by BlondieWrites on July 18, 2009
By nature, women are nurturers and care-takers. If someone within a 50 mile radius has a problem, a woman will try to help them! WAHMs are no exception. They spend their days caught up in a whirlwind of taking care of their families, housework and working their businesses. However, a WAHM can easily forget to take care of herself!
Yes, you work from home, and you may be able to conduct your business wearing sweat pants and bunny slippers, but that doesn’t mean you should. Remember that every time you go out in public you are surrounded by potential business clients. You should look professional and well-groomed – you never know who you are going to run into!
Even if you stay locked-up in the house all day, it is important that you feel pretty.
When you look in the mirror and see a well-groomed, professional woman looking back at you, you will feel more confident and more competent in all areas of your life, including your business!
When you wake up in the morning, don’t just throw on your old sweats. You don’t have to wear a business suit either, but try to aim for something in the middle of the two choices. A simple shirt under a cardigan sweater and some nice jeans or slacks will do the trick.
If you simply do not have the time to wash and blow-dry your hair, put your hair in some Velcro rollers while you get breakfast ready. They will add body and style to your hair. Take five minutes to at lut on some mascara and lip gloss; and don’t forget to add a spritz of perfume.
If the last time you bought yourself a new outfit has been so long the clothes you are wearing are coming back in style for the second time around, that is a clue you need to update your wardrobe!
When you accomplish a goal, celebrate by getting a manicure or pedicure. Keep your hairstyle fresh by getting a trim every few months. You may be a WAHM but you are still a woman! You deserve to feel special!
Popularity: 1% [?]
by BlondieWrites on July 18, 2009
No one has ever said that marriage is easy. Balancing your business, kids and marriage can be especially difficult. When you are feeling stressed, it is easy to put your relationship on the back burner. Here are some ways to keep it front and center.
Just as you schedule time for your children and time to work, schedule time for your spouse. Set aside a weekly “date night”. Your dates don’t have to be expensive – it can simply be going out to lunch at the local diner, going for a stroll together around the neighborhood or playing cards after the kids go to bed. The point is just to set aside some distraction-free time for you and your spouse to talk and connect.
If you think you are too busy for a date night, ask your spouse to help you with some of the household chores. Just because you work from home, doesn’t mean you should be responsible for all the cooking, cleaning and laundry. You are working, and it doesn’t matter if you work across town or in a make-shift office in the corner of the dining room.
By sharing the chores, you are freeing up time to spend together. You can make it a family affair by getting the kids involved. For instance, designate every Saturday from 10 am till noon as “cleaning time”. Divide the chores among the family, turn on the stereo and have a “cleaning party”. You’ll be having fun together and getting the chores done.
It may not sound fun initially, but why not run your weekly errands together? You have to go to the grocery store anyway, so why not go as a couple? Having someone to talk to while you wait in line at the check-out stand could be a nice change!
You can also find time to spend together by asking your spouse to help you with your business. Your spouse will learn more about what you do and see you in a different light. Who knows? Your spouse may enjoy helping you and with their help, you will be able to achieve your goals twice as fast.
Popularity: 1% [?]
by BlondieWrites on December 29, 2008
Sometimes, being a work at home mom can feel like walking on a tight-rope! Balancing your work-time and you family-time can almost feel overwhelming, but it can be done. As a WAHM you are ahead of the game. The following are some tips to help keep you balanced – and sane!
You have the ability to set your own hours, so take advantage of that right now. If you can handle some tasks at “odd hours”, you will have more family time during the day. Are you a morning person? If so, try to get up an hour before your family to take advantage of some “quiet time” to focus on your business; night owls can take care of emails and other administrative tasks after they have put their children to bed.
If you pick your children up from school, use the time you spend waiting for them to get out of class to return customer phone calls. A wireless headset for your cell phone will allow you to keep your hands on the wheel and your eyes on the road if you make calls while driving.
During the week, when schedules are busiest, plan speedy dinners. Let your kids help out in the kitchen while you cook – you’ll be spending time together and teaching them skills they will need. There are plenty of cookbooks out there dedicated to “kid friendly recipes” if you need some inspiration on what to make.
Blend family time and work time by getting your children involved in your business. Smaller children can affix the stamps or mailing labels; older children can help hang flyers; and teenagers can take on some administrative tasks such as data entry.
Set aside some time each day to spend with your children with no distractions. You don’t have to go anywhere special; the time can be spent reading a book or playing a game. The point is just to let your children know that they come first, and the business comes second. Remember – you became a work at home mom so you could spend time with your family. Don’t forget to take some time out to enjoy them!
Popularity: 34% [?]
by BlondieWrites on December 29, 2008
No one has ever said that marriage is easy. Balancing your business, kids and marriage can be especially difficult. When you are feeling stressed, it is easy to put your relationship on the back burner. Here are some ways to keep it front and center.
Just as you schedule time for your children and time to work, schedule time for your spouse. Set aside a weekly “date night”. Your dates don’t have to be expensive – it can simply be going out to lunch at the local diner, going for a stroll together around the neighborhood or playing cards after the kids go to bed. The point is just to set aside some distraction-free time for you and your spouse to talk and connect.
If you think you are too busy for a date night, ask your spouse to help you with some of the household chores. Just because you work from home, doesn’t mean you should be responsible for all the cooking, cleaning and laundry. You are working, and it doesn’t matter if you work across town or in a make-shift office in the corner of the dining room.
