Women are three times more likely to start a business that allows them to work from home and ease the burden of caring responsibilities, but for many of these women, the line between work time and personal time is becoming increasingly blurred.
Which is why lifestyle coach and Bucket List Coaching founder Kim Townsend has created a list of five easy ways for home working women to better balance their work and home responsibilities.
- Be realistic – how many hours per day can you spend on work and still have appropriate time for the family needs and yourself?
- Structure – plan your day, week, month. Have clear boundaries for responsibilities. Include family, recreation and ‘me’ time.
- Self discipline – you are now your own boss and accountable to yourself. Show yourself the same respect by showing up for work.
- Support – a network is required. Especially for those days when the children are not well or motivation is low due to working by yourself. A coach is valuable, and will help to keep you on track.
- Flexibility – the ability to switch tasks when required to get the jobs done.
Townsend said The Australian Bureau of Statistics has found women’s working patterns may impact their ability to balance work with other responsibilities.
While working from home and being available for the children can be a valuable and rewarding experience, she said women need structure, self-discipline and support if they want to avoid burning out.
“When you work for someone else, outside of home, the distinction between clocking off work responsibilities and clocking on to home responsibilities is clear,” Townsend said.
“Working from home, it’s easy to get side tracked with household duties during ‘work’ time and then feel guilty that something wasn’t done and feel like ducking into the office, when you need to be sleeping.”
Townsend said women need to find balance when working from home or they could face stress, fatigue and illness.
Need help? For a complimentary 30 minute strategy session email kim@bucketlistcoaching.com.au or visit www.bucketlistcoaching.com.au for more information.
