Do you aspire to quit your full-time job and don the cape of the work-at-home mom (WAHM)? Great! I’m thrilled for you and know that you’ll love pursuing a career while playing with your kids and managing home. However, I also know that there are a few things that you need to be aware of before jumping feet first into the work-from-home pool.
1. Working From Home Can Be Isolating
Working online every day, tapping away at your keyboard, can be socially isolating. All your former colleagues are out there, mingling, and socializing, while you’re up late at night (or early in the morning) trying to carve a career in the midst of diapers and dinners. Yes, it can be lonely. Especially when none of your friends really understand what you do.
Quick Fix: Join a class. Tie it in with a personal goal for greater motivation, such as an aerobics class for weight loss, and you’ll have an opportunity to interact and socialize.
2. A WAHM Job Can Easily be a Scam Job
Unfortunately, for every genuine work-from-home opportunity, there are three other scams. It can be really unnerving to have people ask you for money for businesses that don’t exist or stop existing as soon as you pay them. Yes, the online world can be scary.
Quick Fix: Before sending anyone any money for a business opportunity or a job offer, Google them. You’d be surprised at how easily you can find out about the legitimacy of a business. Or better still, subscribe to The Work at Home Woman’s scam protection updates.
3. Working Online Can Lead to Unproductivity
While working online is really fun once you find a job or business that supports your interests and earns you an income, it can also lead to wasting time online and what I like to call “pretend work”. You know when you’re just Googling stuff, toggling between social network channels, and reading Twitter streams just for the heck of it.
Working online can also make your offline life more hectic and disorganized. You can be caught up with a project and forget all about dinner or an after-school activity. It happens. Ask me how I know. Yes, working online can throw you for a loop.
Quick Fix: Get yourself an organizer or a calendar and a timer. Every day, plan your day right down to the littlest thing that you need to do. You may not be able to cross everything off your list but knowing what needs to be done will keep you from being unproductive. Once again, here are some great tips on staying focused while living the WAHM life.
4. Being a WAHM Can Be Exhausting
Finally, you need to know that being a work-at-home mom is an exhausting job. Not only do you have to meet the demands of a job, but you also have to manage your home, kids, family, social life, and more. There will be days when you’ll feel as if you have a hundred balls in the air and they’re all threatening to come crashing down. Again, don’t ask me how I know! **laughing**
Quick Fix: Learn to say “no”. Being a work-at-home mom is challenging and while you will get to be at home with the kids, you need to know when to say “no” to a play date or after-school activity. Also, once work picks up, learn to say, “no” to assignments that aren’t worth your time or effort.
Notice that in all the above points, I say, “can” and not “is”.
The work-from-home-mom life can be whatever YOU choose it to be. You can make it isolating or social. You can make it as unproductive or as productive as you’d like it to be.
You see, when you start working online, you need to know what you’re getting into and you need to make the right choice. Luckily, there are fixes for every work-from-home fear. I’ve shown you a few. Holly’s site has plenty more.
So, before, you plunge into the world of working online, spend some time connecting with people, visiting reliable resources and soaking up everything you can about a successful, social, productive and energizing work-from-home life. And then, jump in!
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Prerna Malik is a business blogger, freelance writer, and social media manager. Editor of The Mom Writes and author of a soon-to-be-published book for work-at-home moms, she enjoys black coffee, reading and being a WAHM.
Prerna, this article is well written and very helpful. Thank you so much for assisting the moms and dads out around the world, who would like to pursue a career working online. Balancing work and family can be a challenge, however, it is well worth it.
To Your Success,
Stacie Walker
Woman in Leadership – Essential Knowledge for Business Success
When our work at home goals are achieved, we can realize how worth it is. Persistence and commitment are the keys to work at home success.
When somebody decides that he or she should go for work from home option then he/she think about their advantages for eg they can found the freedom of home with their work and can manage home and kids together, but they never think about the cons. When they start their career in this field then they face problems and this will make them demotivated. So to get rid of this problem they have to think about the pros and cons together when thinking about to enter in this field.
Thanks Prerna for this post. It will be an inspiration for every WAHM or for those who want to be. This will tell them what will be the coming problems in the way of being WAHM and how to fix them quickly. No doubt everyone knows the advantages of work at home but this is the first time when somebody tells about the problems and their solutions. Thanks again Prerna.
I agree, people tend to only look at the pros when deciding to work from home, and then they are surprised when they encounter the cons. Always best to weigh all of your options.
Thanks for the information. I think it is tough transitioning to work at home because you have to find the right balance. Most assume it will be easy, but as you indicated there are a few challenges to keep in mind and be ready to fix.
Yes, working at home is much more difficult than it seems. But with some organization, focus and commitment you can achieve your goals.