The Top 7 Work-From-Home Mom Challenges

It is another day in my life as a work from home Mom. The sun peaks through my window and the alarm blares an awful rooster sound that I really should change. 

It is Monday, the start of a new week. Time to rise and grind. I roll out of bed, grab a quick shower and find my most comfy leggings, sports bra and tank top. Just like that, I am dressed for the day.

It is time to make my son breakfast and prod him to move fast enough so we are not late for VPK. I am continually amazed at how sloth-like a boy who typically runs everywhere can move in the morning.

Trading in business casual for leggings

You may think I, not a “working Mom” but alas, I am. I am a “work from home” mom. And not the “mom-boss-that-tries-to-sell-you-stuff-on-Facebook” kind. I hold a corporate nine to five job. I just get to do it from my home office. 

Working from home was an unexpected blessing for me. I had been a stay-at-home mom and received a career opportunity I could not refuse. I’ve been doing it now for four years and would not want it any other way. 

Despite that, sometimes I feel like I need to remind the world that it’s not always all its cracked up to be! So this one is for you my lovely, multi-tasking, hard-working-in-yoga-pants-from-home mamas!

The top 7 work-from-home mom challenges

1. Guilt! There is so much guilt. (Oy vey, the guilt!) Sometimes I feel like I am drowning in tasks. I see you over there, a pile of laundry growing bigger each day. I really want to put you in the washing machine. However, I can’t because I am working. If I choose to take a laundry break, I feel bad I am not working. It is a constant cycle of feeling like I am falling short somewhere, whether at work or in the household, even though I am doing my best to give all my attention everywhere. 
2. In fact, you often forget to take a break. I cannot tell you the number of times I look up from my desk and realize that its 2pm and I haven’t eaten lunch yet! (today included). There is no watercooler gossip session break to be had. There is no quick run to Starbucks with a colleague. And, certainly (more like…unfortunately) no Friday afternoon happy hours!
3. You live in a strange “Momland limbo.” How many times have we heard stay-at-home moms say to working moms, “you’re so lucky you get grown-up social interaction.” In response, working moms to stay-at-home moms, “you’re so lucky to get all that time with the kids.” Somewhere between them lies the work-from-home mom. We aren’t getting either the social interaction or 100 percent time with our kids. 
4. Sometimes it can be lonely. Nobody is going to judge me for haphazardly shoveling Doritos in my mouth while sitting with my feet up. Because nobody is here. It can be isolating. (Shout out to my fellow work-from-home moms for, without their top-notch meme texting skills, I may have lost it already!) 
5. It takes extra effort to separate work and home life, because you are always both at home and work. Oftentimes I have to just shut my office door in the evening so I don’t answer emails or begin working late into the night. 
6. People don’t realize you actually work! I feel obligated to remind people that I “work from home” when I bring my kid to school looking like a hot mess. Before working from home, I was known for my fantastic collection of heels. (The old me, shakes her head shamefully at this makeup-less, sports bra wearing version. But please refer to number four above.) 
7. Even though I work from home- I am doing just that- working. I still need to find the time to run all the errands. When I have visitors from out-of-town, my concentration remains elsewhere at my work responsibility. (I could digress about work/life balance in the US but I will save that for another time.)

Is this real life? Is this just fantasy?

While it feels therapeutic to create this gentle reminder that working from home brings its own set of mommyhood challenges, I feel incredibly lucky to be able to contribute financially and pursue a career from my home office.

Among the many benefits of this lifestyle is I don’t have to commute. While that offers me less time in the car to perfect my version of “Bohemian Rhapsody,” I’d say the Tampa roads during rush hour are a place I would rather not have to be.

There is also an amount of flexibility to be able to make it to a school event held on a random Wednesday at 10:30am. Planning for doctor appointments is also a bit easier. It is never ideal but if my son is sick, I am able to keep him home until he feels better. 

I get to do challenging work that I enjoy in a comfortable environment. For me, that positive outweighs all the daily challenges a work-from-home mom faces. Sometimes I take a moment to look around and am thankful I have been fortunate enough to land in this type of position.

Being a work-from-home mom takes the ability to multi-task and be self-motivated. It may not be the lifestyle for everyone, but at this point in my life, I would have it no other way.