Escaping the 9-5 job to be a work at home mom

That moment when Rapunzel dreamed of leaving the tower to see the floating lights in the outside world...

I woke up one day feeling that moment - when I dreamed of escaping day job to be a work-at-home mom. Or what they simply call, a WAHM.

Cringe. 

Maybe it's just the bed bugs, I don't know. 

So I slept it off!

I've snoozed it on and off for fifteen years.

Wait, what?

Fifteen years!

Imagine Rapunzel spending her entire eighteen years of life doing what she thought she ought to do. Well, she was happy. She would paint to her heart's content. She would cook her favorite food. She would sing with her family, her pet Pascal. She had been into books and amazingly, she would learn something new every day. Almost perfect...

...except for the fact that she was trapped in the prison tower.

And being fascinated by the floating lights that occurred exactly on her birthdays, she found a way to fulfill her dream - to escape the tower and discover where those magical lights come from.

Ok, drop that fairy tale.

In the real world, majority of the working mothers including me, feel trapped in the 9-5 job system. Dissatisfied with the monotonous cycle of work each and every day.

Weekend rolls around and suddenly your to-do lists can get overwhelming.

Your weekends start to become too short to witness your kid's every milestone.

Suddenly, you're beginning to search for answers to a simple question like:

Are we moms really supposed to live the cycle of our weekdays job? 

Fifteen years of work in the comfort of my corporate zone is a never ending process.

It's been more or less a cycle to:

• Wake up.

• Fix my kids to school.

• Get stuck in the heavy traffic on the way to work.

• Work my eyes out in front of a computer the whole day and feel my stress level reach sky-high when banking hours are cut off.

• Get stuck in the heavier traffic on the way home.

• Ask my kids about their home work.

• Watch Madam Claudia and Miss Powers exchange their hugot lines in that popular tv soap (because I'm too exhausted to do something else)

• Go to bed kissing my kids wishing we have more quality time together.

• Sleep.

Somewhere deep in my heart, this is not I want to live for the rest of my motherhood life.

I want to own my time so that I can give it to my children whenever they need it the most.

I want to live in my own terms so that I can teach my children the meaning of independence in its truest sense.

I want to give value to others and be a good mom too, blend the two to get a sense of fulfillment.

Finally. 

Awakened.

The transition from being an employed mom to be a WAHM wouldn't be that easy, yes. 

I heard both the bright and the dark sides of working at home.

And here's 5 sets of advice that I think could help us moms become WAHM-savvy. 

1. Be mentally ready. Know your fears and do conquer them.

A good book by Napoleon Hill laid down the "6 ghosts of fear". These are, the fear of poverty, fear of criticism, fear of ill health, fear of loss of someone's love, fear of old age and fear of death. The author's advice is to "take inventory of yourself, find out how many of the ghosts of fear are standing in your way." He stated, that "fear is nothing more than a state of mind". The key is to "analyze yourself, disclose your weaknesses and face the facts squarely".

2.  Talk out your plans with your husband, family and friends.

It's always comforting to know that your family most especially your husband understands how you feel. If you're a single mom, friends and family are there to support you. They're going to give you advice even if you don't seek it and they're more than willing to offer you help when you really need it. Acknowledge and thank their support. While you seek advice to people who have been there and done what you've always wanted to do. 

3. Start creating multiple streams of income and cutting down expenses.

Grow your knowledge and use it. Specialize your skill  because it's your weapon. Develop your talent because it's a blessing. Follow Fitz Villafuerte and his articles because he can read your mind when it comes to your personal finance. These actions will leverage you to come up with creating sources of income. Meanwhile, lifestyle downgrade, cutting down utility costs, planning your grocery, and sticking to a budget are some of the ways to reduce expenses.      

4. Create an effective and doable schedule.

Have a clear idea of what needs to be done for the day and jot it down. Multitask if you can. Otherwise, delegate. Staying productive can be a challenge for WAHM especially when your office is just a step away from your kids' arena. You pull it off with a drama of your kids' sibling fight. So it's really best to find out which slot on the 24 hrs of the day you're most productive and hit on it.

5. Enjoy life, simply and be healthy.

Feel-good movies. Addictive books. Good food. Relaxing music. A good night's sleep. Hearty talk with friends. These are the most affordable spices of life that we can take advantage when it's time for me-time. You have the right to sit down and relax a bit. You won't lose a client if you sip your perfectly-brewed coffee at this moment, would you? Eat the right food and do exercise. A healthy mom keeps a healthy home.

Being a WAHM entitles you to get the best of both worlds- profession and parenthood.

If you're a passionate person with a big dream and bigger actions, one day you'll wake up and be the living Rapunzel that you can be. Like she did, you might find that it's all worth it.