‘Work-At-Home Mom’ One Job Or Two?
Michelle Fisher At Los Angeles Family Examiner:
I have been working out of my home since shortly after the birth of my daughter in September 2000. I should say that I have taken on outside employment while also fulfilling the duties of a stay-at-home mother. In short, I have one full-time job (mom) and one part-time job (writer and editor).
After 18 years of being an editor, I still can’t pare down that job description. Why? Because when you tell people that you “work at home,” you receive one of two responses: (1) From fellow mothers, you get a “Don’t I know it!” smirk meaning they understand that every mom works at home, doing hundreds of small tasks that nurture our families; and (2) from everyone else, you get remarks like, “You’re so lucky!” and “Wow, you get to be your own boss!” What they are really thinking is that you stay in your pajamas all day and do whatever you want.
It is important for work-at-home moms to write down everything that they do, not just job tasks but all tasks. It promotes a sense of accomplishment when you see, in black and white, each completed task; it gives you a sense of control in the whirlwind of family life and helps you to prioritize; and it can restore your confidence and motivation when you procrastinate, worry, mope and/or beat yourself up for not being smart, successful or rich enough. So the next time that someone asks what it is that “you do,” hold your head high and declare, “I’m a full-time mother and a part-time bookkeeper…” or caterer or cellist or community activist.
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Photo by Micah68.
Angela on October 14th, 2008 10:23 am
I know what she means! :-)
Thankfully my daughter is in school in the afternoon, so it’s not so hard as trying to work when she’s home. When she’s at home and I am trying to get some work done, it’s definitely like trying to run 2 jobs at once. It takes a lot of balancing to make it work.
She forgot to mention the 3rd type of person – the one who thinks you’re so available because you work from home that you can drop everything and talk to them.
danakeith on October 14th, 2008 11:28 pm
yes, definitely.. that’s really the important thing there.. balancing your time.
CoolProducts on October 15th, 2008 1:16 pm
“It is important for work-at-home moms to write down everything that they do, not just job tasks but all tasks. It promotes a sense of accomplishment when you see, in black and white, each completed task”
I don’t think you should limit this importance to just work-at-home moms. Everyone could benefit from this is one way or another through all daily activities.
cassy on October 16th, 2008 4:13 am
Work at home is definitely an easy job for mothers than working in a company, can be 2 jobs or more its really up to you how you balance your time with your work, family and friends.
Jaclyn on October 16th, 2008 6:22 am
I definitely know what she means. I am a stay at home mom who recently started working from home. my baby is only 4 months so it’s not like he can keep himself occupied for any amount of time or do anything himself, so it’s really like working two full time jobs at once. it seems that the simplest tasks can take you hour’s to complete some day’s, and i agree with angela as well. I get people all the time calling me wanting to just chat or have me run an errand for them thinking since i stay at home and work from home that i must not really have too much to do.
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