Life of a WFM mum

When I tell people that I work-from-home (WFM), the most common reaction is one of envy. Yes, it is a wonderful privilege. However, it does come with a cost especially if you are a WFM mum as well.

When you are a WFM mum, you are actually playing 2 roles concurrently, both a worker and a mother. Apart from having to deal with deadlines, you also have to deal with the tantrums of your kids. And when both of it coincides at the same time, it can be quite frustrating.

As a mother, it is not possible to totally ignore the on-going of your child and look yourself in the home office to focus on work. When the child cries, you will worry. When you hear your child’s laughter, you would want to find out what is amusing him.

When you WFH, you tend to work beyond the 9-5 because it is so easy to access the computer. Thus it all comes down to 2 things – time management and discipline.

It has been 3 yrs that I have WFH. At times of frustration, I wish I have an office that I can “escape” to. I wish I have a decent lunch break so that I can have some “me” time. I wish I have colleagues that I can buddy with. I wish I have a few hours of child-free=noise free environment because it can be quite tiring that after fighting a “war” in your work, you have to being another “battle” with your child. My dear friend, E tells me that before she opens the door to her home after, she will take a deep breath. After that, she would say in her cheeriest voice “Children, Mummy is home!” Ding ding, round 2 begins.

Having said that, Mothers are like energizer rabbit. We go on and on and on……simply because our kids who drain us out, also recharges us just as fast. Despite the challenges I face having to be a WFH mum, I am still thankful for this privilege as I am there for every of my kids’ milestone, every fall, every tear, every laughter. As for "me" time, I can always count on lunch with my ex-colleagues from Intel; otherwise, I can always turn to blogging, right?