The good, the bad and the ugly about working from home....

When you hear work from home what do you think?   

Be honest.......

When I tell people I have the best of both worlds of being a stay at home mom and I work from home,  I feel like people think oh that must be so easy, she gets paid to do nothing or thats easy money?   

Yes, No and No......................

 Let me explain the GOOD, the BAD and the UGLY about working from home.   

We'll start with the good

 I have worked at home for about 3 years now.  I work for a local hospital doing medical coding.  I love it and I love that I can do it from home.  I worked at this hospital for 4 years before I was allowed to work from home.  After I had my daughter I started just working PRN 1 day a week.  Then 6 weeks after I had my son they said they were ready to start the remote program.  It was perfect timing, because I didn't want to leave two kids and pay for babysitting for both.  

I love that I can wear my pjs to "work"  and I don't have to commute.... unless you consider hurtling all the toys from my bed room to the front room where my computer is commuting.  I love that I don't have to leave my kids at a day care, although some days that sounds nice.

I love that the hospital I work for is so flexible with me.  It might be because I have worked there for 8 years and they know how I work.  They did ask me to have a set time that I work everyday because I think they know that if you have it set out then you are more likely to do it regularly.  I set my time to 5-7 am so I can get it done before the kids get up for the day.  I am generally a morning person so It hasn't been too terrible.  

 I love reading and learning new things about the human body as well.  As a medical coder I read the hospital charts and I learn so many new things.  We have seen everything, somethings make us cry and some we just have to laugh about.  

  

The Bad

 The 5 am also has a bad side to it.  I wake up at 5 am Monday-Friday.  That task alone is not easy, especially when you have little kids still waking up at night.   Then I work until the kids wake up which is usually 7.  So I get 2 hours of work in.   Then if the stars align and the two younger kids take naps at the same time I can get a few more hours in.  Otherwise its just the two hours in the wee early hours.

Its hard to keep up on a job when you are only working 2 hours a day.  Its like putting your toes in the water just a little bit.  Things are getting more complicated the older my kids get and the more kids we have.   We have staff meeting Tuesday mornings and then an educational meeting Wednesday mornings.  It gets hard to be able to make sure I make it to those meetings even though I can listen at home I have to have it quiet so I can listen.  Sometimes I can't find a babysitter and the kids play fine.  Then there are the days that all the kids want to do is to have me hold them so they can push the keyboard buttons. 

 Its been hard lately because last October we started a whole new coding program. We had been prepping for it for years and we finally made the switch.  It was hard but not quite as terrible as we thought.  We were well prepared but it has been hard to learn all of the new stuff and keep up with my productivity on top of it all.  

The Ugly

Don't get me wrong I love my job and that I am blessed to be able to do it.   My struggle lately is trying to draw a line between working and being a mom.   When nap time comes around some days I really don't want to get back on and work because I would rather be taking a nap myself to be honest, cleaning up the house,  or working on that mile long project list.  Most days getting back on and working wins that battle because I like seeing my hours add up on my time card.  I also need to finish the work I didn't get done in the morning.  

Some days I just have to take a step back and look at the big picture.  What is most important to me?  Being a Mom is my #1 priority.  So if it really comes down to it my choice is to clock out and be a Mom.  My ultimate goal is to have a happy family and some days that means mom gets a nap as well.