Beat the Burnout

 24 Hours A Day

  

If you are a woman writer working from home then you should take some time for yourself and avoid burnout. All of us, women and men, have 24 hours a day; no more and no less - once you take out seven hours for sleep you are left with 17. Most men juggle work and personal time and may spend some of that personal time 'helping' with the home and family. The fact of thr matter is that the vast majority of chores associated with home and family fall to women. This means that for many of us time is not divided in the same way that it is for men. As working women we have to divide our time between home and work; personal time comes a very poor third for most women and is non-existent for some. Yet women, just as much as men need to take that personal time if they are going to avoid burnout and do the best that they can in other areas of their lives.

Wahms

 

Wahms or work at home mothers can end up doing more than is good for them. When a wife and mother is at home all day it is all too easy for friends, neighbors and other family members to assume that she is there for them. If a woman is to make a success of working from home then other people have to learn to understand that working from home is as much of a job as going out to work - this means that you have to tell friends and family that during certain hours of the day you are not there to take in parcels, babysit or take time out for coffee and a chat. If you are going to make a success of working from home then you have to jealously guard your work time.

Personal Time

 

Women who work from home must not only guard their working time; they must also schedule in and guard their personal time. If you work from home and don't allow yourself some time to do something special or to do nothing special then it is all too easy to reach burnout. Writers are especially prone to burn out because writing is a passion and it is all too easy to let it dominate the whole of our lives. Personal time for women writers needs to be distinct from work and home responsibilities if we are to retain our enthusiasm and our health. If you want to make a success of working from home then you need to take some time for yourself. It is much easier to give to others when you feel personally fulfilled than when you are worn down and burnes out.