A guest post written by Herbert Sward.
If you think spending time with your kids and being their caregiver while still continuing with your career is not possible, well, think again. Today, most workplaces have enabled their employees to balance their careers and parenthood by offering them more flexible job terms where they can work from home. This has allowed parents to earn income from home and get to spend more time with their kids. This is a significant development from the 40s where most single parents and mothers were required to choose between parenthood and work thus resulting in most having to become stay at home mothers to care for their children’s needs. Nevertheless combining a career with parenthood is not easy but it is worth it.
Why start a remote working career
Flexibility
A significant factor that leads to most parents opting to leave their 9-5 job routine to working from home. With remote jobs, you can work on your own schedule as long as you get the job done and meet the required deadlines. Some remote jobs require working at specific hours but one still gets breaks. You can use these productively to have lunch with your kid, pick them from school or do something else, which is not the case for breaks in regular jobs. You can also negotiate with your employer about the time when you will complete an assigned task.
Saves on costs
A center-based daycare for infants has an average cost of over $10,000 per year. Being a work-from-home parent helps you to cut down this cost. Though you may require some external help when you are having a busy work schedule or engaging in a video conference call, that cost cannot match up to having weekly external childcare. It saves on fuel costs and car repair fees. The remote job also saves on commuting and lunch costs.
Saves time
It is time-consuming to wait at the bus station or to be held up in traffic when reporting or leaving a regular on-site job. Remote work helps save time that parents always lack, and allows you to use these extra minutes on your children or work. You can easily roll out from your bed and go straight to working at the comfort of your home environment.
Less frequent meetings
Remote work career has fewer meetings and office interruptions as compared to traditional 9-5 jobs. Working from home is more efficient because there is less interference.
How you can effectively combine parenthood with a remote job career
Prep your kids’ emotions
Children think that a parent being at home is an opportune time to play or for pure family time. They are not aware that your home is now a workplace and this makes the line between work and home life to get blurred. To establish clear boundaries between your work and family time schedule, you need to talk to your kids and let them know, even though you are at home, you are not available for playtime or outings until a particular set time in your schedule.
Establish a daily morning routine
Though remote jobs are flexible to the extent that you can work in your pajamas, sometimes it is hard to get anything done if you choose to work in your bedroom attire. Become more productive by establishing a usual daily morning routine where you wake up, doing a morning workout, have breakfast and get ready for work the same way you would if you were on a regular job and make a daily to-do list and stick to it. This helps you to be consistent and transition your brain to work-mode.
Create a workspace within your home
You do not want your toddler to come in when you are in the middle of a video-conference call to show you something. Prevent this from happening by creating a dedicated space where you can work. Install a door so that you can lock yourself to take a video call or engage in your work without disruptions from your child and other temptations at your home environment. Set a mode of communication between you and your nanny, kids or spouse when you are in your office to establish the integrity of your work time and avoid unplanned interruptions.
Get childcare help
If you have younger kids who need a lot of attention and handling, you might want to consider having a babysitter around to help you watch the kids. Separating work and young kids can be extremely difficult thus hiring childcare personnel to watch your kids during the time you will be in busy your office is an excellent idea. You can also take the kids to their grandparents or set them up for play dates for the few hours you will be working. If you trust them, you can offer a little pay to the teenager or single parent next door to watch the kids while you work.
It is possible to combine your remote working career with your parenting
There are many jobs that any stay at home parent would want to take advantage of to earn an income at the comfort of their home. It is an excellent opportunity to enjoy ample time with your kids. If you are planning to start working remotely, remember it requires a lot of self-discipline, and it might take a while to adjust. Know the value of your work and do not settle for pennies. Prepare your resume and get started today.
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