Working from home is increasingly becoming the choice for many entrepreneurs and work-at-home mums out there, but it is not synonymous with childcare. In fact, one of the limiting factors in working and making money from home is the disturbance and interference of kids and neighbours.
It can be quite frustrating when kids and nosey neighbours barge in while you’re trying to concentrate on some work at hand, and it can also be quite costly sometimes if you work at home as a Virtual Personal Assistant or a transcriptionist – in the sense that many VAs have lost their jobs when bosses or clients hear the loud cries and brawls of children in the background.
But all things being equal, working at home can prove the wisest decision you can make if you’re able to effect an office setting in your home.
Working from home is largely supposed to be like working in the office without the commuting, and you’re supposed to give it the attention and seriousness a formal office deserves if you really want to be successful as a work-at-home mum or dad.
You should be able to determine your work hours, set up a work desk or small office, and generally manage situations that can make working from home a distraction even though it gives you the benefits of setting your own hours and looking after your kids.
Set your own hours
It is true that you can work at any time of the day or night that you like, but it would be perfectly okay if you imbibed some official decorum and disciplines while working from home. Set up your own work hours and stick to it so that no one disturbs you at this time.
It must be a time when your kids have left for school or your baby has been placed in the nursery, and it must be a time when other neighbours have left for work. Set up your own time and stick to it as you would in any normal office environment.
Put up a “don’t disturb” sign
If this can be of any help, put up a “Don’t Disturb” notice on your door when you are set to work. This will keep nosey neighbours away and give you the concentration you need to work effectively. It will also inform neighbours and distractors that you’re at work and that they should keep away.
Devise a way to manage domestic stress
Do not ever think that working from home removes the stress of commuting and working in an office. Far from it, working from home can be more stressful if you always have to watch out for your children and settle fights all the time among the grown-ups.
You must devise a way to deal with the distractions and interruptions if they cause the stress and seek for a way to relieve yourself of work-related tensions. The stress can be all the more painful if your little child is acting up when you have a strict deadline to keep.
Find a suitable place for your children
In case you ever have to work while your little kids are around during holidays or after schools, you must find something to occupy their attention while you work.
Hand them their school assignments or domestic chores, or install them before the TV set for their favourite cartoon programmes before you start on your work. If this would not work, then find a neighbour’s place for them to stay while you work and ensure that a matured individual watches over them until you are ready to have them back home.