How Multitasking Moms Can Make Working from Home Work for You
By Heidi Drake DBA The Write Way, Inc.

I was talking to a colleague this morning, verifying information in a report we were collaborating on, when my 20-month-old daughter reached for the phone, crying, “Miiiine!” while her older sister proceeded to spill juice on the carpet.

Thank goodness the person I was talking to laughed and complimented me on my multitasking skills, rather than finding it to be horribly unprofessional.
Being a freelance writer allows me to be home with my kids, but the term “office distractions” has taken on a whole new meaning since I left the office where I’d worked for over ten years to become a contractor. My house often feels like a three-ring circus, with me juggling my job, the girls, and domestic responsibilities. Still, I have no desire to return to the corporate world. After much trial and error over the last five years, I have settled into a work-and-life style that fits my personality and my family’s needs.

    In 2005, USA Today reported that there were over 10 million female-owned businesses in the USA. A growing number of these are home-based. I noticed this trend personally as I became acquainted with other moms in my neighborhood and found myself in the company of a realtor, a speech therapist, a book publisher, and another freelance writer. When we have time to get together, we often discuss how to survive — and even enjoy — being business owners as well as taxi drivers to school and swim lessons. What does it take to be successful at both without losing your mind?

Consider Your Personality Type
    Do you thrive on interaction with colleagues in the workplace or does the thought of “commuting” down the hall and working in relative solitude sound appealing? I was spurred on by my desire to be home with my kids while they were young, and my productivity went up when I no longer had to deal with getting dressed for work and commuting to the office. I found my girls to be a much more rewarding distraction than long meetings and chatty co-workers. 

    A colleague of mine had a very different experience. After six months of working from home, she said she missed the office team environment and had begun to resent her kids’ interruptions during the day. Finding it increasingly difficult to separate work from home and family, she returned to the office and she and her family were happier for it. Make a list of pros and cons relative to working from home before you decide, and be brutally honest with yourself. The goal is to be a happy “Mompreneur,” and it may take a few adjustments to get it right.

Experiment with Your Schedule
    I began with a rigid schedule: I started at 7:00 am sharp and didn’t stop until my projects for the day were done. This ended abruptly when Elise came along. “Shhh…Mommy’s working” means nothing to an infant! As she became more mobile and verbal, the interruptions increased as well. Then we added sister Maya to the mix, and I found myself finishing my work at night after everyone had gone to sleep. One of Maya’s first words was “zombie” and I’m sure she was describing her mother. 

    When I stopped compartmentalizing work and family and house responsibilities into scheduled time periods, I was able to create a day that consists of shorter periods of time spent working intermixed with trips to the park, errands, reading books, housework, and eating meals with the girls. By giving them my undivided attention for a while every couple of hours, they are less apt to beg for it when I need to concentrate. I also get breaks I would deny myself if left to my own devices, which turned out to be an unexpected and healthy change.

Keep the Kids Occupied While You Work
Training my girls to nap at the same time proved to be worth the effort, as it provides me with two-to-three hour stretches for work after lunch. I also put Elise in pre-school three days a week, as much for her own socialization as my need for quiet time. For the times the kids are at home and awake, I set up a small desk in my office with paper and art supplies so they can “work” along with me. They love showing me their “articles,” and it keeps them in my sight and out of trouble. I do allow them to watch some children’s television as well, especially in the mornings when I do high priority work. They watch a little Sesame Street or Dora the Explorer, and then we go outside or do something physical for a while.

Organize Your Office to Suit Your Needs and Tastes
I started with an office adjoining our living room, close to the kitchen, and in the heart of things. It kept me close to the girls’ play area and near the fridge containing frequently-requested beverages and snacks. I could also close the French doors when I needed to concentrate. 

   At our next house, the office was in a large bonus room upstairs, and we set up the kids’ toys and books in that room as well. What I hadn’t anticipated was their growing talent for creating massive “toy explosions,” which often took over my desk, and the increase in noise level once Maya started talking, too. I found myself constantly running up and down the stairs to meet various demands, which was a great fitness program but not conducive to getting work done. 

    My next office space was designed to be similar to my first, with French doors separating the girls’ and my areas and a “No toys on Mom’s desk” rule in place. As my budget has allowed, I have added shelving, file cabinets, and desk organizers, as well as photos and art, to create a workspace I can truly call my own.
  
Find Small Ways to Keep Work and Home Life Separate
    It can be hard to separate work from household responsibilities when you’re simultaneously on the phone with a client, dispensing milk and crackers, and starting the next load of laundry—I know this personally. I use the computer in my office for work only, and I use the laptop downstairs for surfing the Internet or paying bills. This is also helpful for the girls, who know that when I’m busy in my office, I’m not to be disturbed for minor things, but when I’m using my laptop, it’s okay to interrupt. I also don’t answer the home phone while I’m working or answer the work phone after business hours. I return non-urgent calls later in the day. 

    The key is to find what works for you. Experiment and don’t be afraid to toss out old ideas and habits. It is possible to be more productive when you have the freedom to do things your own way, and you just might find time for a soak in the hot tub with the kids after lunch. HBM

Heidi Drake owns and operates The Write Way, LLC. She worked as a lead writer and editor in the corporate world for over ten years before making the transition to independent contracting. She resides in Orego

HBM Sidebar

How to Avoid the 5 ‘Laws of Defeat’ of Business Leadership

1.) Opportunity Knocking – Do Not Disturb
“Opportunity myopia,” notes Dr. Steven Feinberg, happens when narrow thinking rules behavior. Leaders get so focused on established goals, they often miss opportunities because they don’t understand the strategic context in which they can see a way to win.” Feinberg cites Sears as a classic example. Sears passed on the opportunity to purchase the Home Depot chain because of their own financial problems, without seeing the value of the proposal to acquire Home Depot.

2.) Perceptual Bias – We Think We Are Thinking, But Are We?
“One of the easiest mistakes leaders make is confusing perception with reality; they don’t see what they don’t want to see,” says Feinberg. “Stepping back, removing oneself to see a true picture of your decision making is difficult to do. In my work, I make leaders aware of perceptual biases and errors that cloud clear, accurate judgment.”

3.) Competing Against Yourself – At Cross Purposes
“Businesses shoot themselves in the foot by competing against themselves, and they are rarely aware of it,” adds Feinberg. “Some examples include: pushing for growth while pushing for cost savings; promoting innovation but punishing mistakes; giving mandates to people in your organization, but not giving them adequate decision-making authority to carry it out.”

4.) Stuck in Your Persistence – Making Sticky Problems Stickier
“The adage: ‘If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again’ isn’t always good business,” notes Feinberg. “We can get stuck in our own persistence, whether repeated interpersonal conflicts or pushing projects we believe in, even though they are not working after multiple attempts. The road to hell is paved with mishandled interactions. Recurrent problems leave clues–the repeated attempted solutions that don’t work. Changing the game, by first stopping the game is a good initial move.”

5.) Reactive Tendency – Playing to Avoid Losing
“When a leader is outcome-oriented, the emphasis is on achieving the outcome; you play to win rather than complaining or blaming circumstances,” says Feinberg. “Reactive mishandling of situations almost always guarantees lower outcomes. What I call ‘Advantage-Makers’ are those rare leaders who win more often because they know how to consistently transform challenging situations into the best possible outcomes,” notes Feinberg. “They see opportunities where others see problems, influence outcomes where others are stuck, and create advantages where others are challenged. Move forward when others are stuck”
 
Dr. Steven Feinberg is the author of The Advantage-Makers:  How Exceptional Leaders Win by Creating Opportunities Others Don’t.

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