Internal Battles of a Work at Home Mom

Updated on: by Jess Weaver

Written By: Jessica Weaver

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work at home mom with kids

I have been working at home for the past 7 months and it has been an incredible journey. I am learning that things change very quickly and I need to adapt to that quick change. At one point I was working for OnPoint, I tried Intellichek, and then I moved onto freelance writing. I have to tell you that I am an organized person but I really struggle with feeling good about my time management. Miranda just posted about staying focused during Titling and closing out all distractions. I wanted to share a few other tips that might help us freelancers stay on track and remain focused with our time management.

1. Join a forum or WAH group. I know many women who have joined WAH groups and this really helps them stay on task with their goals and time management. I know places like WPLH.com and WAHM.com have excellent Work at Home Resources. You can chat with other WAHers and get some ideas. I belong to a group and I share my daily goals with them. A regular worker might think this is bragging, but it really is about meeting your money goals and staying on target.

2. Have an Accountability partner. I have established some great friendships while working at home. One friend in particular and I chat everyday. While sometimes we distract each other…most of the time we keep each other on target for our daily goals. It is so important to feel connected to someone. It’s almost like competition because you do not want to tell your accountability partner that you failed.

3. Become the best at what you are doing. I know a lot of us have several “eggs” we are working on. But have you considered you might have too much going on? Although I am constantly applying for work, I feel *extremely* overwhelmed with everything I am doing. So what was my solution? Cut back! Last week I met a goal of FIFTY articles with Merchant Circle. But this week I only did 42 and I am okay with that. Merchant Circle pays out a nice bonus if you write 50 but it was not worth the stress of getting that bonus. Sometimes you have to pick and choose what you are going to do, week -by-week and day-by-day. Always keep things on the backburner but my new motto is

Work to Live not Live to Work.

 

For me as a work-at-home-mom, I am getting back down to basics. I am learning to control my time better and stay off Facebook. My time is valuable. The reason I chose to work from home was to be home with my kids and somehow I started to lose site of that. Luckily, I have a very supportive husband who always says “stop working.”

What are your tips for working at home and managing your time? What does your Work-at-home schedule look like? Please share! My work at home schedule will be followed up in a new blog post. I look forward to sharing it with you!

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Jess

August 17, 2011 at 12:48 am

I needed to read this to myself tonight! I’m so weird but it’s like I know what to write because it will motivate me later??? I needed this so much tonight.

Angie

August 17, 2011 at 7:48 am

Jess, I easily let things get out of control. When that happens my husband always tells me “work smarter, not harder”. There are so many distractions. Many provide little if any return. Like you said, sometimes you need to cut the fat and get back to the basics.

Jess

August 17, 2011 at 9:05 pm

Yeah, I am known to be a frantic mess sometimes! 🙂 I love hearing your expertise!

Erica

August 17, 2011 at 8:36 am

I may have to think about this one and write a response to this blog post…

Jess

August 17, 2011 at 9:04 pm

LOL. I hope that is not a bad thing? You should share your thoughts and I look forward to hearing them!

Anna

August 17, 2011 at 10:20 am

Great read, Jess. Really puts things in perspective for me right now.

Jess

August 17, 2011 at 9:03 pm

Anna, me too. I am really excited about this “turn” that my career is taking. God has it all under control for me!

Katie Jones

August 17, 2011 at 11:00 am

All the points you were mentioned are absolutely wonderful. Working at home is such a roller coaster and at times, I really want to get off. I get tired of the loops and endless dark tunnels. The lines are unbearable and sometime the people are nasty. But, you know what? I know how much fun I am going to have once I get on that ride and if I already waited in line for a long time, then why not go for it?

It’s a struggle but everyone should definitely have an accountability partner – someone who can motivate you and help you in your darkest times.

Jess

August 17, 2011 at 9:03 pm

Thanks Katie. I am very grateful for your friendship!

Lauri

August 17, 2011 at 12:54 pm

Great article! I have to write everything down that I want to accomplish. The fact that it’s in black and white motivates me to check it off the list!

Jess

August 17, 2011 at 9:05 pm

Yeah, when I write lists it feels really good to accomplish them. Since I am in charge of the house, working, and the kids- my life is very hectic!

Tanya

August 17, 2011 at 1:08 pm

I should print this up and tape it up some where since I am new to the whole working a home thing. I need to figure out how to step away from my everyday normal schedule and include working in there since I am “rusty” when it comes to work.

Jess

August 17, 2011 at 9:06 pm

Tanya. I love you! 🙂 You’re like my #1 fan 🙂

LaDonna

August 17, 2011 at 3:55 pm

A great article, Jess! It’s difficult staying focused when you’re at home; there is always something else to do.

Jess

August 17, 2011 at 9:06 pm

Hey there! I know there is always something else to do. Like right now I should be working and I am commenting on these LOL. Maybe I could learn a thing or two from you!

Kim

August 17, 2011 at 7:25 pm

I absolutely agree that we take on more work that we should. I am sitting here finally 12 hours into my day being able to read my emails and visit links. If I worked outside the home I would have been done much earlier.

Jess

August 17, 2011 at 9:07 pm

I know! I have tried just about every working strategy possible. I am hoping to find a routine that works for me soon!

Lisa

August 17, 2011 at 8:17 pm

I love Wahm.com. That’s where I found my first work-at-home job in transcription. Been there five-plus years now!

Leisa Good

August 18, 2011 at 4:45 pm

I too have really become “picky” about where I spend my time. I am more selective with both clients and client requests as well as WAH jobs. I mean my time is HOW I get paid. Whether it is an hourly rate or a project rate, it is HOW I invest my time. And like all investments, I want to see a good return on it (ROI).

This past month was my best month financially speaking in a good while. You begin to see how much you are worth. I too have dropped “eggs” which were fun but a waste of time.

Time management is probably my biggest challenge too in working from home.

Tanveer

January 15, 2014 at 12:52 am

Working from home requires lot of concentration and dedication. Work from home seems to be a very tempting option but if we do not concentrate on our work at home then it might result in low productivity. Time management is very important in this case and if we manage our time in a efficient manner then working from home could be quite fund and rewarding as well.

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June 8, 2015 at 2:35 pm

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