Being a freelancer is never easy. It can make buying a home a considerable challenge but it can be a feast or famine life. And being a freelancer with kids is one of the biggest challenges you could ever undergo. Many people choose to work as a freelancer because it gives them freedom and flexibility. But when you are a parent and you feel the struggles of late nights, early mornings, and sick children, you might assume that it would be impossible to do anything in this capacity. It may not feel like multi-tasking, but multi-multi-tasking! But let’s show you how you can make being a freelancer with kids work for you.
Disclaimer: This is a contributed post and may contain links for which I have been compensated.
Multi-Multi-Tasking! Being a Consistent Freelancer With Kids
Should You Pick Up Work Only When You Know the “Coast Is Clear?” Not Really!
Sometimes we can wait until everything is okay for us to pick up a job. On https://www.shiply.com/us/shipping-bids you can find jobs that enable you to kill two birds with one stone. If you’re travelling in a certain direction, you can pick up a job where you drop off packages. And when you know the coast is clear with regards to your kids because they’re in school, you’re always running the risk of something going wrong. But this means that you’ve got to roll with the punches.
Get Your Kids Into a Routine, so You Know When You Can Work
Routine is important to children regardless, but if you need to start making a regular income through freelance work, this is more important than ever. I am a huge fan of routine – my kids routine is good for me! Not only is it good for you as a freelancer with kids, but routine is important for the whole family.
It’s about making sure that you have the boundaries in place, so your children don’t impact your ability to find work. While there are ways around this, such as picking up more lucrative jobs through the many freelancer websites like the list on https://webflow.com/blog/freelance-websites, you’ve got to have a routine for yourself as well.
Be Focused and Selfish With Your Working Time
And this means understanding the types of jobs you can do realistically if the unexpected were to arise. For example, there are websites like Appen that look for people to record voice commands, which is the type of job that you could realistically do in the evening and quickly. You should also look into freelancers time tracking apps and programmes.
You may think that it’s important to go for lucrative jobs, however, it’s important to be realistic about what you can achieve, whilst balancing life, kids, work and everything else. You don’t want to take on more than you can handle as it will ultimately reflect poorly on you later.
Make Sure You Get Help
There will be times when finances are so low that you’ve got to get to work. And this will be when everything hits the fan. Your children are sick and haven’t slept properly in days, and you are at your lowest ebb. When you throw into the mix the fact that you need to complete work, you’ve got to make sure you get some form of help. Whether it’s about scheduling your days with your partner or parents, making sure that you help each other out, and knowing how to push yourself towards the final hurdle, help is invaluable.
As one myself, I know that being a freelancer with kids to look after is not easy, but the benefits can outweigh the challenges if you can get the balance right. At the end of the day, you need to be disciplined, flexible and realistic in your approach. Remember not to put unrealistic expectations on yourself. Keep your mind focused on the end goal.
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