Welcome to Part Two of my mini-series all about finding balance in the working world and home world of mothers. In case you missed it, head over to Part One (Staying At Home). I started this mini-series because this balancing act was/is eating me alive and I felt/feel lost trying to find the right balance for my family and I. This process has been all-consuming at times therefore I felt compelled to share because feeling alone is kind of the worst part. I’ve learned that what I thought I wanted may or may not have worked, or worked for a hot second, and then required yet another change. After spending the first year of Waverley’s life as a full-time stay-at-home mother, I felt ready to go back to work and finally found an opportunity worth pursuing after our move to Alaska. The caveat was it entailed working from home quite a bit. I was also heavily into pearls on a string at that time and trying to make a living off of it (ha! more on that later…). So! This brings me to…

Work From Home Mama

Whew. Working from home with a young babe is TOUGH. It sounds so dreamy in theory, right? You get to spend time with your children, not pay for childcare, and follow your passion. Real life: I was especially horrible at this. I was constantly stressed about meeting deadlines and maximizing Waverley’s awake time with errands, cleaning, cooking, etc, so I could work during her nap time. Then if she didn’t nap very long I would get frustrated that I couldn’t complete my to-do list and the day usually ended in stress and frustration. In hindsight, the entire situation was just not very fair to her at all. Poor first child bearing the brunt of my learning curve! When I did need to leave the house for work (teaching OT), Nate worked half-days and the second he got home I sprinted to class. He always seemed to have a last-minute emergency patient on these days which was torture to my very punctual self. Each day was a precise game of Tetris in order to accomplish everything and if something did not go perfectly according to plan (e.g., Waverley took a few minutes longer than usual to fall asleep for a nap and then I missed a conference call), the day was ruined. I mean, it wasn’t really ruined but it certainly felt like that at the time because I really despised having to pull the mom card as an excuse for not getting my job done.

I learned the importance of working with people who understood young, unpredictable children and would not grow audibly annoyed when Waverley hollered in the background of our phone call.

I was neither a fun mom nor exceptionally good at my job either. I felt minimal balance because every second of my day was highly scheduled, which left little time for myself or quality time with Nate. The benefits were undeniable though; I was in control of my life and my schedule. I was raising my daughter and fulfilling my professional and creative desires. Once Waverley started school (it was only 6 hours/week when she was 19 months old) I felt an indescribable sweet freedom in which I could schedule meetings and appointments freely, without the obligatory “Sorry in advance, I have to bring my toddler along” or “I apologize for the screaming in the background of this conference call, that is just my one year-old putting heart stamps over her entire body. NBD.” I can see that working from home may be a completely different experience for parents of children in different age groups.

When it’s time to be with the kids, be with the kids! When it is time to work, do work.

Time for a pro/con list! My favorite!

Pros of Working From Home

• Flexibility with your schedule. Meetings/calls can be scheduled around kids’ activities and nap times.
• It feels like the best of both worlds! There is professional stimulation and spending time with the babes.
• No messing with childcare. This should be weighted heavily! Finding reliable childcare is nearly impossible.
• You get to raise your children! Read all of the Pros from Staying At Home.
• A sense of control over curating one’s own day/week/life.
• It is very fulfilling.
• Kids witness firsthand what hard work and multitasking looks like.
• Children may burst into an internationally televised interview.
• It’s possible to run errands in the middle of the workday.
• Lunch at home rather than going out or packing lunch.
• Sometimes great ideas (or the only free time in a day) occur at midnight and working from home makes this a very convenient time to get after it!

Cons of Working From Home

• Typically work is done in short, random spurts. It is difficult to carve out a significant amount of time to really dig into things.
• There are constant temptations of things to accomplish at home (e.g., piles and piles of laundry).
• Oftentimes work is accomplished in the evenings after the kids are asleep, which doesn’t offer much opportunity for quality spousal time.
• It can feel like you are always working; there is a never-ending to-do list of work, home, and childcare obligations.
• Kids will get used to seeing you on your computer a lot.
• Kids will want to practice typing on your computer. I don’t know why they won’t just play quietly at my feet while I type? Ugh.
• Internet malfunctions. Technology breakdowns. These issues are beyond frustrating and there is no IT department to call!
• Children are rude and do not care about deadlines. They’re known to refuse to nap, turn the blender on without a lid, or get sick when something important is brewing.
• Lack of coworker comradery.
• Without consistent and regular childcare options, it can be a nightmare to attend an out-of-the-house meeting.

Do you work from home with little kids? Here are some habits I found most helpful in order to accomplish it all:

How to Make the Most Out of Working From Home

• Try to stick to a typical workday schedule as much as possible to provide structure and avoid burnout from always working.
• Maintain a semi-predictable routine and ensure there is scheduled time set aside to work. And then, do the work.
• Get ready before the kids wake up.
• Let people know your situation, such as forewarning them they may hear children in the background or you may need a 15 minute buffer for a call time if a nap does not go according to plan.
• Determine times you are available to talk/not talk and stick to it. I made a rule I would not answer the phone from 12:00pm–2:00pm so I could focus on lunch and getting the girls down for a nap. This helped me feel like I was not on my phone all of the time and I felt confident ignoring a call.
• Compartmentalize and be present. When it’s time to be with the kids, be with the kids! When it is time to work, do work.
• Save household chores for last. They’ll get done eventually and doing them first could monopolize the entire day. Or give a time limit on chores if doing them during the workday.
• Cut it off. Give time limits to work on projects and when that time is up, the project is done. This really helps with efficiency and letting go of perfectionistic tendencies.

Do you work from home with littles? I’d love to know, what do you like most? What do you like the least? Stay tuned next weekend for more Mom Seeks Work Balance: Part Three (Full-Time Working Mom)! Thank you for everyone’s support on this mini series!