Summertime Struggles: Working at Home When School’s Out

For kids, summer marks a relaxed, carefree time, devoid of homework and other responsibilities. But for work-at-home moms (WAHMs), it can seem virtually impossible to get things done while keeping bored, restless children entertained and stimulated. It can be tempting to play hooky and spend the day at the pool with the kids, but this can easily result in missed deadlines, frustrated clients, and missed revenue. On the other hand, your children deserve to have some dedicated fun time with you during their time off.

How to deal? Here are some tips for striking a healthy balance between summertime fun and what must be done.

• Get babysitting help. Your kids aren’t the only ones who are out of school. Ask a neighborhood teenager to help out for a few hours a day. (Be sure it’s someone you know well and trust.) You can either disappear into the home office or, if you still can’t get the necessary solitude, pack up the laptop and head to the bookstore or library.
• Outsource. Consider hiring someone to help with your ecommerce operations during the summer. The memories you’ll make and the peace of mind you’ll enjoy will be well worth the money you’ll spend.
• Keep a regular schedule. One of the beauties of working at home is the ability to pick and choose your working hours, but kids thrive on structure. Let them know which days and times you’ll be unavailable so they know what to expect. Be sure to set aside some dedicated fun days when work is off limits.
• Enroll the kids in a summer camp. There are many affordable programs that provide children with plenty of educational fun, while freeing you up to focus on work. Try to spread out the sessions throughout the summer.
• Trade babysitting time with other WAHMs. This is a great way to help out other home-based working moms while getting some much-needed work time. Best of all, it won’t cost you a dime!

When working from home, it’s essential to achieve a healthy separation between work time and family time. If you try to do both at once, neither will receive the attention it deserves. The key is planning ahead and using the flexibility to your advantage.