By Rosemary Marchese
Working from home may be a dream for some, a reality for others. While it comes with its many perks, it also has its downsides and challenges. While it’s great to be able to send the kids to school and make the school dash back, hang out clothes and hand in an invoice or two, it’s also difficult to stay motivated and on track. Where are the ‘home’ and ‘work’ boundaries? If you haven’t set any, then you should!
If you are working from home, you need discipline. Perhaps even more so if you are at ‘work from home mum’. The time you have away from your children is limited and precious work time. (Yes, it’s okay to say that time AWAY from your children is precious too – there are things to be done!) The pressure can seem infinite.
So how do you go about working from home without losing it? Here are my tips (but yes, I do ‘lose it’ from time-to-time).
1. Schedule EVERYTHING into a diary
Whether it’s a written diary, on your computer or in the ‘cloud’ doesn’t matter too much, as long as you can take it with you. I love having my calendar on my phone linking back to my computer through the cloud. I add in everything as I go and they sync up automatically. I still love to write things down too so if things are getting a little overwhelming I may write a ‘to do’ list but it is short. Lengthy ‘to do’ lists can make you feel stressed and overwhelmed.
Now, when I say ‘schedule everything’, I mean it. The gym, school homework, work phone calls, email times etc.
You don’t have to be detailed down to the minute. For example, allow 30 minutes in the morning, say at 9 am to answer emails, and then again at 2 pm and 5 pm. If it takes less than 30 minutes, you can use the time for a quick break or catch up.
If it takes longer than the scheduled time, you need to stop and move on, unless there is an emergency. Allow time in your day to ‘breathe’. And when I say ‘breathe’ I mean flexible time that can be used to catch up. I used to schedule work right up until school pick and allowed myself minimal time to make the school bell. Now I finish up earlier and allow more time to get there.
2. Plan your weekly meals
Sit down once per week and plan out the family menu and create your shopping list.
I have experimented with shopping days that work for me. I have concluded that Friday works best as I am then sorted for the weekend. I also spend an hour on Saturday baking some lunchbox treats and one hour on Sunday making a meal for Monday. Works fabulously. I then have Monday (which is my most productive work day) free from groceries, free from cooking and free from general household chores.
3. Share the load!
Offload tasks that are making you stressed. This includes household chores. If there is someone else that can share the load, including the children (yes, they can wash dishes and sweep floors at some stage), then make it happen. Sharing the load may also mean that you do the occasional online grocery shop to ease the pressure on a busy week.
4. Exercise!
Exercise should be your rock. When times are stressful it can be easy to let this one go but this could be a great way to release some stressful energy. If you are lacking energy then listen to your body and perhaps tone down the intensity (go for a walk not a run) but it’s still important to get your body to move, stretch and just BE!
To stop you from freaking out and what I call, ‘losing it’ (you know those manic moments where you just collapse in a heap thinking you just can’t do this anymore? It happens to everyone!) remember to schedule everything, plan, share the load and above all, EXERCISE!
This post was written by Rosemary Marchese who is a fitness author and writer, physiotherapist and mum (not in order of priority of course!). She has published two fitness textbooks and is currently working on her third book, consulting for fitness training organisations and blogging fit bits and tips for fitness professionals and the general public! Check out her blog or catch up with Rosemary on her website.
This post was written by Rosemary Marchese who is a fitness author and writer, physiotherapist and mum (not in order of priority of course!). She has published two fitness textbooks and is currently working on her third book, consulting for fitness training organisations and blogging fit bits and tips for fitness professionals and the general public! Check out her The content on this post is for informational purposes only. It is not intended as individual fitness or health advice, nor should it replace the advice given to you by any medical, health or fitness professional in a one-to-one scenario. Always seek medical clearance and advice before embarking on any exercise regime. The author takes no responsibility for any accident or injury claims as a result of the content on this site
