So I am Laura I’m 25 and I work for a company called MyQuickCloud. If you’re a current client you may have spoken to me on support or sales. I also run our social media. So if you have contacted us there it would be me you would be speaking to. I have a two year old called Ayla-Jane and we have documented a typical week for us as I navigate being a mum and working full time. Luckily I get to work remotely 4 days a week and this is to share my personal experiences with working from home. I talk about the challenges and joys that I face in a normal week. I hope you laugh, cry and relate to us as much as you can. We are your typical mother and daughter trying to navigate their way through this journey together.
Monday:-
So today is my office day, normally I spend 3 hours travelling to work on a train while sipping coffee and listening to music. Today, however, I am driving with Ayla. I have had that dreaded moment that every parent has when their childcare falls through and I must admit I panicked. Being a working parent is hard when moments like this come up. I know I’m lucky and could have worked from home but I need to go into the office on a Monday for my meetings so off we go.
Half way to London we stop to buy snacks for a tired and slightly grumpy Ayla-Jane. Anyone who has had a 2 year old knows what I’m talking about. So we buy fruit, which I soon realize is red and very messy when your child is wearing white, but off we go again. We finally get to the outskirts of London park up and head to the train station. You can see the the picture of Ayla trying to keep herself entertained on the train into central London.
We finally make it to the office and do all our meetings and catch ups. Again we are on our way home, luckily for me I’m not driving back so I am able to help customers. I also document our crazy adventure to London.
Tuesday:-
Today we are enjoying the sun and heading to the farm. I have MyQuickCloud on my phone and all the systems I use are ready to go so I can work and spend time with Ayla. We get to the farm and Ayla decides to run off. Like a rabid animal, finally let loose off her leash, we are off.
So as I watch Ayla go up and down the slide for the 157th time, I decide to check my emails. I’m lucky my child is independent as my friend kindly reminded me last week so she runs off and plays independently a lot in the park. As I glance at my screen and see all the unopened emails coming through like a tidal wave, I take a moment to think what other parents must think of me when they look at me. I am that parent that is stood in the park paying half attention to their child and on their phone. Except I’m not on Facebook, I’m even worse! I am checking emails, writing emails and scheduling my calls for the week. Eventually Ayla got bored and decided it was time to go see her favorite animals.
So as we walk down the paths together holding hands and stopping to feed the animals the work phone goes off. And although this is us having fun I am also working, I answer the phone chat to the customer. For a moment I remember I’m being paid to stand in the boiling hot sun feeding farm animals with my daughter and talk to customers. My job is amazing.
Wednesday:-
I have decided today I am going to work from my bed, much to Ayla’s disappointment. She loves a good day out where she can run wild as you can guess from previous days. As we both lay in the big bed together and cuddle I open my laptop screen and make a start on the busy day ahead. Ayla has decided that if we are to set up camp here she would like a few things as part of the deal. Firstly, a number of chocolate biscuits, my phone, and a cup of milk are the deal breakers for staying in bed today. Luckily for her I can provide these things even if I don’t really like her eating in my bed. Nor do I enjoy the sound of youtubekids being played as a constant distraction.
So as I type up my emails for the day ahead and slowly make my way through a few inquiries. I feel a small person cuddle up to me, thumb in her mouth, phone in hand and I know she is happy to stay put for an hour. So after that hour comes and goes we decide to finally make our way downstairs and make a den. We put up a 2 man tent and airbed in our living room *note yes I may be crazy but working and keeping a 2 year old happy can be an experience*. So we get in the tent with my laptop and I carry on emailing back a few clients and organizing the rest of my week.
Inside the tent I work and Ayla jumps around like a crazy loon. We also have our 8 month old puppy Arthur in the tent so this has now become a little crazy! But totally worth the smile on Ayla’s face and to tire them both out!
Thursday:-
Thursday:-Thursdays for us are mum’s group. Me and Ayla go off to a toddler group which is so much fun for me and for her. I sit in this room full of amazing parents, the kids go into a crèche for 2 hours yay for mum break! The mums and I start talking about how hard it is to be a working parent as well as trying to have a life balance. I can’t relate to this anymore as I will say 100 times – I am so darn lucky to have the ability to work from home! Anyways we drink tea, eat biscuits, talk about the dads behind their backs and make play dough (yes a room full of grown women making play dough is as fun as it sounds).
Today is a quiet day for us so as we slowly make our way to do our food shopping for the week, I think should we do something fun today? Or maybe just be adults. Sadly being an adult won, walking around the supermarket and having the work systems turned on with a toddler in the trolley is always a fun game for me –not.
Trying to take everything out of the trolley that Ayla keeps putting in, is a tricky task as I’m sure you know! But answering a few emails and starting to add to this blog, I am starting to feel like running around a supermarket was not such a good idea today! All I want to do is be out in the sun; tiring Ayla out and having fun. But, nope! I decided being a grown up was more important anyway once shopping is done its home to do add to my day on this blog post.
Friday:-
Friday is my favorite day of the week as Ayla goes to nursery 1pm-5pm. This gives me a nice time to schedule all my conference calls in without Paw Patrol in the background. So I walk her down to nursery, answer a few sales chats on the way and get back home. I set up my laptop just in time for a conference call with a third party we work with. Shout out to Carly who totally understands what its like to be a working mum!
So for once the house is quiet and I must admit as much as Friday is my favorite time of the week, I do miss Ayla when she’s not around. I mainly like Fridays because the weekend is nearly here and I don’t work weekends. Ayla makes my working at home fun! We do get to spend a lot of time together and I am so lucky and fortunate. I get this time with her as a lot of my friends don’t with their kids.
I’m lucky I haven’t missed her first steps or her first word or helping her talk and all the little things that you want to be around for as a parent. Even the things you don’t want to be around for, like sickness or exploding nappies. So take the good with the bad I say! But I am fortunate I get to work from home and watch my perfect little crazy princess grow up.
My Final Thoughts :-
I have been that parent that worked 9-5 and left the office late. By the time I got home most nights my daughter would be tucked up in bed. It would break my heart. It felt like I was missing out on everything that was my daughter’s firsts. She’s 2 and I found that really hard. I made a promise to myself that if I could I would be there for those moments. Still working while I make sure my daughter is proud of me. I want her to have someone to look up to growing up.
Luckily, I now have a job where I can be successful and have the opportunity to work from home. I get to spend my time working hard but not missing the moments being there for my daughter. Fortunately I am able to enjoy adorable moments with Ayla and still be able to work. I can work from anywhere in the world as long as I have phone signal or wi-fi. It’s not easy being a young working mum with a 2 year old. I was greedy I wanted the career and a child. But I finally feel like I am able to have both thanks to MyQuickCloud. I can have that happy life-work balance that I craved so much while I worked within a corporate company.
If you would like to learn how MyQuickCloud can help you work from home as I have please contact us or take a look here https://myquickcloud.com/work-from-home/
