Children. Even with the best pre-planning of daily activities, there will be times when particularly younger children come before your work. There are the (wonderful) questions of a curious child that need answers, meals to prepare, diapers to change and those scrapes and bruises that need kissing and cleaning.
Other family members. Unexpected and unannounced visits, phone calls or text messages from family members that interrupt your work. Usually, well-meaning, but distractions nonetheless. And of course, these are the kinds of visits that most relatives would never think of making if you were employed in a traditional workplace outside the home.
Friends. See “Other family members”
Business opportunities. One of the most difficult decisions for some work-at-home moms is the decision about what business opportunity to choose. There are so many options. And it is easy to fall into the pattern of starting one, but soon stopping it to start another one that looks better - the dreaded “shiny object syndrome.”
Any of these – and more – can create interruptions that result in work scheduled to get done today is delayed and pushed to another day. But this does not mean that moms cannot be productive in the work-at-home environment
Here are some tips for dealing with distractions.
Setting Your Work Schedule
Most work-at-home opportunities allow you to establish your own dress code, and, also set your own work hours. When you’re ready to set your work hours, consider the following:
Set clear boundaries with your friends and family. Make it clear you have "work hours" and what they are.
Resisting the Shiny Object Syndrome. More than enough business opportunities exist. The question is which one is worth your time? The challenge for moms is to choose the program that suits them best and avoid jumping from one opportunity to the next one that catches their eye. (And of course, men are also susceptible to the shiny object syndrome!)
Mobilizing Your Network. Typically, work-at-home moms have many contacts that are also work-at-home moms. And if you don’t have this network when you begin, start building it.
Commit to your success and deal with the many distractions that come with working from home.
And in doing so, you can build a business that provides solutions and value to people and produces income for your family.
In addition to providing financially, there are other rewards. You get greater flexibility for family, hobbies, and charitable work. And quite possibly, you get greater job security than traditional jobs offer.
In future articles, we’ll look at:
Image by innerwhispers from Pixabay
