{Handmade Husband >> Work From Home Survival Guide}

THE MOLD OF THE AMERICAN HOUSEWIFE SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN BROKEN. Many SAHW’s {stay at home wives} I know have found their way into a business of one sort or another, or are running their household in new, more productive ways. I think to myself, people have not suddenly needed less sleep over the last 50 years, so how are people hammering through more and more all the time, especially when they still are relying solely on themselves for their motivation?

Now, I don’t personally work from home, but my wife and best friend does. And she texts me a lot. ;) I haven’t done extensive research, but I think the more regular needs that she comes across, and how we figure them out together, might be pretty common. Let me just list off a few of the things I text back to her that she tends to benefit from when the day is trying to get the best of her.

5 WORK FROM HOME SURVIVAL TIPS:

“Do your hair” — When you wake up, get totally ready to your expectations. Of course it’s your house, and you can do what you want, but often if you don’t feel pretty, you can easily feel sluggish and sleepy. I know that if you-know-who’s having a bad hair day, I say “get back in the shower and try again”. If she doesn’t feel like she’s looking her best, it’s on her mind all day. As cute as that is, this mind-occupant can actually hurt her efficiency and creativity.  

“Make a list.” — Are you overwhelmed with all the things you need to do? I tell Maggie all the time that those tasks take a lot less space on paper than they do in her head. And the same applies to you. It doesn’t matter if you’re a memory champion… If you occupy all your brainpower trying to remember tasks, you never have your full thinking capacity at your disposal. Try this for four days, and try to tell me I’m not right :)

“A motivation snag! Run away!” — Certain things will take you by surprise. “Oh no, someone is copying my product or blog posts.” Send a quick cease and desist, realize how flattered you should be, and start the next item on your list. Yep, bad things happen. Those things, however, do ten times more damage to your business if your stress grinds your productivity to a halt.  

“Get out” — Get some fresh air, and do something for yourself. The whole world gets a lunch break; so do you. You don’t necessarily have to go buy an eight dollar mocha, but you do need to see people, and breathe outdoor air. This starves off depression, fuels inspiration, and gets your body feeling good. Maggie’s way to do this? Walk with Bauer to the corner store and buy a can of Coke. $1, fresh air, a satisfied (and less needy) pup, rejuvenated inspiration. But ZACK, you tell me, I have kids! Take them for a walk, too. They will get exercise, they will learn, they will get time to talk to mom, they will feel loved, and they will feel satisfied when you get home.

“Clock out” — The workday is long enough. When you have no time-card to stamp, it’s easy to find one more thing to accomplish before the day is done. Especially when you’re very passionate about your craft. While starting a business necessitates long hours, your family and your body need to recharge before diving in again. Maggie loves to sew, and loves to write, but if she writes too much today, her body will have a harder time writing tomorrow. Make sure to pick a time of day to call it quits, and stick to it. For Maggs, that means 6pm ~ once she starts dinner.

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Do you use any of these strategies? I would love to hear your thoughts on these in the comments.

If you’d like this column to continue, please send me questions. Write me at zack@gussysews.com with “DEAR ZACK” in the subject, and your question could be featured, helping others.