A woman is the keystone of a family. She adorns many roles like daughter, mother, wife, home maker etc and fulfills them with perfection and great care. Some are capable of managing their work and home flawlessly while some decide to bid farewell to their career and stay home. With many work from home options unfolding in the job market, aspiring women can revive their career right from home. Who said women at home cannot multitask? You can very much grow professionally and attend the needs of your family if you set your priorities correctly. Here are few tips for women working from home to balance their carrier with household and excel in whatever they do. Here we are discussing few top ways for working from home women.
Tips for Woman Working from Home:
1. Choose the suitable Job:
Before confining yourself to home, you could have donned many hats at your work place. You might have been running from one meeting room to another convincing clients, prepared presentations, conducted sessions for fellow employees, breakfast meetings, corporate luncheons, Social evenings etc used to be your work pattern. You may not find a work from home with such job description. Generally, work that can be done independently by an individual is outsourced by firms as there will be no clause of dependency. Hence work like freelance writing, data entry, web site design and development, medical transcription, technical writing etc are the most searched jobs in the work from home category. If you cannot dedicate eight hours of time continuously for your work, then the best option would be to select flexible timing or part time jobs for yourself.
2. Plan the day ahead:
Many women who start afresh their career by working from home have one common complaint. They feel their job is taken for granted. Sometimes her husband asks her to run the laundry and at times her son calls her to rush to school for some unplanned event. Have you faced this situation yourself? It is indeed hard for you to convince your family that your priorities are re-organized a little bit as you have committed yourself to an employment where you are expected to deliver your output on daily basis. But with time, the differences of opinion get diluted and your family will start supporting you in your work as well. All you have to do to achieve this feat is to plan your day well ahead. Your wake up time, cooking duration, daily errands like dropping off kids to school, shopping etc. can be meticulously planned the previous day itself.
3. Set up an office ambiance:
Do you get distracted quickly? Do you keep walking around the house instead of sitting at one end and working? Do you blame the surroundings and environment set up for your lack of concentration? If your answer is a big ‘yes’ then all you need to do is to set up an office environment. May be put a sign board in the door saying you are busy while at work. Get a nice desk and an ergonomic chair for comfort and physical ease. Keep the required stationary and electronic gadgets like tablets, phones, laptops, chargers within the reach of your hand so that you do not go hunting for these indispensable items at the neck of the hour. If needed supplement yourself with some snacks and water too. But underline the fact that you are not stepping out unless it is very urgent.
4. Harness technology to the fullest:
Technology is your best friend at times of need. Work from home jobs require good internet connection to begin with. To co-ordinate time and again with your employer, it is mandatory for you to have all the essential tools and applications like a laptop or a high end computer, internet messengers, email, video chatting facility etc. Access the available options and based on your job requirement, you can select your network connectivity. Many a times telephone conversation becomes the most vital mode of communication at work. If you are comfortable sharing your home telephone then use it for official communication as well. Else maintain a separate number to avoid unnecessary disturbances. Be sure to check the quality of speaker and microphones that are available with you for hassle free communication.
5. Stick to work timings:
“Aren’t you ready still? Why you are still glued to your computer?” Do these phrases sound familiar to you? Accepting a work from home job is not easy as it appears superficially. You are expected to report on time to your employer and clock in the expected number of hours. Also as and when required, you will be commanded to take client calls and video chats. Once you get your job, it is ideal to inform your family about your work timings in advance to avoid confusions at a later moment. And be firm and say a strict no to unplanned events at least during work hours. This triggers a routine for you and for your family. Be it office or home, work is always worship. . Remember you still work for an employer and dedication and satisfaction are still the stepping stones for your success.
6. Say ‘No’ to guests at work hours:
Kitty parties or catching up for tea etc are best ways for women to pass time. But not for those who are working from home. Friends and family are important but you must ensure that you do not mix it up with work at any cost. Your employer has unfathomable trust on your commitment and also expects you to live up to the same. Do not give yourself the leverage that as you are working from home you are away from strict surveillance. Rather make sure your guests too understand your love for work. Still if you feel you are cut away from your social life, weekends are always there to enjoy and have unlimited fun. Invite guests home, plan a girl’s day out or sip coffee and giggle your heart out. In this way both you and your guests will feel happy and contented and you can enjoy social life easily besides doing work.
