Work-at-Home Moms: Is Home Really the Best Place to Be?

Hi Everyone! Happy Tuesday!

So as those of you who follow along know, I work part time from home. I work in advertising (copywriting/creative direction), and have been freelancing for 10 years so everything was all set up by the time the kids came along. (Actually, what I do is more accurately termed "permalancing" [great word, isn't it?], as I have long-term clients I do work for on an ongoing basis, vs having to constantly look for work.)

Anyway, I sooooooooo hugely appreciate being able to work from home, I can't even tell you. The advantages are obvious--no commute time, no getting-presentable-for-the-business-world time, I can pop down and see my kids anytime I want, help out with their care if need be, etc.

But there are some disadvantages too, namely:

• Sometimes it's hard for me and whoever is caring for my children to really see me as "at work" because the boundaries are kind of blurry...sometimes I end up trying to work and care for babies at the same time and it's just not a very efficient way to do things
• Sometimes I feel like my work is never done, especially when I'm with the babies a lot during the day but still have deadlines, end up in my home office late into the evening after the kids have gone to bed
• I get lonely. I used to travel for work (primarily Boston and San Francisco) and would spend time in ad agencies and get my work socialization in there...now that I'm not traveling anymore I can feel really isolated, even though I'm on the phone with people all the time, it's just not the same

Overall, I think the advantages to this setup outweigh the disadvantages. However, I've been thinking about alternatives, maybe even for just a day or two a week. Depending on where we end up (we may be moving soon for my husband's work...stay tuned), if there's something like San Francisco's Makeshift Society--billed as "a clubhouse for creatives" where freelancers come together to work--it might be good for me to do something like that. (BTW, I first learned about Makeshift Society on sfgirlbybay...great design blog...check it out if you're into that sort of thing.) I also heard a promo on NPR the other week about how in the next program they were going to talk about a set-up where freelance moms came together to work and childcare was provided...seriously, what a great idea. But I didn't get to listen to the program and I can't find details about it anywhere.

Love the idea of getting out of the house, being 100% work focused part of the time, having other live creative people around me. Any other work-at-home moms out there feel this way and/or have you actually done it? Would love to hear...

XOXO

Image Credit: Makeshift Society.