How working from home has changed my life as a mother
On a typical day as a working woman, my days used to start as soon as the clock hit 5 AM. After waking up from sleep I would manage breakfast, prepare food for my baby, and then get ready for office. After returning home from work, I would normally have to balance time between staying in the kitchen to cook for my family and taking care of my baby. Regular chores after a tiring day at the office made it extremely difficult for me to spend quality time with my baby. Many times, I regretted being a working woman. “Was all this really worth it?” I found myself wondering a lot of the nights.
But things have changed a lot since I have now been working from home. As the nature of my job allows me to work online, I am facing little to no difficulties working from home. The use of technology and having an amazingly supportive work family, has made this seemingly difficult experience an actual blessing in disguise.Despite the pressure that comes in from a regular 9 to 5 job, I’m finding it very easy to cope with the situation at home now. Previously I had to spend 8 hours while working in the office daily. Now when I am working from home I also have to spend 8 hours minimum, most of the time more. However, there has been a noticeable change in my professional, personal, and family life these days.
One of the biggest pros of working from home is that no time gets wasted on the road. It normally took me an hour to get to and to return from office. Now, because the daily commute is no longer necessary,I can save a bit more time for sleeping. I hold those few extra minutes of sleep very close to my heart – especially since my baby has her very own sleeping pattern – if you know what I mean. Another relief for me while working from home is to comfort my baby in critical time. Previously I had to attend video calls to see my baby. Sometimes just just singing to her or talking to her on a video call worked, but sometimes she wanted to touch me and used to cry because she couldn’t do so. Now since I am around even though I’m working, I know I can comfort her whenever she needs me. I have to admit, sometimes when I used to work at office, I’d get distracted thinking about whether my baby is okay or not. Now, since I know what my baby is doing, I am at peace mentally.
I try to follow a few things while working from home. I always try to maintain my deadline, deliver my work properly, attend the meetings on time, maintain a separate space for my work, communicate with colleagues all the time. In the meantime, I can take small breaks to have a look at my baby.
I spend most of the time before and after office with my little one. Previously I used to sometimes worry that my baby is getting deprived of her mother’s love – that I wasn’t doing enough for her as a mother. But now, because I can cater to her every need and do what defines me (my job) simultaneously, I feel like things are much better. This is a huge mental satisfaction for me. Having said all this, it would be wrong to say that I don’t miss going to work. I miss the place, my colleagues, or “cha” breaks a lot. Being unable to get out of home in itself is difficult. However, given how things are at the moment, I’m just glad and grateful to be safe, healthy and with my loving family.
