Finding the Perfect Work-Life Balance
Many busy professionals find it hard to strike a comfortable balance between a career and a family life. Working from home can seem like a great solution to this issue, which offers the best of both worlds. The ability to get your work done – while being available for family commitments provides many benefits. However, you also need to carefully consider the practicalities before deciding if it’s right for you.
Enjoying the Flexibility
In an office environment, it’s not always easy to take time off for your kids’ school play or dentist appointment, but if you work from home you can often be more flexible. In many jobs, as long as you get the work done by the deadline, it’s up to you how and when you do it, so you can fit the work in around a schedule that works best for you and your other commitments.
Greater Range of Opportunities
Working from home can increase the opportunities available to you. It may not be practically possible to uproot your family across the country for the perfect job, but if you can work virtually then you can do that from anywhere! Watch out for time zones though – there’s no point in you being a Virtual Assistant for someone on the other side of the world who is awake when you’re asleep.
Time Blocking
Managing your own time can be a big plus, but it doesn’t work for everyone. Some people are easily distracted in their home environment, and find it difficult to stick to self-imposed deadlines. All remote workers need to be efficient with their time – if you know that you only have an hour blocked out to do some work then set the timer, focus and stick to it. Don’t make the mistake of trying to finish just one more e-mail if your time is up – a crying baby or other distractions won’t help you to produce your best work, so better to put it down and pick it back up again at your next allotted block of time.
Remember Social Interaction
Being a remote worker can sometimes be lonely, even more so if you don’t experience daily human interaction. There’s a lot to be said for the simple conversations you might get on a daily commute or at the office. One way to balance this is to make sure that you get out of the house each day, whether that’s a quick trip to the shops or a meeting up with friends.
Working from home can offer the best of both worlds – the perfect way to achieve balance as a working parent.
