Being a work at home mom has so many benefits but there are also struggles. Between raising children, cleaning, and running errands, it’s hard to make time to successfully work from your home.

But the truth is that it is possible to work from home with kids. Here’s how I find balance as a work at home mom.

(THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS HOWEVER, I WILL NEVER RECOMMEND ANYTHING THAT I DO NOT BELIEVE IN OR USE MYSELF. YOU CAN READ MORE ABOUT MY DISCLOSURE POLICY HERE)

I remember back when I first came across the Pinterest pin that is still stuck in my head. It led to an amazing story written by Suzi Whitfield about how she was able to make an income from home while raising a toddler and with another baby on the way.

She talked about how she discovered blogging and began to help other moms learn to start a blog and make money from home.

This instantly appealed to me. I think I even said out loud, “I want to work from home!”

At the time I was a stay at home mom of two and my husband was making just enough for us to get by. It was so hard for us on months when he would be sick and miss a day from work. Just him missing one day would set us back and create problems for the entire month.

I wished that I could find a way to help my poor overworked husband with bringing in some extra money but we both knew that I was needed at home with our two small children.

In fact, I was still breastfeeding our toddler. Since leaving our home wasn’t an option I decided to scour Pinterest in search of a way that I could contribute even a small amount of money to our household.

Of course, I came across some super cool and legit work from home jobs but starting a mom blog just kept standing out to me.

When I read Suzi’s post I wasn’t convinced that I could really pull off this blogging thing. I mean I had no real computer knowledge and even less knowledge about how to start my own blog and then run it. After talking it over with my husband and him continuously telling me to give it a try – I did it.

I started a mom blog. This mom blog! And it has been the best thing I have done.

Have you started your mommy blog? If not, check out my complete guide to starting a mom blog on a tight budget – HERE!

Once I started my blog I spent hours trying to figure out how to make money from it. I knew that there were several ways to make money from a blog but decided to focus on increasing my traffic and making money through ads.

It’s definitely not super easy, but I wanted to start with one of the most basic ways while also growing my blog.

Since I had no idea how to get traffic, I made the decision that it was time for me to take a blogging course and learn how to make this blogging thing work.

Although there are thousands of corses that can tell you some of what you need to know to make money blogging, I found that the best blogging course available is – Ready, Set, Blog for Traffic!

This course has helped me quadruple my blog traffic and increase my blog’s income also.

I Discovered Essential Oils

After starting this blog I also discovered the power of essential oils from Simply Earth and decided to share about how using essential oils can enhance your life.

Here are some of my favorite ways to use essential oils:

Pros of Being a Work from Home Mom

Now that you know what I do as a work at home mom here are the pros and cons that come along with working from home.

1. Extra Time with Kids

One of the biggest reasons that most moms quit their jobs is to stay at home with their children. I worked out of the house for a very short time during the summer and I truly hated not being home with my kids.

Finding a way to earn an income from home while also getting to be home with my children makes everything I do worth the time and energy.

2. Save Money on Childcare

It is part of reality today that most households cannot make it alone on just one income. This is what is forcing many moms to leave home and work to help support their families. However, in many situations, the money that moms would make from working outside fo the home would be going straight to daycare.

Having an opportunity to work from home saves that money that would have been spent on daycare for your children.

3. Flexibility for Family

Flexibility was the second reason that I decided to start a blog and work for myself. I have two children and have to be on call at all times for them.

Having a job where I control the hours and can be as flexible as I want makes my life more adaptable around having children.

Cons of Being a Work at Home Mom

As you can see the pros are so amazing but I also want to be real with you. Making the decision to work from home comes with some cons that you have to learn to workaround.

1. Distractions

If you are a mom, you know that distractions are a part of daily life, but when you are a work at home mom distractions can make working at home difficult.

A few years ago when I looked into working as a call center representative, I realized that I could never make it work since my kids are well – LOUD!

2. Isolation

I admit I am a complete hermit and have a hard time being around people, but being at home all day can get a little boring. Being isolated from the world is one negative of working from home.

3. It’s Hard to Separate Work Life and Home Life

When you work from home, your home becomes your office so having a work-life and home life separated can be difficult. I often find myself working whenever I have a minute and am supposed to be – “off of work.”

4. I’m Still a Stay-at-Home Mom – I Just Work from Home Also

This is still a huge issue for me sometimes. I get that I play two roles but sometimes I have to take time out for just one.

Being a mom in itself means you wear many different hats but when you work at home also you become a work at home and stay at home mom. That means that I still do all of the same things I did before, I just have to fit work in too.

5. Your Work May Not be Taken Seriously

When I first started my blog, I often was on the receiving end of some really funny looks when I told people that I work as a blogger.

A lot of people don’t realize that it is possible to make money – good money from home.

How to be a Work at Home Mom and Balance Family Life

It took me two years of blogging to finally find a groove and learn what truly worked for me. I honestly felt like I had a light bulb turn on. Here are 5 tips for managing the struggles of balancing work at home life and family life.

1. Create and Stick to a Schedule

This is probably the most important part of finding balance in your life. I have tried several different schedules that other mom bloggers have shared but none of them worked for me. And being completely random with when I would dedicate time to my blog caused it to suffer majorly.

After taking the course – Ready, Set, Blog for Traffic, I learned that I needed to create a doable schedule for Me! I decided to post my new blog posts on Tuesdays and Fridays which meant that on Monday and Thursday, I was writing my blog posts and editing them for the next day.

I also invested in this awesome tool for scheduling my Pinterest pins called – Tailwind. It takes the guesswork out of posting my pins for me and does it even while I am sleeping.

This may seem like a very little change but it made a huge difference in my blog.

2. Naptime is Golden

On those days that I really need to get some work done, I utilize naptime when there is peace and quiet.

And if you kids don’t take naps anymore another option is to get your work done when your kids are in bed for the night.

3. Set Boundaries – Separate Work and Home Life Family

My computer desk sits right in our living area between the living room and our kitchen. I know this sounds crazy with where I just told you my computer lives but try to separate your work and home life.

So when you are scheduled to work sit your butt at that desk and get to it. And when you are supposed to be off of work spend time with your family and get back to your other job as a stay-at-home mom.

I’ll be honest this takes some practice but having these two worlds separate will make you, your family, and your job run better.

4. Ask for Help when Possible

This is not an option for me very often but when I really need some time to work and my kids are in need to get out of the house, I ask grandma to take them for just a couple of hours.

A few hours doesn’t seem long but it will help you get so much done if you use your time wisely.

5. Multi-task

All moms know that we are the masters at multitasking so try to get a few small work-at-home tasks done while you are also being a mom.

I am often able to check emails when sitting in a drive-thru line or even share my blog posts and check on my blog traffic right from my phone. You wouldn’t believe the things you can get done just from your smartphone for work while you are also balancing your mom life.

How to Find Balance as a Work-at-Home Mom