Challenges of Working from Home
Though I love my life as a work at home mom, life isn’t all those proverbial roses. Instead I sometimes find that I have to struggle to remind myself why I don’t need to check the classifieds. So before you take the plunge, be sure you have a clear idea of what you’re getting into. Don’t just think about the fun days in your pjs and the super-short commute; give these downsides a bit of consideration, too.
Everything Under One Roof
Everything happens under one roof when you’re working from home. You live and work there. Many moms also school their children in the home. Plus much of your day-to-day social life happens there. Whether you Twitter, visit forums, or talk to friends on the phone, chances are that you’re spending your “water cooler” time in your house, too. Having so much happening at once can be challenging because it’s easy for one part of your life to overcrowd the others.
Laundry Still Piles Up
If you’re not good at keeping up with the laundry at an office job, you’ll have the same problem as a work at home mom. Your problems won’t go away simply because you’re working from home. Some moms get an hour or two of “extra” time in the day because they’re no longer commuting, but much of that is eaten up by the fact that you’re in your house all day. The paper you crumple, the dishes you dirty, the soft drink you enjoy all add to the mess of daily living, so don’t expect a boom in time to keep house.
Errands Become Yours
My husband stands out in that he’s very involved in the administration of our family. We’re firm believers in equal roles in domestic tasks, but even he slipped when I started working from home. He’d call to ask if I could pick up his prescriptions or to say that he forgot to send out the doctor’s bill. Would I be able to get it together and do it? Those little interruptions add up, and it’s been a struggle to balance domestic work with professional work now that I’m at home. Sometimes being home is just too convenient for others to ignore.
Since I still work from home, you can bet these downsides aren’t enough to make me look for an office job. They still affect my life, though, and I really wish I’d known about them – and how to handle them – before I started working from my home office.
By Brandi Rhoades
