Work at Home Moms Articles – WAHM Articles

Something I’ve been really struggling with this month is a lack of motivation!

It’s partly because I still haven’t hit my groove after taking two weeks off for Christmas. Partly because I’m still anemic and tire easily. And partly because I’m distracted by family concerns… like helping Darian get ready for his first high school final exams.

All understandable reasons for not being totally with it, but when I think of the bills that won’t get paid this month if I don’t get to work… it doesn’t quite cut it!

So, here are three things I’m doing – starting tomorrow – to pull myself out of this funk. If you have your own motivational tips to share with me, please share them with me in the comments. I’d love to hear how you keep yourself motivated too.

1. Go back to a regular schedule. I’ve stressed the importance of following a schedule so many times… yet here I am, working when I feel like it and taking breaks when I don’t. A schedule is the biggest reason why I’ve accomplished as much as I have over the years. But sometimes, like the last few weeks, I just rebel at the thought of being tied down by something so rigid as a timetable. Even if it’s one I set myself. Time to get over that and get back to work!

2. Trick myself by trying something new. To spice things up, I’m changing my routine by adding a new project that I’ve been putting off. I started planning a teleseminar series last year, but was waylaid by illness and client work. I’m starting work on it again tomorrow.  I think the fun of doing something new, that I haven’t tried before, will help get me over this hump.

3. Start getting daily exercise. That might not sound like it fits in a list of healthy work habits, but I think it does. I know when I exercise regularly, I feel more alert, I think more clearly, and I just feel happier. All good things if you want to get ahead!

So, those are the three things I’m doing to get my groove back. Do you have any other secrets you can share with me?

~ Denise

I had big plans for today and for this week. After taking 10 days away from my computer, my websites and my wonderful clients, I felt pumped to get back to work first thing this morning. My creativity was charged right back up, and I was ready to take on the New Year.

But then, as often happens, things didn’t go quite as I expected.

On Saturday evening, I developed a migraine headache. It was was on of those that makes the room spin and amplifies everyone’s voice so it sounds like they’re shouting at you. I begged my family for silence, pulled the blinds and went to bed.

I got up yesterday morning long enough to teach my preschool Sunday School class and take Cassidy on a lunch date.  Then it was back to bed for me, and praying I would feel human again Monday morning.

This morning, I did feel a lot better when I woke up, but now I was faced with the aftermath of my killer headache.

For two days, no one had washed dishes or cleaned up the wet towels. Someone had thoughtfully vacuumed the carpet for me (thank you, dear hubby!) but the crumbs under the kitchen table were still waiting for me.

Let me be clear that I am NOT complaining about the condition of our house after my weekend in bed. In our family, these are the responsibilities that I have claimed and I feel blessed to serve my family in these practical ways.

So today, instead of of jumping back into my paid work, my “mom duties” and the work of maintaining a household have taken first priority. When everything here is under control again, I know my businesses will still be waiting for me, and there will still be plenty of time and energy to implement all my new ideas.

How about you?

How is your New Year staring out? Are the plans you envisioned taking shape, or are you like me, and having to reprioritize now that 2010 is actually here?

~ Denise

I just started mine tonight. I have never left it this late before, but these last few weeks have been too hectic for me to get it done. There is one redeeming point about leaving your Christmas shopping to one week before Christmas though. You’re under pressure so it’s much easier to make decisions! But it’s still not so last minute that you’re making bad decisions.

How about you? Is your Christmas shopping done?

~ Denise

I know I am.

As I’m trying to get this blog post up, I’m wondering what the kids decided to make themselves for lunch. I hope they remembered to include at least one vegetable!

And the accumulation of cat hair in my office is starting to make me sneeze. I REALLY need to find some time to vacuum today.

Oh, and I’m wondering if the potential client who contacted me last week was pleased with my proposal. I still haven’t heard from her…

You see? It’s enough to drive me to… to distraction!

Here are some ways I’ve found of working around all these niggly things that scream for my attention.

1. Put my headphones on and play some soft music. It really does help! All of a sudden, I can’t hear the kids arguing in the next room. (They’re teenagers, so they can handle most disagreements on their own.) The voices in my head reminding me of everything else I have to do quiet down, and I just focus on the music and what I have to do right now.

2. Write a to-do list. Whenever an idea pops into my head, I jot it down on a list. Whether it’s something I have to do later, or an exciting new idea I want to pursue, it’s written down so I don’t have to remember it anymore. Instead, I can return to it when I’m ready.

3. Schedule lots of breaks into my day. For a long time, I was in the trap of believing that since I could work whenever I wanted, I had to work ALL the time! I’ve found I’m much more productive when I give myself plenty of breaks to take care of household chores, talk to the kids, or even read a few pages of a book. When I return to my desk, I’m refreshed and able to concentrate again.

4. Take care of whatever is bugging me. Sometimes it’s one big thing that’s really driving me crazy and keeping my attention from where it should be. I’ve learned the big thing sometimes is to just deal with it. Usually, it’s something I’ve been procrastinating on, or something I don’t like to do. But once I take care of it, the distraction is gone and I’m ready to handle everything else.

What are your biggest distractions when you work at home?

What are your secrets for dealing with your distractions?

Denise Willms is a Virtual Assistant and work-at-home-mom to two teens. You can find more articles about working at home by visiting WAHM-Articles.com

OK, I’ll admit it.

When I first started my Virtual Assistant business, I did NOT identify myself to anyone as a work-at-home-mom. In fact, I didn’t even think of myself in those terms. I was simply a Virtual Assistant – a professional who worked from home.

You know, even when my kids were younger and I ran a daycare in my home, I didn’t consider myself a work-at-home-mom. I was a childcare provider who operated out of her home.

I had this idea that calling myself a WAHM would undermine the image of professional business person that I wanted to create. True, I was a mom of two kids, and I was working at home. So technically the title fit, but I wanted nothing to do with it.

It wasn’t until a few years ago that I became comfortable enough with the name to try it out. Now I’m comfortable with it, and identifying myself as a work at home mom makes me part of a community that I’m very honored to know.

This past week I had a meeting with a local businessman. He had heard there are a lot of moms out there looking for work they can do while they’re home with their kids. So, he’d been researching some WAHM job boards in hopes of finding one who could help him.

Unfortunately, after doing his research, he’d come to the conclusion that work-at-home-moms are a bunch of women with kids who want to make a quick buck from home, without doing any real work.

His statement made me feel really sad, mostly for the particular women he had found. Because obviously they wanted to make money from home but were clueless about how to going about it. It also saddened me because that is a poor reflection of the WAHM community I’ve come to know and love.

He was a little bit surprised when I told him I was a work-at-home-mom too. I certainly didn’t come across like other work-at-home-moms he had heard about. I hope I helped change his perspective a little bit.

If you’re starting out as a work-at-home-mom, remember that all the success you want is yours for the taking. The down side: It doesn’t come easy. The plus side: You’re in excellent company.

~ Denise