| When you first start a stay at home job, no task | | | | you are for dealing with those aspects of your stay at |
| seems too large or too boring. Your enthusiasm for | | | | home job that you don't like, the better and faster you'll |
| your stay at home has you on your own little stay at | | | | be able to accomplish them--and get them off the |
| home work cloud and you feel you can tackle | | | | desk of your stay at home office to make room for |
| anything. You have enough motivation for 5 stay at | | | | the tasks you do enjoy. |
| home jobs! | | | | Some ways you can make those dreaded stay at |
| Then it happens. You wake up one morning and | | | | home chores easier, and less daunting, to manage are: |
| getting to your stay at home office just down the hall | | | | -Break a large work at home task into increments and |
| seems like a chore equal to climbing Mt. Everest. And | | | | spread them out over several days |
| once you are actually at your stay at home office | | | | -Prevent small work at home tasks from piling up into |
| desk, you find yourself writing long emails to your | | | | a mountainous chore by doing a few of them every |
| former co-workers or looking through yesterday's | | | | day |
| mail--again. You just can't seem to get started on your | | | | -Reward yourself for finishing a large or particularly |
| stay at home work. Your motivation has deserted you. | | | | boring stay at home task |
| If you stop and think about it, you'll find you're | | | | -Delegate--even if you work alone, you can outsource |
| procrastinating getting started on your stay at home | | | | things like accounting and tax chores |
| job duties for one, or even several, reasons. These | | | | -If the work at home job you're dreading is not |
| reasons for putting off a stay at home task is usually | | | | something you're an expert out, find someone who is |
| because: | | | | and ask for help |
| -The task seems big and overwhelming | | | | When it comes to work at home tasks that are just |
| -It's boring | | | | boring, get creative and find a way to make it |
| -It's a complex task and hard to know just where to | | | | fun--enlist family members to help, turn on some cool, |
| begin | | | | upbeat music, race the clock, whatever you can think |
| -The task isn't a routine part of your skill set | | | | of to make it less boring for you |
| -It's something that's a necessary evil | | | | Consider just not doing the stay at home task--often |
| When you start feeling these things, you know your | | | | we're our worst enemies and make up extra work for |
| stay at home job honeymoon is over. And you don't | | | | ourselves, so ask yourself if it's something that |
| have to feel like there's something wrong with you or | | | | absolutely has to be done, which can often be the |
| that deciding to opt for a stay at home job is the | | | | case |
| biggest mistake you ever made. All that's really | | | | Give yourself frequent breaks from boring or |
| happened is that your stay at home job has become | | | | complicated stay at home work tasks |
| just that: a job. | | | | And then there's always just do it. For some reason |
| And really, it's good when you start thinking of your | | | | when you put off something, whether it's a stay at |
| stay at home work as a job. This makes it more real | | | | home task or emailing your mother, it gets a lot bigger |
| and gives it more substance. After all, before you | | | | in your mind. Think about it for a second. How many |
| started your stay at home job, you had a conventional | | | | times have you found yourself dreading doing |
| job that had some aspects you really enjoyed, while | | | | something only to find out after you'd finished that it |
| there were others you didn't, right? No matter how | | | | wasn't nearly as bad as you thought it would be? So |
| much you love your stay at home job, at some point | | | | don't waste your time and energy dreading that boring |
| it's going to hit you that it is a job--and that means your | | | | or difficult stay at home task, do it, and then treat |
| stay at home job will require some chores you just | | | | yourself to a chocolate chip cookie--or two! That |
| don't want to do. | | | | should keep you motivated. |
| So now that you're truly married to your stay at home | | | | Charles Fuchs |
| job, you need to have some strategies for dealing with | | | | I grant permission to publish this article, electronically or |
| those parts of your stay at home work that you don't | | | | in print, as long as the bylines are included, with a live |
| like or threaten to overwhelm you. The more prepared | | | | link, and the article is not changed in any way. |