How To Make Working From Home Work For Moms

tampabay.com:

For Mommas, the idea of working from home seems ideal, but be careful what you wish for. Working from home is not a substitute for child care. I work at home a few hours a day several days a week and can tell you that I get a lot more done in the office than I do at home, where I am subject to constant interruptions. Ironically, a lot of dads I know rave about working at home, that they get so much MORE done because they don’t have co-workers stopping by to chat. I have a suspicion that kids are more willing to interrupt mom’s phone calls than dad’s.

When my kids were little, I usually saved work time for later at night or nap time since you can’t let a toddler roam the house unattended. That means you can’t really count on when you’ll have time for work if you have a troublesome sleeper, a nap-fighter or a sick child in need of attention.

Now that the kids are school age, it’s much easier, but we still had to set some ground rules. If I have the doors to the office open, they are free to come find me. But if I have an important phone call, the French doors are closed and they can see I’m on the phone and know that unless they are bleeding, they are going to have to wait a few minutes.

I also made the deal with them that when I hold up one finger to indicate, “I see you, but hold on a minute,” that I truly will be with them in just a moment. I usually tell my caller, “Can you hold on for just a moment,” and I find out what the child needs and can usually take care of the problem or question quickly.