 weeks. It was horrible! She cried every day over the last 3 weeks but today was THE WORST! One thing is certain in life...everything changes in an instant! She's back home with me full time. I wasn't getting all my work accomplished in five hours when she was in school. Now how am I going to get my work done?
The Work From Home Mom Is A Domestic Goddess And Then Some!
Alright, so I'm giving myself a pat on the back here considering I am juggling the domestic responsibilities with my several internet businesses. I tried hiring a maid but I am a bit of a neat freak and they didn't thoroughly clean to my satisfaction. My mama always told me..."If you want a job done right, do it yourself!" My mom doesn't know Robert Kiyosaki, he claims you must outsource as much as you possibly can. I guess I must keep hunting for a housekeeper, but there would still be laundry and meals to prepare. Above anything, it's the continual needs and wants of a child that can make doing work so frustrating. You literally can't leave the child alone for a second for fear that they will get into something. A few days ago, I left some expensive foundation out from my makeup case and my toddler smeared the whole bottle over her entire body. My bad... shock followed by a sigh. (At least it's another great photo opportunity.)
The Work From Home Mom: When Does The Real Work Happen?
This is truly a real question from another work from home mom on my team that is struggling with her business. The short and sweet answer is being resourceful with your time will slowly get the work done. With our kind of work, I can do my various internet marketing, SEO, blogging, video marketing, etc. any time that I HAVE time for those duties. I take small chunks throughout the day for little tasks. I am putting on my makeup and getting backlinks to the blog. I am doing my hair and doing a podcast. I am guilty of using a Disney movie for a babysitter as I sit next to my toddler and write a post for my blog. I can connect on Facebook while I am preparing a meal. You get the idea. These are simple tasks, but the same tasks many internet entrepreneurs and bloggers do on a day-to-day basis.
Every day is different. Some days my toddler has slept well and is fairly easy to manage while other days when she wakes up so early, she's absolutely no fun to be around (that's putting it mildly) and those days I just work at night after she goes to bed. These are the best times to create another project and be MOST productive. Life as a work from home mom has LOTS of positive aspects, but I am NOT living-it-up either. Yes, we vacation as well as take some slow days, but the truth is, that I work easily four to seven hour days, five days a week. Having your own business requires time doing accounting, taxes, dealing with outsourcing quality control, and promoting. There are many tasks in any business and I can tell you from my own personal experience that an online business is very much the same as a brick and mortar-type of business. Being a work from home mom has its problems and blessings. On one hand, I am glad that I don't have a strict routine to adhere to and that I choose to keep my toddler home when she hates school so much. Having said that, having her home is stressful too. There seems to generally be a prevalent feeling of never getting enough work done. I have to continue to remind myself that the business WILL grow, just not at the speed it COULD expand if I could sink a lot more time into it.
For every one of the work from home moms out there, more power to you! Some of you moms that have perfect angels for toddlers count your blessings. I have three children and only one was easy to raise. Each child is unique, but they are all blessings. I always say, if God gave me my last little one FIRST, then I would probably just have ONE! This child can be a handful! Alright, I have officially made this post a RANT. Well, I guess my world was rocked when she didn't go to school today.
