I think the hardest thing about working at home is keeping a schedule. This past week my household has gone through some changes and I have had a hard time keeping focused on all of my projects that I need to attend to. I know from reading other blogs, that some of my fellow wahms have the same problem.
Time management is something to consider for those of you who are thinking of working from home. I have found that I do not have any problem with working my schedule at my telecommuting call center job. It is so much like a regular job that I don't even think twice about whether I have time to do it. I really have no choice in the matter.
I have run into real problems when it comes to the other freelance work that I do. I am sitting here trying to figure out how to schedule out everything else. I have four blogs that need marketing, advertising, researching and posting on. I have a webstore, and I am working on opening another. I have Etsy and want to do Shop Handmade too. I have tons of ideas that are half formed or in the process of taking shape. And worst of all I have emails for this site that I haven't answered all week (I do apologize for that). My first thought is that I need to treat these things like a job. I need to put my foot down and say this is also a job that is just as important as the call center, if not more so, because this is something I really enjoy doing.
There is also the mom factor. As a wife and mother, I also have the responsibilities of taking care of my family. As I am writing this, I was interrupted by my cat terrorizing my new kitty with chasing her under my bed then sitting there growling at her. Which in turn woke up my daughter and lead to fixing her breakfast and a discussion on why she needs to take a shower today and not on Monday like she pleaded for. To my credit, I did manage to walk past the sink full of dirty dishes, the trash that needs to be taken out and the laundry that needs done and come back to my computer to work. Hey, maybe I am making progress.
So I am asking for help from my fellow bloggers, readers and work at home friends to share what tips they have to organize all of their projects. Any suggestion would be welcome and I will post the best ones in a future article with credit to the contributor, in a kind of top list for organizational skills for working at home. In the meantime, I have those emails to answer and more post to write.
