Today I’m excited to have a guest post from my friend Sarah Brooks, who’s a rock star blogger and a work-from-home mom.
I’m a work-from-home mom of two little girls, ages two and one. If you’d have asked me two years ago what I’d be doing now, I never in my wildest dreams would have guessed I’d have the luxury of being able to bring in an income while staying at home with my kids. In the back of my mind, I’d always hoped to break into the world of freelance writing, but I didn’t really think it was a goal I would actually achieve. Lo and behold, I’ve managed to do just that. While I’m still learning and growing, I’ve continuously been increasing my income from home for nearly three years now – with a toddler and a baby in tow.
I started out slow, writing one to two articles per month for a women’s website. Gradually, as I got more accustomed to freelancing and started to grow in my role as a mom, I was able to add a little bit more work each month. During my all-time “high,” I was bringing in around $2,200 per month.
Related: How to earn thousands a month writing
5 Tips to stay organized when working from home with kids
1. Start gradually. I didn’t take on five clients to start out with and neither should you! Like I said, I started out writing the bare minimum and slowly added more to my workload as time went on. By slowly adding more work to your schedule, you can adjust your schedule as needed and not feel overwhelmed. Another beauty of freelancing is if you do start to feel like you’ve taken on too much work, you can always cut back.
2. Get the kids on a schedule. If your kids aren’t on a schedule, you won’t be either and you won’t be able to successfully get any work done. While little ones can be unpredictable, it’s good to have a general idea of how your days will go (see A day in the life of a work-from-home mom). I make sure my girls both take a nap at the same time. We plan an activity each morning (even if it’s just running errands), come home and have lunch then I put the girls down for their naps. While there are days one of them doesn’t sleep, I know for the most part that they both will nap for around two hours and I can work.
3. Work ahead. So, what do I do on the days one (or both) of my kids don’t take a nap? Absolutely nothing! I always work ahead of schedule and complete all assignments at least two days in advance. This prepares me for the uncertainty that comes with having babies. Instead of stressing out or having to work late into the evening, I simply enjoy my time with them knowing I’m ahead on work.
4. Get yourself on a schedule. Whether you like to wake up early or are more of a night owl, it’s important to determine when you’re going to work that way you don’t feel like you’re working all day. My schedule slightly varies each day, but I always plan it out the night before. If I have more work than normal to do, I wake up one to two hours before my girls get up. I prefer to get most of my work done in the mornings and during nap times so I can relax and unplug in the evenings. Both a schedule and a to-do list are vital if you work from home with kids.
5. Eliminate distractions. To help stay on track, I recently deleted Facebook from my everyday life and it has made a world of a difference. I’m much more productive with my time and get all of my work done faster and more efficiently. Now, I’m not saying you need to delete social media from your life in order to work from home, but you do need to make sure you’re being as efficient with your time as possible. Perhaps you can designate certain hours of the day for social media time or just save it for the end of the day when all of your work is complete. Or maybe it’s not social media, but the television that’s a distraction. Whatever your distractions are in life, try to limit them or eliminate them if you work from home with kids.
About the author: Sarah Brooks is a work-from-home freelance writer and blogger at The Frugal Millionaire. She recently moved from Arizona to North Carolina and is loving life on the east coast. When she’s not working, she enjoys traveling, baking and spending time outdoors.
I work at home, but my kids go to school and daycare! I don’t see how you do it!
Good job, though. Either way, it really is the best of both worlds. I could never go back to the 9-5 world.
Thanks, Holly!! And guess what?! I bit the bullet today and got them signed up for daycare starting next week! It’s very, very part-time, but if I really want to grow my blog and freelancing career…I need it!!
You really are a rockstar for managing to take care of two very mobile kids while working from home. Mine isn’t even crawling yet and the struggle is so real some days!
The starting gradually is such a great tip; it really is the beautiful thing about freelancing that you can always increase/decrease your workload. I know there have been a few times when I took more work on than I really should have and spent entire weekends working as a result. Not a fun lesson to learn, but something that gets easier to manage after you realize your limitations and what is realistic to balance with kids!
Exactly! I really like the fact that I can decide in advance if I need a little break or if I’m able to increase my workload. For example, around the holidays I always try to work a little less, so I either get far ahead on work or ask for a little time off! It works great! It’s such a nice job for moms 🙂
Eliminating distractions is a huge one for me. My phone is always beeping letting me know I have another email, the laundry is calling, and there are phone calls to be made. The biggest distraction right now is a failed hard drive. I’m heading to see if I can figure out my daughters laptop;0)
Oh no!!! I hope you get your computer fixed!! That’s so frustrating. Yup – my phone is a huge distraction too. My little one somehow ended up turning off all notifications and I can’t get it back on for the life of me…but it’s actually been a blessing in disguise haha!
I spend FAR too much time on facebook. Using it wisely as a tool rather than a distraction is a major goal for me going forward.
Awesome!! I will say, I’ll probably end up adding it back within the next month or so (mostly for work purposes) and I’m REALLY hoping I view it differently now that I’ve “lived life without it,” haha. If it ends up becoming too much of a distraction again, I’m deleting it permanently. I’m honestly debating even adding it back…it really is nice not thinking about it haha!!
I forwarded this to my wife as she’s always trying to do the balancing act. Great tips!
Thanks Mark!!
Oh my, 2 kids … I have one 11 month daughter and she’s been playing havoc with my business 😀
Kidding aside, it’s indeed a challenge to earn an income and take care for her. I usually spend the day playing with her and, when she’s napping (and sleeping at night), I get to work for few hours. Surely, it’s not as before, when I would work 8 hours/day, but the business is still going well and the baby is also well cared for.
That’s great!! I’ve sort of realized that you just have to make it work. I love my girls more than anything and love spending time with them, but I also love working and sort of having an outlet to do my own thing. It’s all about balance! Most days I do feel overwhelmed, but we make it work 🙂 Best of luck to you!!!
These are great tips! I agree with setting schedule with your work and with the kids. They might not follow it everyday but you know when you can work. I also schedule my social media and TV at the end of the day to avoid distractions and as rewards. Once I finish my work for the day, I give myself an hour of relaxation. If I finish my tasks for the next day, I give myself some bonus TV time, too.
I think it’s kind of hectic working at home with kids.Thanks for the tips.I have learned how I will handle mine some day.
Timing couldn’t be better! We’ve just had our first child and once she settles down, Mrs Ikonz is thinking about adding some additional income before going back to work next year.
The preparation sounds like the hardest part!