Balancing Work and Play at Home: 3 Important Points

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Several studies conducted on school-aged children revealed that an alarming number of children are either suffering with their studies, are being bullied in school, or are bullying other children. What’s even more alarming is the reason why the situation is such – these “wayward” kids lack (or maybe they don’t even get) quality time with their parents.

While the first five years of children, also known as the formative years, are crucial to children’s development, they learn most of the things they need to make it through life while they are in school. The years a kid spends in school shapes him. These could either make him or break him. Since a kid is not in a position to take on everything on his own, he needs all the help he can get from his parents. This is why it’s important for parents to set aside time for their children.

Before the pandemic, there are a number of parents who are able to do this. Even in such circumstances, living such fast-paced lives, parents and children rarely see each other even if they live under one roof. For parents who have regular jobs, this was all the more difficult. Some parents even work during weekends; thus, they can’t even make time for their kids.

Work-life balance is vital if you are a parent who works a 9-5 job. If you’re not around while your kids are growing up, you might deal with stinging repercussions later on in life. That’s the reason why some people decided to start working from home – doing a job they love if possible within the four walls of their homes, so they can spend more time with their family. Some have even started their own home-based businesses so they wouldn’t have to answer to anyone else.

While both options sound good, you need to do some things if you want to succeed with that setup. Just as it is when you work for a regular company, you need to learn how to balance your time wisely so that you’re still able to run your business or do your job and take care of your family at the same time.

So how do you strike the right balance, especially now that working at home has become the norm? Here are some points to consider.

Setting Work Hours

First, you need to set “office” hours. Some online jobs allow employees to enjoy flexible hours, which means they can work anytime they want – 4 hours in the morning and 4 hours in the evening or any other combination – as long as they complete an 8-hour shift every day.

The same goes if you run your own business. You can set your own office hours. Once you do, you need to let your family know that you shouldn’t be disturbed during those hours except for pressing matters or if it’s an emergency.

Create Work Space

Second, make sure you have a definite work area. Why is this important? Having your own space gives you the privacy you’ll need to get things done. However, it also means there is only one designated work area in the house so you don’t need to have a computer in your bedroom. Having a computer in the bedroom can take away much from the time you would have allotted for your children. So make sure the computer stays in your office.

Family Time

Third, schedule family time. Having established the hours you would be working, you now have an idea how much family time you can squeeze in to your daily schedule. It can be as short as an hour, better if it’s longer, but the important thing is that you allow yourself some well-deserved time off from work and you spend this time with your family.

Going out in the garden to play a little, walk out the dog or cat, have some coffee or tea in the afternoon, or even just idling on your patio’s hammock to read them a book will be gestures they will appreciate later on. You can also include a tepee, a hanging chair or any type of indoor hammocks in your kids room for some cuddle and book-reading time.

Where to Start If You Want to Work at Home

Remote Work Platforms

To help you get started, try remote working. There are a number of services you can sign up to for freelance jobs. Many companies allow remote jobs as long as the candidate possess the requirements. Here are some of the most trusted ones:

Freelancer.com

Freelancer is an Australian crowdsourcing marketplace where freelancers can bid to jobs posted by companies or individuals. Members can also host and enter contests for which prize money is offered as a reward. The service was founded in 2009.

PeoplePerHour.com

Legally People Per Hour Limited, is a UK-based company whose functioning as a platform where businesses find freelance workers for their projects. It was founded in 2007.

Upwork

When Elance merged with oDesk in 2015, the company was rebranded as Upwork. It is the the largest freelancer marketplace in the world with 3 million jobs posted annually.

Writing and Branding Gigs

Blogging, the contracted form of weblog,  is a website – an informational or personal online diary published on the web with many different topics/niches to them. I say diary, but it could also be a business platform, a tutorial website, or a sales page. You do earn decent from blogging, as a writer, and other means, some listed below.

If you’re already a blogger or an influencer marketing newbie, there are a lot of platforms you can register to for paid writing gigs and collaborations. Neal Schaffer, a top business influencer, says there are about 16-18 types of influencer. If you’re not sure yet which one you are, it’s best to try the waters. Here’s some networks you can join to gauge what being an influencer is like and if it’s for you.

Intellifluence

Intellifluence is a marketing platform that makes it easier for brands, no matter the size, and peer-level influencers to work together on projects and collaborations. It’s free to join, and once accepted, one can network with brands to promote causes and campaigns. If you haven’t yet, click  here to join Intellifluence. It’s a great place to find like-minded people and work with them. From time to time, intellifluence inspire members with features like influencer spotlight, you get inspired by people who made it big as an influencer.

ValuedVoice

Valuedvoice is another platform for bloggers and influencers who want to monetize their blogs and social media accounts. While you can join for free, you can upgrade to a paid account to get more offers from brands. If you would like to try, sign up here.

GetBlogged

Get Blogged, like the two above connects bloggers and brands. If you want to get more monetization opportunities then this is a good place. If you have a business who needs help with outreach, you can look for bloggers to promote your brand in the platform. You can sign up to getblogged  here.

Affiliate Marketing

Think about commissions when selling a piece of land, a house, or an apartment unit, except all the products are online. Well, you can still get commissions for real estate online, but just to point it out, you get a cut from the amount of money you sold a customer. Amazon is one of the biggest player in affiliate marketing, but almost everything now has an affiliate program. So before you invite a friend, look for an affiliate program – I’m sure your friend will be happy to give you a little amount of $ for when he or she signs up to something.

Balancing Work and Play at Home: Key Takeaways

Remember that your decision to work from home stems from wanting to spend as much time with your children as possible. It will also take time to develop and put your business or online career to a stable status. By setting definite hours for work and buying out precious time with your family, you’re creating the perfect work-life balance that others can only dream of. It takes effort when balancing work and play, you have to make a schedule work and stick to it.