Working from home can be a great way to make a living but it is not without its challenges. There are a lot of factors to think about when deciding if you want to work for yourself or not. There are a lot of aspects to working from home that need to be thought about. Working from home isn’t as simple as just sitting in front of a computer with your pjs on.

You Have To Balance Everything

When you work outside the home, you still have to balance everything but when your work is in your home, it can get even more complicated. When do you do the dishes? When should you work on decluttering? When should you have some free time? It is hard to figure it all out when you are working from the same place you call home. It takes a lot of balance and good scheduling to figure it out. I have been doing this balancing act for years and still find that part complicated.

You Make Your Own Deadlines

If you are working for someone else, you will have a deadline. If you are not or you are working on your own business, you might not. You have to make your own deadlines and you won’t have anyone enforcing them. It is best to make up deadlines for items that don’t have one. That way, you have a date you have to get things done by. I know I can get more done when I do this.

You Have To Work Around Your Family

One of the benefits of having someone work from home is that you don’t always have to pay for daycare. Depending on the job and your situation, you can work around your kids being home whether it is during vacation or even when they have a snow day which happens year almost every single year. Although it is nice to not have to worry about daycare, it is hard to work around you kids. It is best to have a good plan for when they are home. Some people work only when their children are asleep, others find things for their kids to do while they can put in a few work hours before going out and starting the day.

You Need A Good Space To Work

Part of working from home is having a good place to do it in. For some this means an office with a door they can close, for others this just means a place with a laptop and a notebook. Think about what you would need to be successful and create a space that works for you and your business goals.

Your Spouse Needs To Support You

I am not sure it would be possible to work from home without the support of my husband. If he wasn’t for me doing that, I could never make this work. I need to depend on him for help with our boys or understand when I need time to work. If you have a spouse that doesn’t get working from home, try to sit down with them to explain. Show them your plans for making money and hopefully, that will help them see that you are serious about wanting to do this.

You Will Want To Give Up

Somedays I think it would be easier to just find a regular 9-5 job and call this whole working from home thing quits. Then I think about everything I have worked towards the last few years, all the reasons I started working from home in the first place and all the stories I have heard of people who have really achieved their goals and dreams at home, I know I can do it too.

You Will Get Lonely

One reason working from home won’t work for everyone is because when you work in an office of one, you can get lonely. I love the idea of co-working although that doesn’t seem to be a thing where I live. I think if I was in a bigger city I would try to take advantage of that. Co-working is where you rent a space for a day to work with others who are also working for themselves. It is like going to an office but you still get to work for you. I think that could help with getting too lonely. Overall I enjoy being by myself during the day but I also get to where I need to talk to others. Where I miss being in an office and where I have to figure out ways to get out and see other people during the work day.

The truth about working from home is that it is hard and it isn’t for everyone. You have to be okay with doing life a little differently and you have to be creative with how it all plays out.

Do you work from home? What do you do???

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The Three Ways That Blogging Can Heal Your Heart

I am often heard that if you are going through a difficult time it is best to write about what was going on. Start a journal and just write. Get everything out. I have kept a journal for years and years and this is true. Writing in the journal helps me feel better and allows me to think about things I would never have thought about before. Blogging is similar in that way.

Some people blog for fun but others do it as a way of reaching out, of sharing their stories. Blogging can be healing and when you are struggling with something in your life blogging can be a great way to heal your heart.

Blogging can give you a good outlet to express yourself and your thoughts. It can allow you to connect with others and it is nice to look back on years later after the moment has passed. Blogging is like a journal you can share with others and although you probably won’t write as openly as you do in a private journal, you can get your words and thoughts out there to help others and heal yourself.

I started my blog during a deployment because I knew I couldn’t be the only one going through one. I couldn’t be the only person feeling the way I did. I needed to blog to heal and to help others heal as well.

Blogging Gives You An Outlet

When you have your own space on the internet then you can always there when you need to and pour out your heart. You can express yourself and let others know what you are going through or what you have been through in the past. When you have so much inside of you and have to let it out, blogging can be a good way to do so. I went through a very bad breakup when I was in college. I always wonder what it would have been like to have been blogging during that time. I think it would have really helped me get my feelings out on what was going on.

Blogging Allows You To Connect With Others

When going through a difficult time you want to know you are not alone. If you blog about it, you can meet people through your words. Someone else going through what you did will read what you wrote and be encouraged. You can connect and share stories. Blogging is a great way to create a group of people who can help you through a difficult time. You just have to put yourself out there a little bit. That can be difficult sometimes because you might worry about those who don’t understand. People who just don’t get what you are dealing with. The key is ignoring these people and focusing on those who can encourage you. And looking for people who you can encourage in return.

Blogging Is Always There

I have posts I wrote during out 2nd, 3rd and 4th deployments. I have posts I wrote when we moved from Germany to the US, I have posts after having children. I love that I have all of that to go back to. Sometimes I can learn from myself. I can also be reminded of certain times in my life when I felt a certain way. Blogging is a way to learn from the past. As you grow as a person you can look back at what you have been through and grow from it.

If you are going through a difficult time, if your heart feels sad and broken, blogging can help. You can get your thoughts out, you can regroup and understand more about your journey and you can find others to connect with that can relate.

What about you? Do you blog about your challenges? How has blogging healed your heart?

2016 is almost here! Have you thought about your goals? What about starting that blog you keep thinking about?

I have totally been there. For months and months, I thought about starting a blog before I actually did. Then one day, I started a blog and I am so glad I did. Starting a blog can be a great way to have your own place to write, to connect with others and to bring value to people in the world.

A lot of people want to start a blog because they feel like they have something to say. Others think that what they have to say isn’t important enough for others to read. This simply isn’t true. The internet is a big place. Even if you feel like what you want to blog about is unique, there are other people out there that can relate to what you are saying, you just have to find them.

Blogging is your place to write.

It is your canvas on which to put your words. Even if you don’t think very many people will ever read it. You can just write in a private journal, I do that too. But when you have something to say, sometimes you really want people to read it. A blog can give you that freedom.

With comments you can have conversations with other people about what you are blogging about. You can ask for input or read about others who have gone through something similar. Having that type of interaction is nice and you can’t get that from writing in a private journal.

Blogging allows you to connect with others.

When you start a blog and start posting and sharing, your words are going out into the world. Through blogging you will be able to connect with other bloggers and readers. You will be able to make friends this way and learn more about blogging and your world. Once you have started your blog, look for blogging communities to connect with. Find other bloggers on Twitter and Facebook. Not only will you learn more about blogging and your niche but you will also make friends with those who are doing the same thing you are, writing in a blog. I have really enjoyed all the people I have met because I decided to start my blog six years ago.

By connecting with your readers, you become a real person. You can do this by talking to them on social media, responding to their comments and just recognizing that they are there. It can be very fulfilling having a relationship with those who follow you.

Blogging can bring value.

Whether you blog about motherhood, photography or any other topic, your posts can bring value to others. Sometimes you won’t even know how many people you will touch with your words. There is something really fulfilling about pouring out your heart on a certain topic and then hearing that it touched someone. Blogs bring value in lots of different ways. By bringing value to others you can help and inspire them. It’s a great feeling to know you are able to do that just by writing a blog post.

Blogging is a great thing to do. If you have been putting it off, 2016 is your year. Even if you start slow and don’t get a lot of writing done, you should at least get started. Think of a theme, a title and get going with it. You will be so glad that you did.

Will you start a blog in 2016? What will it be about?