Rani Das, one of our writers, shares her experience as a work-from-home writer.
For me the world revolved around keeping up with deadlines and mundane chores at home until I started noticing my funny mood swings. Suddenly I found ice creams bitter and chaat nothing less than heavenly mannah. Wait! Am I going to experience teeny weenie bumps soon? Voila! The pee stick said Yes! But my mood swings did play nasty tricks at work as well. Thank God I did not have any Hari Sadus at office. I felt the urge to say good bye to my full time work to bask in the glory of going to be a mom soon. Initial days were fun, but very soon I started feeling bored with devil doing busy works in my idle brain. Having read innumerous articles about work from home content writing, I decided to give wings to my creative bug. After all creative writing has always been my passion since I started writing meaningful sentences.
A Novice’s Wimps
My dreams of minting money sitting at the comfort of my pink themed bedroom shattered on the day zero I started searching for freelance openings. Things were more difficult than I thought. Being a fish in new waters, zeroing in on an employer who could be trustworthy was ever more difficult. Initially I literally burnt my fingers by taking up assignments for which I had never been paid. Dejected and devastated, I even thought of going back to my regular full time job. But I kept my search on for an employer who would be genuine. Finally my hardwork bore fruit. Though the pay was less, I thought of giving work from home option one more try. I started enjoying it slowly. Since then I have never looked back and the rest was history. Being a work from home mom, I now play the cardinal role of a professional and a hyperactive mom. Nevertheless, I can list down countless bounties of being a freelancer.
Financial Freedom
No matter how hard you try to conceal the truth, every woman loves to be financially independent. Everything comes with a price. I hardly receive any bonus during festivals or incentives at the month end. Still freelance jobs do provide me financial stability which I would have missed being a mere stay at home mom. Besides, while I was into my full time professional, every day was a rat race. I enjoyed handsome bank balances. But somewhere I missed being me, squeezing out time to pamper myself or just being a lovely wife. With lessons learned the hard way as a freelance writer in my case, I enjoy every long lost thing before. Moreover, I do not need to whine about how scrooge my hubby is when it comes to giving me pocket money.
See My Child Growing
Once you are a mom, everyday is special. Every day there is something new little mischievous act. His first yawn, the very first smile, those tiny little steps, I have captured everything in my DSLR. Blessed such moments are, I could bet being a mom. A work from home mom does not need to know the day of her child from a nanny. Be it for playing peek-a-boo or for those meaningless ready-made lullabies, my baby would run to me. Thanks to the virtual world and its boundless possibilities. Today I do not need to wait for my husband’s salary to show up for the Ben10 toys for my son. And years down the line, I am sure I will not cut a sorry figure when my child asks me, “momma my baby is crying and I cannot comfort her, do you have any tips to share?”
Pursuing Those Good Old Hobbies
A small knot here and a tiny pear shaped ruby in the middle. I have enjoyed adoring ornaments since the days I could not even date back. School, graduation and post graduation, I was out in the real professional world where the fittest survive. I never had time to pursue the flavor for ornament designing I have inherited. Flexible working hours has given me the freedom to pursue whatever I wanted. Yes I said it is just that my working hours are flexible, my motherhood hours are not yet. But with wise distribution of time, I now enjoy being a student again. Will I be a sought after ornament designer is yet to be figured out! But yes the intricacies of enhancing a woman’s beauty is definitely an interesting subject to learn.
Pajama Clad Professional
With all the household chores done and my baby fast asleep, I sit with my laptop switched on, taking deep breath for a smooth flow of creative juices to my grey matters. I would term it as the levitation every writer experiences. I do not know whether I actually levitate, for I have deadlines to meet. Collecting information from the countless sources, writing and re-writing my piece of work, I smile with satisfaction and say, ‘This is the one’! The article is ready to be delivered. I press the send button and log off. Arrggghhhh! The cry of horror was for my image I just saw on the blank screen of my laptop. I look a fright with disheveled hair and it is noon and I am still in my pajamas. But that is the beauty of work from home jobs.
Flexibility
Good things always come in small packets. Initially work from home may not fetch you a windfall. But who cares when it is accompanied by a trail of other enviable blessings which were once in your ‘will never be true wishlists’. And its nature of flexibility tops among those. Being a work from home mom gives me the opportunity to attend any family functions be it on a Sunday or on a Monday. The only concern I need to look after is keeping the deadlines.
The picture may not be as rosy as it seems for beginners. It is better to sink in the fact that work from home means you are leaving the comfort zone of a regular hefty pay. Trust between you and your employer is the foundation of any work from home jobs. Moreover being at home means you have more stuff around you to get distracted. Part time or full time, a job delivered is always weighed upon its quality. For me it would be when I am fully immersed into my work that I hear that urgent call of ‘mom’. Well, I still love being a professional from home and I enjoy all those ‘Ohs’ and ‘Wows’ when I tell somebody that I earn from home. Will I be a full time work from home forever is yet to be decided though.
