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I\u2019m a parent. I also run my own business from the comfort of my home. So, that makes me\u2026a work-from-home parent. Sounds nice, doesn\u2019t it? Bed head, PJs, and a commute that consists of walking downstairs to my office. I\u2019ll admit, it\u2019s a pretty sweet gig, but it does have its challenges.<\/p>\n
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Don\u2019t get me wrong, I completely understand how lucky I am to have a career that allows me to make a living from home and be there for my kids. I know a lot of other parents who wish they were in the same boat. So, trust me when I say that I don\u2019t take it for granted. But that doesn\u2019t mean there aren\u2019t struggles. Sure, the pros definitely outweigh the cons, but it\u2019s not all unicorn PJ pants by the fireplace while watching Ellen and playing Candy Crush.<\/p>\n
What I\u2019m trying to say is, working from home and<\/em> being a parent is not always as easy and glamorous as it sounds. Here are 5 real life struggles of the work-from-home parent.<\/p>\n 1.Phone calls. They’re hard.<\/strong> 2. Vacations tend to be \u201cworking vacations\u201d.<\/strong> 3.You\u2019re pretty much always working.<\/strong> 4. There are so many distractio- Oh, look! A squirrel! <\/strong> 5. People don\u2019t always take you seriously.<\/strong> With the way technology is today, it\u2019s becoming more and more common to work remotely. If you\u2019re also a work from home parent, or a parent who runs their own business \u2013 whether from home or not \u2013 I\u2019m sure you can relate. And while it does have its own set of struggles, I do love being able to work from home. And sometimes watching Ellen and playing Candy Crush is good for sparking creativity. Just sayin\u2019.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I\u2019m a parent. I also run my own business from the comfort of my home. So, that makes me\u2026a work-from-home parent. Sounds nice, doesn\u2019t it? Bed head, PJs, and a commute that consists of walking downstairs to my office. I\u2019ll admit, it\u2019s a pretty sweet gig, but it does have its challenges.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-878","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-parenting"},"yoast_head":"\n
I have a home office – but it\u2019s not soundproof. So, imagine being on the phone with a pretty important client and your children start fighting. Loudly<\/em> fighting. This has happened to me on more than one occasion. One time, I just briskly walked to another part of the house in hopes that they would work it out themselves and not follow me, and other times I\u2019ve had to go outside and shut the door behind me. All while continuing on, calmly talking to a client and hoping they don\u2019t hear the chaos.<\/p>\n
When you run your own business, vacations aren\u2019t really vacations. Sure, you get some time away, but you never fully unplug. For example, my husband\u2019s family planned a big 10-day vacation to Disney World last year. We went and it was a total blast. But my work came with me. I was able to adjust deadlines and my clients were really nice and didn\u2019t overload me, but unless you\u2019re willing to hire someone to fill in for you while you go on vacation (which will cost you money and likely headache), you never get a completely unplugged vacation.<\/p>\n
Which brings me to the fact that you\u2019re almost always ‘on’. Morning, afternoon, evening, weekends, vacations \u2013 running your own business means you\u2019re always working. You\u2019re always taking work home with you because well, you work from home. I make it a point to shut off and be present with my family at certain times of day, but that doesn\u2019t mean I don\u2019t have to deal with it later that night or on weekends.<\/p>\n
Working from home is distracting. When the kids are home, they\u2019re loud and it\u2019s hard to think. Which is difficult when your job involves creativity like mine. Or they\u2019re asking me questions and wanting me to get them snacks. When they aren\u2019t home, there are other distractions like; laundry, dishes, TV, my stack of books I wish I was reading \u2013 you get the idea.<\/p>\n
When you work from home, family and friends might not always take what you do seriously. They might think because you get to stay in PJs and not leave your house, you don\u2019t have a \u201creal\u201d job. But my husband and I know that my job is very real. My job helps support our family. And we both know how hard I\u2019ve worked to get my business where it is today. So, to us\u2026that\u2019s really all that matters.<\/p>\n
If it\u2019s something you\u2019re considering to make your work-life balance a little better, I highly suggest it if you can make it work. It might take some adjusting, but it\u2019s definitely worth it.<\/p>\n