The 6 Awesome Strategies I Use to Work From Home as a Freelance Writer While Raising a Family

I am one of those lucky women who has never worked in an office. Yes, I have always worked from home- right from the time I graduated as an engineer and got married in December 2008.

It has been a decade now since I have been working as a freelance writer, working from the comfort of my home.

During this decade, I’ve not only established a writing career, I have had and raised two kids. One is 7 now while the other one is 4.

To those parents who wish to work from home due to family or other reasons, I want to assure you: Yes, you can make money writing while running a household and raising kids.

Is it easy?

Of course not.

It’s been an organizational nightmare for me juggling a struggling career and raising a family.

I have worked like a sleep-deprived zombie attempting to write when my kids were napping in those little 1-hour episodes, do housework and then tend to them when they were awake (which felt like always).

Seasoned parents advised me to sleep when my babies did. Great advice, but well- nigh impossible when the babies hardly slept and I had so many other things to do.

When my second child arrived, my first one was a super-active 3-year old toddler who was feeling his little sister had taken all his love and attention. This complicated things further.

In the early years of parenthood, I had kids waking up when I needed to get some important research done, neighbors who didn’t understand that, just because I was not at the office, it didn’t mean I wasn’t busy at work. Kids’ needs, meals, phone calls, postmen knocking at my door to deliver parcels and letters, all affected my productivity and distracted me from my goals.

Despite all this, I still managed to write and used it as a way to vent my feelings. When I wrote, I felt like I was talking to a friend telling her what I was going through.

Freelancing meant I could work at my own pace, when I wanted to and how I wanted to but the life of a freelancer has many pluses and minuses. It’s no slam dunk—even without kids.

I love the fact that I am able to spend quality time with my family. I don’t waste an hour in the morning and another at the end of the day stuck in traffic or battling severe weather. I have time to cook homemade, healthy and nutritious meals and talk with my family while eating family meals.

I’ve now become adept at working when I can.  I know when I can carve time out for my writing. I’ve found ways to create a favorable work-life balance by trial and error.

Here are some strategies that have helped me set a balance between my responsibilities as a homemaker, mom, and wife and my career as a freelance writer.

1. Setting Realistic Goals

It doesn’t matter whether you’re a freelancer or you’re working as an employee on-site in an office, you need to make money. You have expenses. There’s a mortgage, insurance, car payments and not to mention, tummies to feed.

Decide what you need to buy, pay off and earn. Set aside money for something you desire: a family vacation, a new piece of furniture, a new family car?

In other words: Work towards something affordable you want—not just paying bills.

Why? You will have an entirely different attitude toward your work.

2. Forgetting About Perfection

If you don’t, you will drive yourself crazy. Trust me. I’ve been there. When I had no kids, I could run my household like a well-oiled machine. Everything took care of itself like that smoothly running machine. Now I roll with the punches and enjoy the spontaneity.

That applies to my writing, too. I haven’t time for pondering and over-analyzing. When I have writing time, I grab my laptop and get to work. Rest comes later when I have more time, for instance when my kids are in bed.

3. Enjoying the Flexibility

Sometimes, I feel the the only good thing about being a freelancer is the flexible schedule. I can carve out time to do enriching things with my family that I’d never be able to do with a nine-to-five job and an excruciating, energy-sapping commute.

I’ve traded those stressors for worrying about securing contracts and a modest end-of-month credit.

4. Creating a Schedule and Sticking to it….Mostly

I know what you’re thinking: But you just told me to be flexible.

Well, there’s flexible and there’s no routine at all.

Sure! Make time for family and travel and friends. But you also need to schedule your activities so you can find the time to complete projects too.

5. Establishing a Daily Routine

Set up a schedule so friends and family know those hours are your writing time. Don’t accept tweets, calls, or texts during that time.

I tried very soon to get our household into morning and evening routine not just for my writing but also for my husband’s work commitments.

Every household as a routine that works for them. These routines change as kids grow and as work schedules change.

You know when you are most productive and when you can carve out writing time. So, try to create a daily routine that works for you and establishes a healthy work-life balance for you and your family.

6. Delegating without Guilt

This may be the best piece of advice I give fellow freelancers: Learn to outsource certain tasks. This may mean hiring a part-time nanny or a cleaner, or a cook. Get everyone, including your kids, at home to help out with your chores.

Keep the tasks you enjoy. I love to cook for my family and do grocery. My maid willingly takes on other chores that involve cleaning. Of course, she gets paid for it.

Neither of us likes or is any good at—some tasks. We outsource the tedious tasks and keep only the ones we can do ourselves.

Freelance writing can be highly enjoyable only if you want it to be. Sure, there are pros and cons in a freelancer’s life but for me, the pros of being a freelance writing, working from home outweigh the cons.