The Downsides To Being A Work-at-home Mom
Author: JessicaFranks Total views: 16 Word Count: 778
The fax machine's shrill tone broke into the still silent room. I leaped to grab the receiver and terminate the transmission; having just managed to put my fussy teething baby down for his nap, I was determined that nothing would disturb his rest. Unfortunately, that fax had been from my client. Now I'd have to call him back and ask him to re-send after I'd turned the ringer off. That would entail some over-the-phone \"face time\", where he'd pick my brain for several minutes, or just shoot the breeze while I itched to get some work done while the baby slept.
Being a full-time mother and working from home has many challenges. Originally, it seemed like the best idea ever. I could still be brining in money while at the same time being able to attend "Mommy and Me" groups. I am a dedicated worker, and I knew the baby had to sleep sometime. It sounded like a great idea, but there were two major problems. My new baby was really fussy, and I had to hold him for a long time for him to get to sleep. Besides that, my best customer required even more coddling than the baby, and I had to talk to him on the phone for long periods of time.
What are the pitfalls of working at home and being a mother? Not knowing who to put first, the client or the baby. The final straw came when he called me right after an extended conversation. I really had thought he was done and attended to my baby, who seemed to be feverish. Right in the middle of taking my baby's rectal temperature I heard the phone ring and the answering machine click on it was The Client, calling out, \"Hello? Are you there? We just spoke... did you go out? Hello?\" That's when I got tough.
That was when I had to toughen up and set some ground rules for myself. The client couldn't be blamed for taking up my time ??" after all, I was letting him. If I didn't set some limits now, all my clients would behave the same way. Everything started to run smoother when I let my customers know that work for me was set for after 10:00 pm. They could fax or email me during the day, but my work day would officially start after the baby was either in bed for the night or being attended by my husband. That would allow me to more fully concentrate on my job. It would also help me to avoid marathon phone calls with clients who just needed someone to talk to
What are the pitfalls of working at home and being a mother? Time management. I established set times each day when I'd return phone calls one per client. It forced all of us to become much more streamlined and focused in our work, which ultimately did us all good. I was able to create higher quality work and my clients found that their invoices were lower since I wasn't charging for all the interruptions.
The clients settled into the new routine. I became more efficient at creating quality work in small amounts of time, and the house actually began to look (and smell) cleaner due to my increased productivity. Then my baby turned into a toddler. He quit napping in the morning altogether, opting for an extended afternoon nap. However, his activity all morning left me wiped out and unfit for anything during his nap time.
That was when I had to make major adjustments to my schedule for the second time. I had to allow time for my boy to play outside, allowing him to play freely and wear himself out a little. That way, I didn't spend all my time picking up and cleaning up behind him as he made a disaster area out of our home.
Now my teenagers (yes, I have more than one) are easier to handle. After 15 years of working at home, I now mainly handle a few writing and editing jobs. With all the technological advances in those 15 years, I can now service clients whom I've never even met, which certainly saves me wear and tear on my car as well as gas money. And although my children can take of themselves now, I still prefer to do most of my work at night. That way, I can still work while my little ones sleep.
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If you are looking to make extra money from home, then make sure you check out Jessica's free movie about jobs for stay at home moms, and work for stay home moms.
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