By sharing the chores, you are freeing up time to spend together. You can make it a family affair by getting the kids involved. For instance, designate every Saturday from 10 am till noon as “cleaning time”. Divide the chores among the family, turn on the stereo and have a “cleaning party”. You’ll be having fun together and getting the chores done.
It may not sound fun initially, but why not run your weekly errands together? You have to go to the grocery store anyway, so why not go as a couple? Having someone to talk to while you wait in line at the check-out stand could be a nice change!
You can also find time to spend together by asking your spouse to help you with your business. Your spouse will learn more about what you do and see you in a different light. Who knows? Your spouse may enjoy helping you and with their help, you will be able to achieve your goals twice as fast.
Popularity: 34% [?]
by BlondieWrites on June 24, 2008
One of the hardest issues to contend with as a Wahm is the perception of others that you aren’t working. Many people think that working at home isn’t working at all, and that you have all of the free time in the world. Those who have spent any time working at home know that there is a lot of time and energy that goes into effectively working at home. Friends who call in the middle of the day, spouses who expect you to be doing more while home or family members who make offhand comments, can undermine those efforts.
Not all stay at home moms work, and if you have friends who don’t it can be hard for them to understand that your days aren’t free. Calls during your working time, invitations to lunch and uninvited guests can throw a wrench in your work schedule. In order to get your friends to respect your time, it’s important to make your working schedule clear to them.
If you don’t have a clear work schedule, then it is time to make one for yourself. By setting office hours for yourself, you make it clear to everyone around you that you are serious about your work. It will also help set boundaries for your time. Tell your friends that you will be unavailable from a certain time to a certain time, but you’d love to talk before or after those times. You may even go so far as to turn off your phone. If you do answer the phone and someone wants to chat, politely let them know that you are working but can speak after a certain time. Also, schedule things like lunches or visits for one day per week. This way you’ll reduce the drop-ins and spontaneous invitations.
Spouses can sometimes have difficulty understanding why, if you are home all day, the housework isn’t done. This problem can best by solved by familiarizing him with the nature of your business. Show him exactly what you need to do each day, and how long it takes to do each task. Help him understand your work schedule, and how much time you need to work per day. Showing exactly how much money you are making will help him realize the benefits of your work as well.
Then ask him to help you come up with solutions for working at home and maintaining the household. Make a list of things that need to be done each week, and assign duties to you, him and the children (if they are old enough). Then taking care of the house becomes a family priority and something that you all share responsibility in. Notify him of any special projects by keeping a work calendar on the wall. That way he can see what is going on with your work schedule, and why you have ordered pizza for dinner three times in the last week!
Many Wahms can be hurt over offhand comments about working at home. Family or even friends can say things like “Well you have the time, because you are at home.” In situations like these, you have two choices. You can either get upset and offer a flustered defense or you can take their comments with a grain of salt and offer a calm response. Depending on the situation you can say something like “Well, let me check my work schedule. I know I am not available on these days” or “That would be great on Friday afternoon, which is when I leave time in my work schedule for those types of things.”
Remember, working at home is new territory for many people although the numbers of Wahms are growing. It may take some time for the average person to understand the commitment and scheduling that it takes to effectively work from home. You may never convince some people that you are actually working while at home but establishing respect for your own time is one way to make them see that your work is a priority.
Popularity: 10% [?]
by BlondieWrites on June 21, 2008
Being a work at home mom is great in many ways. You can set your own hours, work when you want to, be with the kids more, and you are your own boss. The perks are wonderful. But having a home business can also become overwhelming quickly when it comes to balancing work and caring for the home and family.
It’s important for a WAHM to be organized so that the home business and the home and family are taken care of. Being organized doesn’t mean you have to do everything yourself. Enlist the rest of the family to help out.
Instead of trying to run your home business and do everything around the house that needs to be done, delegate chores out to the rest of the family. This can either be done on a rotating basis where the chores change each week, or you can assign certain chores to family members that they will be responsible for on a daily or weekly basis. Almost everyone can do something.
In assigning chores to be done, it’s helpful to remember that the kids and hubby will no doubt not do things the way you do them. Unless something is really needing taken care of better or in a different manner, don’t go behind them and redo it or complain to them. The idea is to get help so that you can work. If you go behind them, you’re not getting work done.
Kids are very capable of helping with day to day chores around the house. Have them clean their own rooms and do their own laundry and take turns doing the dishes. Those that are old enough can also take turns, along with the hubby, in cooking dinner. Even young kids can help fold clothes and put them away, plus vacuum and take out the trash.
Work at home moms absolutely need a work schedule. Organizing your time helps you to work more efficiently. Your work schedule doesn’t have to be the same time every day. Schedule around events such as school and after school activities or homeschooling, shopping, going out, family time, etc. A day planner is very helpful for keeping up with important dates and events so that you can schedule work time around things you want to do.
Your work time should be just that, work time. Once you have an established schedule, family and friends need to know that this is your work time. Let the answering machine pick up phone messages unless it’s business. Have ready made and easy to prepare snacks for the kids.
Being a WAHM can easily become overwhelming without being organized. To prevent yourself from burning out with a work at home business, get the entire family involved in helping to care for the home. Your home will be organized, and your business will likely be more successful when you aren’t stressed out in trying to do it all.
Popularity: 4% [?]
