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If you’re a working mother, your stress is understandable- we know that being a work-at-home mom has never been easy. The family pressure, the childcare dilemmas, and management issues are bound to affect you sooner or later. But don’t feel tempted to quit your home-based work and sign up for psychological therapy, when it all seems too much. Frustration is not an option if you’re a work-at-home mom, it will show in you, and it’ll affect your husband and children. What you need to do is learn how to manage your time better, and channelise your parenting resources better. Here are some suggestions.

Delegation of responsibility in the family is a must. Work-at-home jobs are time-consuming and stressful; you will need extra efforts to help you with house work. Before bedtime every night, have a family cleanup, where every family member can help to put things back in their right place. Remember: “A place for everything, and everything in its place.” Supervise your children to see that girls’ clothing goes in the right cupboard, and boys’ clothing in its separate cupboard. Older children can assist with the folding of their laundry, and even make their beds - not only are they helping save precious time, they are getting a sense of independence. Involve your toddlers by asking them to pick up their toys.

Praise your children when everything’s done. Ask for your husband’s help with setting the dining table and clearing it. Explain to him which plates and glasses and cutlery to use, he will get the hang of it after a while. Don’t criticize and don’t be negative. Avoid comments like “Oh no! Not like that!” or “You did it wrong again!” like the plague. You must admire him for his efforts and support.

Mornings are always a difficult time, especially for those work-at-home moms, because they know that once the children are sent off to school, and the husband to work - they must sit down with their own business. So make mornings less hectic and rushed by planning ahead- ensure your kids’ school-bags are packed and their clothes ironed the night before. Have a planned menu for breakfast - much valuable time is wasted deciding what to cook. Make a mental note: “Pancakes on Monday, Sandwiches on Tuesday, Waffles on Wednesday, etc” Make sure all the ingredients are ready. Simplify meal preparations- keep the elaborate menus for the weekends, when you have the time. For the weekdays, when you are tired from work, and need to make dinner, use simple recipes that require little time, and few ingredients. Don’t compromise on nutrition, though, and avoid convenience foods, as these are unhealthy in the long run.

Use timesaving devices (microwaves, washing machines, and vacuum cleaners). They’re here to make things easier for you. Ask the children to assist you with loading the dishwasher, or putting the laundry out to dry. In time, you’ll see that with a little creativity and a sensible routine, you can make things much easier!

When you’re a work-at-home mom, life’s tough, for not only are you taking care of the household, but you also have to handle work. Not only that, you need to oversee your kids’ homework, run the chores, manage the household help if there’s any, and generally look after the little things that make up our daily lives. It might get too much, and sooner or later, you might find yourself screaming silently and pounding walls, when your family’s not happy with your efforts. However, keep your cool, as there are ways to reach compromise, and to ensure that everyone’s satisfied.

Make good use of your parenting resources. If there’s a friend in the neighbourhood with a child of the similar age, try for baby-sitting, for a few hours. You can take her kid one day of the week, both kids can play with each other, and she does the same, for another day of the week. This leaves you free for some time, to deal with pending chores and other kinds of work. You must give your children quality time. It’s all very well that your work-at-home job supplements the family income, but you shouldn’t let it interfere with your children’s needs. Spend time with your kids - read to them, play games with them, and talk to them about their day. It’s not important what you do, or how much time you spend - what counts is being with them, when they need you, and even when they don’t need you. You need to demonstrate your love and affection.

Give your husband priority, and set aside time for him. Do things together as a couple- a happy marriage will light up your home, and will help your children’s overall well-being too. Take walks together when free, cook dinner together, and spend time together when the kids have gone to bed.

Ensure that family travel is done - it’s a must - the family that travels together, stays together. You see, it’s not necessary to travel to Paris or Switzerland, or other such exotic locales- sometimes you could just take a weekend off, head to some place on the outskirts, a simple location can work wonders too. What counts is that your family is together, and doing things together. Keep your work at arm’s length during that holiday, ensure that work-related calls and emails do not interrupt you. We’d recommend that you finish all pending work before heading out, upon the vacation- that way, you won’t be worrying about that document you didn’t finish, or the deadline you didn’t meet.

Shop together - take your children along - they can help in the selection of girls’ clothing and boys’ clothing. If you have an older child, and have a baby as well, your older kid can help you with buying the baby products. Appreciate his/her suggestions, this is also a good way you can teach him about basic parenting. When money permits, buy something nice for the family. That PlayStation might be just a tad expensive, but haven’t your children been really supportive all throughout, helping with chores and doing their own homework? Give occasional rewards, to keep everyone happy.

We know you’ll feel stressed and like the walls are closing in on you, when you’re a work-at-home mom, it’s natural. It’s understandable - the sense of frustration and helplessness, work-at-home jobs are demanding, but with good use of parenting resources and effective time management, you can go a long way.

Have a definite plan and purpose in your mind, when you sit down with your work. List the work you want to finish, keep it as a target to work towards. Don’t spend your day haphazardly. Keep a notebook handy, and a to-do list- this will prevent you from checking mail aimlessly and surfing the Internet -remember what you need to finish, and keep your nose to the grindstone. It’d a good idea to outsource work - if you find the work getting too much for you, hire an assistant or helper.

If you find the work pressure getting too much, and hampering the time with your kids, you could hire a baby-sitter or some other kind of help, who would keep your children occupied while you work - or while you try to get the pressure down. It’s a win-win situation for everyone- you can do your work, the baby-sitter’s earning her money, and your kids are entertained! While you’re working, group similar activities together- do all your research, keep it ready, then start writing - that’s just an example. Don’t check your email all day, or spend precious hours on social networking sites- however addictive they are. List changes you need to make to a particular document or spreadsheet, and then get started. You see, by planning ahead- you can save precious time.

Remember to maximise your use of technology- try and get wireless Internet, and a laptop if possible. This will make drastic improvements in your spending time with your children - if they are playing on the roof, you can take your laptop up, and be with them even while working. Use auto-responders, mailing lists, and other kinds of resources to maximize your professional output, and your business. Use Online Messengers and Chat to keep in touch with people all day, and stay abreast of new developments at work. Be as professional as possible, and aim for maximum efficiency. Multi-tasking might be difficult at first, but you shall get used to it, and ultimately, comprehend its benefits.

However, it’s essential that you realize that being a Supermom is not on the cards. You need to be realistic, you need to understand what priority lies where, and you must, must identify how much time needs to be spent on what. Fix the areas of importance. If it’s a choice between your work and taking care of your sick child, the latter comes first, always. Work is good, it supplements the family income - you can get a lot out of it like family travel, buying baby products, etc. - but you shouldn’t compromise on your family.