Finding Balance of Work from Home and Family

[sgoodknight]

Finding Balance of Work From Home and Family

As a mom of 3 kids I know life can be pretty chaotic at times. So when you work from home how is it that you are able to find balance that will allow you to be the mom you want to be and work from home?  Many times when we work from home we tend to simply waste our time away.  We sit at our computer surfing the web, paying bills and responding to emails.  Most of the time we believe we are doing well when we are wasting time. 

One of the most common mistakes a person makes when they work from home is think they can accomplish everything at the same time.  When we group everything together it can cause friction between our business and our family because our focus is spread many ways.

Putting together a detailed schedule is what will save your home business and your family's sanity!  This is the where I was lacking when I first began my work from home journey in 2005.  As a new mom for the 3rd time I began to feel like I was treading water.  Our sons were nearly 3 & 5 years old and our daughter was just 2 weeks old when I started.  I had no idea of what to expect nor did I know how to set a schedule for my new home business.  I had always worked for someone else (building their dreams).

My boss is the one who made my schedule for me.  He told me when I needed to begin work and end work.  That is how it always was but now I was the 'boss' and I was the one in charge of scheduling when I work.  Well, after working for 16 years and having 3 kids all under 5 I simply didn't want to work!

Because of this I obviously didn't get too far in my home business.  At first that is.  I finally realized that if I wanted to be successful then I needed to do something different.  I realized that if I showed up to work at my old pharmacy and worked there how I worked my business I would have been fired after 15 minutes.  I honestly might not have even lasted that long.

When we have a schedule we are able to set aside time for our family, our house, our personal time and our business time.  Doing this will make life and business much easier and it will allow you to find the right balance. 


When working on your schedule be patient with yourself and your family.  You will work on this with trial and error and you will find the right balance for  you your family and your business.  You'll be able to figure out when you are the most productive and you'll schedule your business time around that.

When you work your business as a business you want to close up shop.  You want to be able to distinguish your on and off time and you are entitled to have that.  Just because we work from home doesn't mean we have to have 24/7 access to our computer.  So when you are done with your work for the day, step away from your computer, close the door and be with your family.

Remember that you are the boss and you are in charge.  If you work your business like a "hobby" you will get "hobby results" but if you work your business like a 'business' you will get "business results".

Susan Goodknight