The recent Covid pandemic has made working from home more mainstream. But getting family and friends to take your work at home job seriously can still be a challenge. Some may be envious, some may want to know exactly what you do and how you do it. Others may just not understand why you can’t meet them at their favorite restaurant for a long lunch, babysit their kids or lounge on the couch all day watching movies.
You may hear things like:
- “Wow, I wish I could work all day in my PJs”
- “I couldn’t work all day with the kids underfoot and the TV blaring”
- “Must be nice to just chill at home all day while everyone is at work”
- “Don’t you get bored?”
- “So why isn’t the house clean, laundry done, dinner cooked?”
- “Do you just work whenever you feel like it?”
- “Is it a real job or just a hobby? How much do you make?”
And the list goes on.
It can be very upsetting and frustrating when you’re working hard to help contribute to family expenses, or even if you’re working for a little extra fun money. But, it’s important to remember that even with more people working from home today, the concept is still foreign to many people and most are still used to working in a traditional setting, or they’re stay at home parents who don’t freelance on the side.
Some may also be a little jealous or resentful that your freelance work allows you more freedom than their traditional job.
Of course, you can ignore the barrage of questions and comments. But, if you don’t want to get caught up with family and friends expectations, demands for lunch dates and requests that you run errands for them, it’s a good idea to play a little offense and get everyone to take your work at home job seriously.
Below are a few things you can do so your family and friends take both you and your freelancing job seriously.
Take Yourself and Your Work Seriously
It doesn’t matter your reasons for freelancing. If you don’t take yourself and your work seriously, you can’t really expect anyone else to.
Don’t ignore deadlines so you can go to lunch with your bestie, and then talk about how much you hate your work, how you constantly procrastinate, miss deadlines and never get things completed on time. Remember, if you don’t treat it as a real, valid job, no one else will.
Don’t Self Sabotage
We all know that working from home and building a freelance business is tough. But, if you always talk about how badly you’re doing or how you think you’re going to fail, people will feel sorry for you and invite you out to distract you.
Even when it’s tough, try to be upbeat and optimistic about your freelance work. If you focus and work hard, it will pay off.
Set Work Hours and Stick to Them
Freelancing takes time and dedication. If you just spend 10 minutes rushing through something every now and again, you’ll get nothing completed. It doesn’t have to be 9 to 5 – one of the beauty’s of freelancing is you can set your own hours – but set your work hours, and during those times ignore personal emails, phone calls, social media etc and focus on your work. You’ll find you get a lot more done and, at the end of your workday you’ll feel accomplished.
Set Boundaries
Learn how to say no and mean no. It’s not your responsibility to fit your work around everyone else’s schedule. Nobody would dream of showing up to an office and demanding you take a couple of hours off for lunch or a playdate, and it’s important they learn they can’t do it to you during work hours.
If necessary, explain you’re working and that lost hours means lost income that could hurt your bottom line.
Set Clear Goals
Whether you’re freelancing to boost savings, fund a family vacation or help support the family’s everyday expenses, setting clear goals helps to give your work context and makes you accountable.
Figure out a schedule that fits you and write your daily, weekly or monthly goals in a notebook. As you set more goals, add them to the list. You’ll be surprised how much motivation you’ll find to complete them.
Remember to keep your goals manageable and simple – try to come up with short-term goals you can achieve. Unless you’re incredibly successful at your freelancing career, I want to be a millionaire in 5 years is probably an unrealistic, unattainable goal.
Create or Change Your Email Signature
Simply adding something like Freelance Writer or Freelance Designer to your email signature is a way to remind everyone what you do and that you’re serious about it. If people constantly see your title in your email, your job will sink in and they’ll take you more seriously.
Share Your Work or Your Successes
Of course, just as you shouldn’t constantly complain about your work, you also shouldn’t constantly brag. But take a little time daily or weekly to share what you do with your loved ones. Let them know when you’ve just completed a tough project or landed a new client. It will help reinforce the fact that you’re a professional in your field. Just remember to spend some time listening to their accomplishments as well.