It has never been easy for parents to find balance in a hectic world, and work-at-home entrepreneurs who are parents are no exception. While raising your child (or children) is a rewarding job, it is also one of the most demanding jobs out there. Working from home allows more family time, but it also has its own work-life balance problems.
Whenever you leave home for work, you automatically create a line between your professional and family lives. When working from home, it’s imperative you draw that line on your own. To achieve the best balance between work and life at home, you need to make conscious choices and start by examining three areas that are likely to affect this intricate balancing act.
1. Establish ground rules
Working from home requires that you setup ground rules for everyone in your house. You should have specific guidelines for your children and others on how they should behave while you are working. These rules include what should merit an interruption during work time – for both children and adults.
In most cases, kids usually forget these rules, while adults in the household think that the rules do not apply to them. However, do not stop there when creating work-at-home ground rules. Of all the rules you make, perhaps the most important are those you create for yourself.
It does require a copious amount of self-discipline to become successful at working from home. Nevertheless, keep in mind that conference calls and cranky babies can never co-exist, and it’s up to you to keep both of your worlds from a collision.
2. Family schedule and kid’s activities
When your children are younger, you have more control over time spent together. Parents can also create some quality time by having a few minutes for playing on the floor or reading a book. When children grow and get into school, family time constraints come from both the kids’ and parents’ schedules.
Unfortunately, the burden of these busy schedules falls on the parents. Especially, that parent working from home is often responsible for ensuring that kids keep up with their schedules. Such parents easily find themselves checking emails and receiving phone call in between carpooling or even working late into the night to catch up.
Either way, families need to be conscious of how the family schedule is affecting their work. Telecommuters run the risk of losing their jobs or telecommuting privileges. Entrepreneurs risk cutting into their profitability.
At the same time, even those managing both family and professional demands ought to make informed decisions as they choose kids’ activities. Gaining a sense of control will help you make conscious choices, and ease stress involved in having a full schedule.
3. Get extra help
If you have to, consider getting yourself an intern. In most cases, people think of big corporate offices whenever they think of interns. However, an internship is a mutually beneficial arrangement that will go a long way in providing you with more time to work.
In addition, if there are extra projects that need to be done around the home, it is advisable you contract professionals so you have more time for your business. Professionals such as Earthworkz Construction should handle anything from your projects around your yard, plumbing and other tasks around your backyard.
Conclusion
It’s never easy succeeding as an entrepreneur and still achieving a healthy work-life balance. If you run your business seven days a week, you may feel like you never have enough hours in your day to get anything completed. It’s understandable, but following the tips above you could finally turn things around in your favor and get things done!
