Working from Home with a Family

Having a home office is a great reason to start your own business. If you have a family, even better. You get to have your cake and eat it too: fulfilling work, income, and being around to raise your own kids.

I’ve successfully worked from home since my twins were born almost 13 years ago. Overall, I wouldn’t have traded it for anything, no matter how much money I was offered. Now, that doesn’t mean it hasn’t been without its challenges at times.

The trick is to maintain a professional image and get the job done, while tending to your kids at the same time. It’s difficult, but very possible. Here are some tips for managing kids of all ages up to the teen years, with or without a significant other:

0-1 Years Old (Or until they start walking!)

It’s actually easier than you’d think when they are babies. Babies sleep a lot, and you can ease them into a regular feeding routine. I did it with twins! Schedule your calls while they usually nap, and leave yourself extra time before and after they usually eat. Do non-phone work the rest of the time (when you’re not cooing, playing with, or enjoying those little darlings!)

1-8 Years Old

Toddlers are the most difficult. I highly recommend hiring a sitter to come in for 3 hours during the day 3-5 times a week while you’re there (or more), and schedule your calls when the sitter is there. If you have a significant other, You can also schedule calls when he or she around to watch them.

Even better, hire a sitter who’s willing to clean up, do basic cooking, and even do laundry as well as watch the kids. I always included those types of tasks for my sitters, and it helped tremendously. Try posting your job requirements on your local State and community college job boards.

Once they’re in Elementary school, although we miss them, the extra freedom is a huge compensation.

Keep a sitter though, and find someone with a good driving record who’s willing to pick the kids up from school and bring them home, drive them to afternoon appointments (like haircuts) if needed, and have a basic dinner on the table by the time they leave.

During the summer, find a reasonably priced day camp through your local county, city, or YMCA. You can deduct the cost of the camp as child care, and the kids will have a blast!

8-12 Years Old

When your youngest is somewhere around 8 or 9 years old, you probably won’t need a mother’s helper any longer. They are usually self-sufficient enough to get their own snacks and entertain themselves appropriately while you’re on calls. You can check in with them between calls and take care of anything that needs doing then.

Troubleshooting

“It’s so frustrating! My kids keep interrupting me when I’m on the phone, asking about things that could wait until I’m done!”

First of all, you need to train your kids, your sitter and any other family members that live with you from the beginning that your calls are very important and you MUST not be interrupted. Make it a big deal, draw a line in the sand, and set a firm boundary.

My favorite line is: “If you interrupt me, there’d better be blood, and lots of it!”

If your sitter or spouse is watching them, make it that person’s job to make sure you’re not interrupted. If it’s just you and the kids (and they’re over 9 yrs old), check on them before you get on the phone, and put a “do not disturb” note on the door when you’re on calls.

Check on them between calls and address their concerns then. If you put your call on hold and speak to them, it only encourages them to interrupt you more, and is seen as unprofessional to your client.

“My kids get into arguments, and it’s so loud I can’t focus on my call!”

This is the toughest one, at least for me. They say the closer your kids are in age, the more they fight. Well, mine are 2 minutes apart. It’s tough to get any closer than that! I do my best to ignore it, then I address it after the call.

On very rare occasions I’ve had no choice but to put a client on hold to address the situation. As professionally as possible, here’s what I’ve said: “This is becoming a huge distraction for me and you deserve my full attention. Please give me a moment to take care of it, so I can focus completely on you.”

If I did it with twins, you can do it too! And being there between calls is well worth the effort. Enjoy having and eating your cake!