Just because I sit on my bum almost all day long, and have been known to not leave my house for days, does not mean that I do nothing all day long. Contrary to popular belief (aka my local friends and family), I do actually clock in over 40 hours per week actually “working”, aka earning money to support my family.
I am not only a work-at-home mom, but a single work-at-home mom. Single mom of four in fact. I got divorced over ten years ago, the same year that I decided to quit my day job and become my own boss. Both were the best things I ever did, both for my mental and my financial wellness.
So while I’m glad I said “Yes” to two of the biggest decisions in my life back then, I’m learning I need to say “No” to taking on any new unnecessary commitments. I need to stay productive within my already full plate, as well try to minimize my already high stress levels. Even the Mayo Clinic suggests saying “No” reduces stress.
This month alone, I’ve had quite a few email requests from strangers wanting to pick my brain about working from home. While I like to help people (thus why I volunteered to write for this very blog), that one-on-one phone time with a stranger takes away from precious blogging time or date night with my daughter. I simply responded that I’d be happy to send a consulting fee schedule if interested, and I immediately felt a sigh of relief that I didn’t have to cram one more “thing to do” into my busy day.
Now if I could just convince my daughters to quit volunteering me to chaperone school events…
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I wrote a couple pretty debatable articles on this topic and love what you said.
This is right on! Although I’m not a “ssahm” (single stay at home mom), I agree that “doing people a favor” is no longer in my business vocabulary. Am I a jerk? Maybe. But at the end of the day, my time is one of my most important assets. What I’ve learned to do is say YES to everything followed by, “Where would you like me to send the invoice?” I prefer to let the prospect say No or Not Yet. Thanks for tagging me on this Janet.