Five tips to working from home successfully

Here’s an interesting stat: 12.5 per cent of mums are working as freelancers or contractors, claiming it’s the best way to manage work and family (according to a new study by Kingston University).

I fall into that 12.5 per cent and I find that working from home provides the perfect opportunity for me to raise my children and look after my family.

But it is by no means easy.

Distraction after distraction has a nasty way of coming between brain and work. It took me a while, but have the whole multitasking thing down – I am a woman after all; it’s in my nature.

Mother & Baby editor Kathryn Blundell offers five tips to working from home successfully:

1. Accept that something’s got to give. In my home it’s usually… the dishes, the vacuuming, the kitchen floor etc. Cleaning has found itself at the bottom of my priority list – and I forgive myself.

2. Have a work look: an outfit that’s good to go when you don’t have time to think about what to wear, and have a meeting to get to or a client to meet. I have a mental bank of ensembles that I can wear to meet clients – they are haphazardly arranged in my drawers and cupboard but I know that they are there.

3. Make every second count. If you have a spare half hour – use it to spend time with your kids (doing something fun that they love) or completing a chore that will save you time later. If I finish what I am doing with time to spare, there is always a pile of clothes to fold… always. And I always have five minutes to read my daughter a story – it’s one thing I never compromise on.

4. Make quality time as a couple. As a working mum, it’s all too easy to neglect your partner. My hubby and I are really good at making time to talk, really talk, amidst the mania going on around us – whether it’s a chat over dinner, whilst walking to the bus or sitting on the tube.

5. Plan your weekday meals. We have started planning our meals only recently, and it definitely seems to waste less time, food and even money.

Ultimately, dear working mum, you have to plan a lifestyle that works best for you. Hopefully the above tips will help you out a little!

Source: Mother & Baby