7. Employ a good house help:
Women can multitask. But once they decide to work from home, it is a best practice to get assistance for house hold activities. Employ a house help who can manage the house while you drown yourself in work. This saves a lot of time for you which you can utilize in bettering your work that involves a lot of undisturbed attention. With this option, you can achieve satisfaction of maintaining both work and home equally. Daily routines like dusting, washing, doing dishes, shopping can be shared and executed with perfection if you are assisted by a helper on time. Also, mothers of toddlers who are working from home, can hire nannies who are experts in managing the kids and their tantrums. Kids crave for attention and feel left out when you lock yourself for work. This can be sorted out by employing care takers who accompany your kids and fill for your absence.
8. Accustom kids to your work routine:
Women may be strong but mothers are weak in front of their children. Many mothers are forced to shut down their computer by their tiny tots and this affects their performance to a greater extent. The best tip that works here will be to educate your kids and accustom them to your working hours. Initially they will resist but the best part is they can be taught easily to stay away from you when you are busy. You can try innovative ways to make your child understand your responsibility towards your work. For example, color code a sign board with red indicating busy and green indicating your availability and hang the same on your door. Children love these color boards and understand the requirement quite well. This inculcates discipline in your children and they will restrain themselves from troubling you while at work.
9. Do not stretch:
When you choose your work from home employment, check if you can allocate sufficient time for the work you have committed apart from managing your household. Else you will end up stretching unnecessarily and slog to complete the committed tasks. Remember you have decided to stay away from lucrative job offers for your family needs and you cannot ignore them at any cost. The most important decision that you should take before committing to work from home offers is that you will stretch if and if only it is indispensable. Hence, be clear and precise while you discuss your terms and conditions with respect to work timings with your employer before signing the statement of work.
10. Health is wealth:
Many a times overload kills. Being a homemaker you already have enough stress mounted on your head. Do not force yourself on a work from home job where you need to clock in huge hours to make good income. Unless your health co-operates you will not be able prove your mettle at work and at home as well. Look after your health by eating on time and grabbing adequate sleep. Choose the type of work that gives you plenty of room to relax and rejuvenate and not the ones that are complicated and hard to complete on time. Work from home jobs are to assist women to regain their lost confidence, revive their career and make them financially independent to some extent. Hence do not commit to a high net worth profile while working from home until you are completely prepared for the same physically and emotionally.
11. Take adequate wash room breaks:
It is generally observed that people are more focused when they work from home. There have been many cases reported where in the women does not bat an eye lid during their work hours. Some sit glued to their desks to complete their left over tasks as what they lack is time! Undivided concentration from your side is good for the employer but it can take a toll on your health. Take adequate bio-breaks through which you can pacify your mind and focus more at work. Moreover taking such short breaks in between work will help you to relieve your stress and you will feel refreshed. You can do a quick house hold task in the middle to distract yourself for some time. But always be sure to resume quickly as your work time ends when the doorbell rings.
12. Close kitchen counter before you sit for work:
Last but not the least, shut your kitchen well before you log-in into your office. This sounds funny but this is the most important tip for a woman who is working from home. Kitchen is the black hole that can absorb and drain you completely. Hence plan the day’s menu ahead and get the things ready if you do not have a house help to support you. Also keep your cooking simple, optimal yet sophisticated during working days. Baking is a strenuous and time consuming process. Hence, say a big ‘no’ to baking request from friends or family during working hours. At times get your husband or children’s help if you need to wind up earlier than expected. After all a supportive family is all what a working women yearns the most in her life.
Working from home is such a great option that has opened huge opportunities for women who have forgone their career to stay at home. But choosing a correct job and submitting oneself to the work completely while discharging your duties for your beloved family is indeed a very tough task for any woman. Though most of the women often find it difficult to manage both ends even after working from home, with the above stated success tips, women of today can easily embrace their bright future even by working from home and can take themselves to places.
