The benefits of flexible working

Flexible Working Benefits

Over the past few months I’ve been limited in the amount of time I spend working, so I’ve been working flexibly. It’s something you can do too – especially if you’re running your own business.  You don’t need to stick to a strict 9-5 if it doesn’t suit you or your lifestyle. While it helps…

Read More

Are you feeling guilty?

Do you always feel guilty about work?

Many working mums (and dads) can find themselves torn between their work and their home life. They feel guilty when they’re at work that they should be spending time with their children. They feel guilty when they’re with their children that they should be working. This problem is made worse when you work from home.…

Read More

Are you running a business or is it running you?

Problems with running a business

I had a call recently from someone who is running their own business but working long hours, giving up their evenings and weekends and putting a lot of time into it but not getting the results they want – namely, they’re finding it hard to earn any money. Mums (and Dads) want a business that…

Read More

Top 5 frustrations of running a small business

frustrations of running a small business

Based on personal experience and observations of businesses I’ve worked with. Marketing – I know I struggled when I first started, never having done it before. I’ve done a huge amount, learnt a lot along the way, although still a way to go and new things to learn all the time. I still see many…

Read More

Liberating or Isolating – working from home?

Working women and women in business

I was listening to Woman’s Hour while driving to a meeting in town yesterday and caught the discussion about working from home. Having worked from home myself for several years, I’ve seen both sides.  Whether you work from home as a freelancer or as an employee. In some ways it’s totally liberating, as you can…

Read More

Do You Take Your Work Home?

Does your work ever follow you home?

There was a piece on BBC Breakfast this morning about the number of people who take their work home with them. One of the comments was from someone who ran their own business – as if this was justification for working long hours and answering emails late at night. If someone else is disorganised enough…

Read More

Are You Addicted To Work?

Could you be addicted to work

According to researchers in Norway and the United Kingdom – they’ve come up with a way of measuring how addicted we are to work. “A number of studies show that work addiction has been associated with insomnia, health problems, burnout and stress as well as creating conflict between work and family life,” Andreassen says. The…

Read More

Escape From The Home Office

escape your home office

When your home is your office, sometimes you can go just a little stir crazy – especially if the only conversation you have is with your children and if they’re under 5 that’s probably fairly limited. Here are a few ways for you to escape and get a breath of fresh air. Work away from…

Read More

Live To Work Or Work To Live?

Business owners working long hours

I’ve recently spoken to yet another person who, even though they loved their work, realised there’s more to life – and they needed to readjust the balance. If you’re running your own business, it’s easy to get sucked in to working all hours to keep your business going.   While you need to put in…

Read More

Are You An Absent Dad?

Dads working too much and absent from kids

In the last week there have been two TV programmes aimed at fatherhood – Daddy Daycare (Channel 4) and Wonderland: A Dad Is Born (BBC2) – I have to say I didn’t watch either of them.  It was also discussed on Radio 4 Woman’s Hour Many of the men I work with often have one…

Read More