Katie Katie Parsons is the creator of Mumbling Mommy and is a freelance writer, editor and communications specialist. She works from her home office on the east coast of Florida. Most often she writes about life in a combined family of five children and what it's like being a full time work-from-home parent. Feel free to pitch guest post ideas or just drop her a line at katie@mumblingmommy.com.

Being a work-at-home mom often means blurred boundaries when it comes to career and family — both a blessing, and a curse, of the setup. In past years, my yearly goals as a working at home mom have simply been to make it all function — the whole being a mommy, keeping everyone alive, and earning a living at the same time schtick.

Now that I’ve been doing it for awhile, and feel semi-buoyant, my working at home mom resolutions are a little more specific. This year I aim to:

My organized workspace for the New Year
  • Sit at my desk. When I write posts with advice on working at home for other sites, I often tell other people to designate a space in their home for work tasks and to avoid sitting on the couch with their laptops. I don’t always take my own advice, though, and I need to start. Having an organized place where I can put on my “work hat” and power through my tasks is essential to my professionalism and also to having enough time for my family at the end of the day.
  • Walk away from my work. As a freelancer, there are always things going on and (very small, insignificant) proverbial fires to put out. I’ve always been good at taking breaks from my computer to change a diaper, fix a snack or throw in a load of laundry, but I need to be better about just being DONE at some point in the day/week. If I can make my first resolution stick, I should be efficient enough to make this one a reality too.
  • Say “no.” To  borrow a phrase from my friend and fellow blogger Maddie, freelancing from home/owning a small business tends to be “feast or famine.” For me that means a strong hesitancy to say “no” to work — even when I don’t have the time or need the money. This year, I have a monetary amount I’ve set each month and anything extra beyond that I will turn down. I’ve also moved away from some of my writing contracts that I do not particularly enjoy in exchange for the ones that I do. There will always be unexpected projects that arise that are too good to pass up — but I plan to be more selective in what I accept moving forward.
  • Refocus. Though I love to write, not all assignments are created equal on my wish list. I have several personal writing projects started that simply need my attention to complete. This is the year I plan to make that happen.

What about you? Do you have any working at home mom career resolutions for the New Year?

While you are here, you may enjoy these posts:

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Tax Breaks for Freelancers

What Exactly is Ghostwriting?

Finding Balance Between Home and Work

What I Learned My First Year as a Freelancer

5 Things You Thought You Knew about Freelance Writers

Category: Working From Home

Tags: Freelance Friday