Busy Work at Home Mom

It’s 9:36 AM and I’ve just finished my first cup of coffee.  As a work at home, home schooling, divorced parent, coffee is my friend.  Besides drinking my first cup of coffee, I have already started working today.  Parenting, I do continuously and without stopping.

Structuring time is not one of my strong points.  However, it is important to have some sort of schedule if you have so much to do.  While some people thrive with a firm itinerary of what they will be doing every minute of the day, I prefer something worth free form.  Using a combination of Google calendar and an independent goal-setting program, I keep track of what I need to do, what I have already done, and how far I am to my goal.  As a great lover of lists, this method works best for me.

No matter how you organize yourself, having set goals is important for any work at home person.  Some people are incredible self-starters, while others need a big much to get anything done at all.  If you are the latter type of person, you must pay careful attention to your to do lists and goals.  Operating a home based business, or working at home, is not for everyone.  If you do not have the appropriate ability to monitor your own time and get the job done, perhaps you should consider getting a traditional job.

As important as it is to monitor your time and focus on your goals, that is not to say that you cannot take breaks, take days off, or procrastinate occasionally.  The difference between working for yourself and having a real job is that you get no vacation pay or paid sick leave.  If you do not work, do you do not get paid.

It is 9:43 AM now, and I have not only finished writing this blog post, I have organized the first class of the day, put on a load of laundry, and poured my second cup of coffee.  It looks like a fabulous day.

Sometimes the whole rush and scurry - and especially all the “Just a minute, honey. I have to finish this first.” - doesn’t seem worth it.  The daily balancing act of house and health and work and family is tiring.  So tiring!  And sometime I want to give up, put my kids in public school, get a ‘normal’ job, and be like the majority of families around here.

But then I stop to think and take some deep breaths.

I would hate it.  I would hate not being able to learn and grow with my children every day.  I would hate having to get up early, put on uncomfortable clothes, and brave the idiots on the road to get to a job I dislike.

Being a work at home Mom is tough.  But I couldn’t imagine life any other way.

My work at home or self-employed career started after my divorce.  With two boys under 18 months old, I refused to ship them off to a daycare and get some low-paying job that would ruin any time or energy I had to enjoy them.

Other work at home Moms often tell me they had the same feelings.  One of the biggest reasons for becoming self-employed at home is being able to stay with children.

Am I busy?  Do I go crazy sometimes?  Do I have moments of despair?

Oh yes!  But what person doesn’t?

As a self-employed, homeschooling, divorced Mom to two boys - one autistic - I think I’m entitled to a bit of crazy at times.

After the crazy, I dust myself off, take a deep breath, and get right back into the BEST job anyone could ever have in the world: a busy, work at home Mom.