Working at Home and Juggling a Family with a Newborn
Working from home is a challenge of time management and discipline. Working from home with a newborn baby, and juggling a family, will require establishing a system of organization .
A system, or schedule, of accomplishing all the tasks of keeping a home running smoothly, meeting the needs and demands of an infant and spouse, and keeping customers satisfied by meeting deadlines is crucial.
Managing Needs
Everyone in the family will have needs that must be met, especially the baby. Establish times for waking, eating, and playtime for the newborn. A baby screaming in the background will not make clients feel that time and attention are being devoted to their projects. Try to take client calls when the baby is asleep for an extended time period. Also, having a mute button on the telephone will come in handy if the baby wakes up early.
A baby sling will come in handy. It will allow the working mom to keep the baby close while accomplishing light household chores. Take mini-breaks during the day to dust or vacuum the house. Think of these mini-breaks as 'think time'. Mundane tasks like making the bed or starting laundry can be accomplished as you creatively think about responding to a customer's needs.
Prepare lunches and snacks the night before. Trying to find time to cook a meal during the day will be challenging and take up too much time. In the evening, cook with the spouse and make it part of togetherness time.
Make sure that once the baby is tucked away for the evening the main focus becomes the spouse. An understanding spouse will assist in accomplishing chores as part of togetherness time.
Business Considerations
If starting a new home-based business, think carefully about the type of business. If the business requires a lot of telephone work during the day, finding extended hours of quiet time away from the infant could be challenging. Since the newborn is the main priority, start a business that allows for meeting client needs, such as project work, while still meeting the demands of a newborn.
Fun Time
It is challenging to juggle all the demands of being a working at home mom. Develop and write down an organized schedule, even for the weekends, but remember that sticking to it every day is not going to happen. Put some time in the schedule just for relaxing with the baby, the spouse, and time alone. And take all the help that is offered from friends and family.
