Many make the decision to quit their day jobs and start working from home as a freelancer to make child care easier. While you will no longer have to take your children to day care, working as a freelancer and as a full-time parent is a juggling act.
Sometimes it can seem that your freelance work and your children just aren’t compatible. Children can lead to constant distraction, loud and difficult calls with clients and little time to actually get any work done. Luckily, children and freelance can successfully work together allowing you to enjoy both your children and the opportunity to work from home.
Create Work Time and Play Time
You are home everyday with your children which is a rare opportunity; take advantage of it. One of the best ways to manage children and freelance is to make work time and play time. Many freelancers find it works best to schedule specific blocks of time for each activity. If your children know that you work until 1 and then do something fun with them, they will be more likely to respect your working time. Be sure that you explain that you have to work hard during your work hours to make time for the fun you will later have. It may work well to plan specific activities for them to look forward to. When freelancing it is important to create a divide between work and play so that you have time for both important activities.
Put Them to Work
Children love to be part of the work going on. If you need something for your children to do while you work, consider finding a job for them to do. The tasks that are appropriate will be different with every child, but with a little creativity, you will be able to find a fun task for your kids while you work. Older children may enjoy stuffing invoices into envelopes, filing or organizing while younger children may be able to put stamps on envelopes, open mail or shred unneeded paperwork. School age children may also enjoy quietly doing their homework at a table in your office.
Work in Segments
Children don’t work on a traditional eight hour schedule. As a freelancer, you don’t have to either. When working with children at home, it can work well to break work into smaller chunks. This allows you to find activities for your children without expecting them to sit quietly all day long. You may work a little later, but you will find the day goes a lot smoother.
Openly Communicate
Our children understand more than we think. If you need a few hours of quiet time, talk with your kids. More often than not, if clear communication exists, they will respect or at least try to respect your needs. Talk with them about your projects. Take time to explain what you are doing and to show them your latest project. Take an interest in your kids and sharing your work with them.
Places To Find Work For All Types of Freelancers
Elance – They have over 30,000 jobs posted. They also cover many different categories, almost any type of freelancer can find work here.
oDesk – With almost any set of skills you have, you should be able to find freelance work here. They have a wide variety of categories. This is a heavily posted website.
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