Confession Of A Work-At-Home Control Freak

Not everything is under your control. This is the very statement that I’ve said to myself over and over again ever since I’ve started working from home. One note to those who wish to start their own home-based business, please, please, please….heed my advice. Learn to draw the line between home and work because they’re supposed to be completely different worlds. You can’t live your life properly if you’re working and living at the same time. Work, no matter how passionate you are about it, is not meant to creep into your life. You’re supposed to put it into a separate drawer in your cabinet….imagine your life to be a cabinet. One drawer for your personal life, and then another drawer for your working life. That’s how it’s supposed to work.

What’s with control and working-from-home?
LOTS, if you ask me! You need to be in control of your work in order to make a profit. You need to be in control so that your kids do well in school. You need to be in control so that you don’t accidentally shred important documents. If you’re working from home, you’ll find yourself trying to be control of everything and that can't happen.

It can’t happen now and it can’t happen any time in the future. Accept the fact that if you want everything to be working out properly, you’ll need to relinquish some of that control and let others take over.

What happens when you try to control everything?
Everything collapses, that’s the answer. Because we’re not made to be in control of everything that we do, see, experience, feel and situations that happens to us, we shouldn’t even try to. Working from home could mean the best of both worlds…but don’t forget, you’re also getting the worst of both worlds.

To prevent your ship from sinking, you’ll need to learn to let some things go. Unless you have someone else who can take over some parts of your work or home life, then you’re going to have to accept the fact that nothing in your working-at-home environment is ever going to be perfecto.

Nothing.

A ruined working life and a ruined home life
When one tries to take control of everything, that person would and can only expect one thing….ruination of both personal and work life simply because the fine line between work and life has been blurred. In reality, the ideal is for people to work for a living and then LIVE. With a blurred line between home and work, how is one expected to live well and work well.

Be aware and conscious of what you’re trying to control
Is it worth trying so hard to control something that you can’t? Think about it. At what expense? Before you throw yourself into your home office business, try to remember that you’ll always have to be aware of priorities and the sacrifices that you’re willing to make in order for you to control that part of your life or work. Something’s got to give somehow, somewhere and really, it’s really up to you to decide, what part of your home business has to give way.

Marsha Maung is a mother, freelance writer, graphic designer and occasional singer.