Setting Boundaries as a Work-at-home Mom

If you thought setting boundaries as a woman working outside the home was difficult, it is even more important to establish clear boundaries with your family if you are a work-at-home mom. You will find that you are pulled in many different directions for many different reasons. People will suddenly think that your new position allows you the time and freedom to do whatever you want. While you will have more freedom than if you were working in an office setting, the fact is that your time will be quickly taken up if you do not set clear boundaries about when you need to work and what you can do. To help get you started, take a look at the ideas below.

The Talk
In this case, the talk is all about the family meeting and helping everyone to understand what your new role is and the responsibilities it entails. While you may be working from home, you still have a job and need time to work. Your family desperately needs to understand this. You are not at everyone's beck and call, you cannot jump up to run others to and from appointments with little notice, and you cannot do laundry when you are supposed to be making business calls. Your family may think that because you are home, you are not really doing anything other than being at home. As all work-at-home moms know, that is never the case. If you family is having a hard time understanding how much you have to do and when you need to complete your jobs, post a copy of your weekly schedule. List everything you have to do, from work related tasks to taking out the garbage to bathing the toddler. It will probably come as a shock to both them and you as to how little time you actually have available. By doing this at the beginning and repeating the talk if issues arrive, you help establish clear boundaries for your time.

Saying No
After you get your immediate family to understand the constraints on your time and the amount of work you need to complete each week, the next hurdle will be fielding calls and requests from those outside your home. Your mother-in-law may now call you to take her to play cards every week, your neighbor may assume that you can let her dog out every day at noon, and your favorite charity may think that you can now volunteer more to help at events and fundraisers. Saying no to these outside requests is one of the hardest things for women to do. By their very nature, women want to please and help others. Saying no, especially when you are asked nicely by people that you care about, can be exceptionally difficult. Practice saying no in front of the mirror. While it sounds strange, the more you say it aloud, the easier it becomes to say it when you really need to. Start practicing now, so that when Aunt Sally calls to ask for a ride to see her friend who lives three hours away, you can say no graciously and without feeling guilty.

Remember, that your income as a work-at-home mom is just as important as your spouse's income from his outside job. If you are a single work-at-home mom, your income is even more crucial. Saying no and setting boundaries so that you can work does not mean that you love your family any less or that you are trying to be mean. It simply means that you are helping to provide for those you love and doing it in a familiar setting.

Article Source: http://www.wahm-articles.com

Article written by Jessica Ackerman of WallDecorandHomeAccents.com - a wall art store which has a huge selection of metal tree art and garden wall decor.

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