3 Ways to Be a Successful Work at Home Mom

Recently I wrote an article while my toddler was not exactly in the best of moods. He was fussy, not due to sadness, but due to (fairly successfully) fighting nap time. Which brings me to the title of this article, three ways to be a successful wahm (work at home mom). If you are reading this and wonder if it will apply to you, please know that this article is applicable whether you work for a company outside of your home, whether you work for yourself, or whether you spend all of your time taking care of home. Taking care of home and family is something that is definitely a 24 hour job that doesn’t typically pay as much as it should—though each night we see our children safely tucked in at bedtime makes it all worth it!

There are so many aspects of working at home that are beautiful and at the same time there are challenging aspects. In another article I wrote about mom guilt, particularly as it relates to working outside the home. However, you can experience mom-guilt if you work from home as well. You feel the tension that lies between wanting to remain just as scheduled, dedicated, professional, and focused as you would in an office with coworkers while addressing the very real needs of your child(ren). What does that look like on a practical level? If you have a caregiver for your child, it may not look much different from working full time in an office in that you’d be able to keep the same work schedule. If you work at home without a caregiver’s help, there’s the never-ending process of swapping your work hat for your mommy hat, over and over again.

Here are three ways to survive (and succeed) as a work at home mom:

Affirmations

Affirmations are pretty great. I mean, who doesn’t love hearing that they are doing a great job or that their best is good enough? The reason why encouraging yourself is important is because it’s only you and the children that are likely going to see you in action all day everyday. Only you will know what it takes to complete the tasks you’ve set for yourself daily, on top of having three meals prepared or purchased. Sprigs Life on Instagram has a few affirmations such as, “You’re doing a great job mom,” and “You are beautiful.”

Communication goes three ways

 My child is pretty young but I try to communicate with him about what I am doing. I let him know about different transitions like singing the goodnight song, when it’s time for a nap, when it is time for him to play independently etc. Sometimes he takes to the transitions well and sometimes he doesn’t but I try to be fairly consistent with his schedule. I also try to be cognizant of the fact that he is a baby and he is without the decades of teaching we’ve all experienced where we were taught to sit still for 8 hours straight. I consider what it is that he is communicating to me beyond his basic needs of eating and sleeping. There are days when I am working that he is all about independent play and I can get uninterrupted work done. There are other times where he may feel most content sitting next to me (tapping on my computer), or sitting on my lap if he doesn’t feel well etc.

This is important because I can recall struggling with this balance when he was first born and I’m so glad I learned this lesson over time. The lesson is though you have deadlines to meet, your children don’t (depending on their age). So it can be hard for them to place the same amount of urgency that you place on what’s going on through your laptop or phone. This may mean that they may talk or ask you for things while you are on the phone, they may not seem to care that you need to finish typing an email. But what is on their mind from the time they wake up until bedtime is just the simple fact that they need you. They need their mom. They need your attention. It’s up to you to find an appropriate balance that works for your family.

You’ll have to discern the type of work environment you have but once you’ve done this, it is crucial to communicate effectively. In some lines of business, particularly customer service, you simply need to be available for very specific shifts. During that time you must be in a quiet work environment because you are representing the company who likely wants customers to feel as though they are calling an actual office. Be sure to communicate how things are going with your workload, take initiative for projects when you can, give adequate notice if you need vacation or sick days, and operate with integrity at all times. If you worked less than usual, make sure your timesheet reflects that. Know what to expect before you take certain breaks etc.

Choose joy

One great way to choose joy is to choose gratitude. Don’t take your opportunity to work from home for granted. It is a gift to be able to partner alongside a company to set and achieve new goals. It is a wonderful thing to be able to watch your children and business grow side by side. Remind yourself of the reasons you applied for the job. What needs were being met by the job initially? What needs are being met by the job now that time has passed? Do you feel a sense of fulfillment, community, or maturity? If you do, share what you are grateful for with your team, company, and even with yourself during hard days as you go over your affirmations.

As I wrote this article, my child assumed I wasn’t looking and stuck his hand in my jar of hair conditioner. That alone is a great example of a time where I had to switch from my work hat to my mom hat, then back to my work hat once I washed his hands. I had to choose joy there and just laugh it off. As much as his curiosity can be a little nerve-wracking (especially when he tries to open the oven), he is in a beautiful awe-inspiring stage of discovery that I must find delight in.

In conclusion, I hope you feel encouraged to affirm yourself every single day, grow more effective in your communication, and choose joy in every situation. Whether you are facing a towering stack of documents or a never-ending pile of dishes, each requires the same amount of drive to keep tackling those tasks each day. It is not easy to do what you do, that is why it’s important that you remind yourself that it takes a special type of person to get it done. You wake up every day fully aware that the day will require you to simultaneously take on 2 (or more) full-time jobs of working with a company and wrangling energetic children and you accept that challenge. Wow! That’s inspiring! Thank you for all that you do and just in case you need to hear it, you’re doing a fantastic job!