You might be wondering how to make your family a priority when you work at home as a blogger or small business owner. And let me tell you, finding time to spend with your family can be a challenge.
After all, your work is right in front of you all the time, and there’s always so much to do. You can’t just leave it at the office.
This is something I struggle with as a work at home mom. The need to find that work-life balance is constant. To tell you the truth, it often feels like I’m doing it all wrong and not succeeding at showing my family that they truly are number one in my life.
The good news is, change is possible and you can always improve your circumstances. Sometimes all it takes is a few tweaks here and there in your schedule to create big changes.
How to Make Family a Priority When Working at Home
Work While Your Family is Gone or Occupied
This means if you have kids who are in school, you need to maximize your productivity during those hours. If you have young children, utilize naptime and early bedtime to get as much work done as possible.
Make sure your family has a planned activity to do when they’re home to so you’ll have uninterrupted work time. When my kids are just milling around the house ‘bored’, I usually get interrupted a lot, which also makes me feel like I’m neglecting my kids. But if they have a planned activity to do that they enjoy, it helps tremendously.
Especially if they know that when mom is done I’ll either join in or do something else with them. Even though I have to work, they know the end goal is to spend time together, so they’re more apt to let me focus on work so I can get done with it faster.
Don’t Over Commit
Taking on too many commitments will not only make your family feel like they’re on the back burner, but it’s also the quickest way to burn out. When considering taking on a campaign, writing an article or working with a new client, be sure that it will fit in with your work time schedule.
If you have to sacrifice your family time on a permanent basis, you might want to rethink the opportunity. Sure, we all need to make a living and earning money is great, but you won’t get back these years with your children.
Plan Time Away
And when I say away, I mean away! Call ‘family time’, meaning you go out and do something with your family. Whether it’s a day out or a vacation, it’s so important for us to disconnect from our online world to live in the real one. No phone calls, emails, or work!
Make sure you plan things out so that you stay true to your commitments. I’m certainly not advocating leaving clients hanging or not completing work. But taking a break (even if it means passing up a gig or two) to focus on your family will mean the world to them. After all, our families are the reason most of us who work at home choose to do so. Let’s not lose sight of that fact.
How do you make family a priority when you work at home? We’d love to hear your suggestions and experiences in the comments!
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