Working from the home can be rewarding, but there are times where it can be downright stressful. This can be especially true if there is only one parent running both the business and the household during the day.While you may not be able to avoid many of the tasks that are the source of the stress, there a number of things you can do to ease the stress or help prevent it from happening in the first place.

Ways to De-Stress:

First, take a deep breath. Forget about everything that is happening around you and just breath. Let the work wait for a just a little bit. Then, you could also try planting a garden. Gardening is known to naturally relieve stress. Multiply your stress-relief benefits by making it a Homemade Herbal Tea Garden and enjoy a cup every day. Yoga is also beneficial for stress relief. Not only does yoga relieve tension in the muscles, but it can also relax the mind.

If you can’t get away from the kids, try doing the yoga together or even better yet, taking a walk together. Walking is a great stress reliever and sometimes a bit of sunshine can also help. Also read “How to Regain Your Sanity After a Stressful Day” by Kristie Leong M.D. for even more stress relief tips.

Avoiding Stress:

An important factor in avoiding stress is organization. When your life is organized, there is less room for stress. Of course, it can still occur, but it should be reduced with some organizing.

The first step in organizing your work at home life and balancing it with family life is to create a schedule that you know will work. For instance, if your child naps at 2 pm, you can schedule some work, household chores, or a nap for yourself in that time slot. If you schedule your work during a time you know your children will be up running around, expect to get interrupted. If you cannot work with interruptions, then schedule your work during a time when you would have the least amount. If your work schedule cannot be reworked in this manner, there is also the option of hiring a mommy’s helper or a babysitter.

Aside from the schedule, be sure all your parenting supplies and work supplies are placed in convenient areas. If you always end up changing baby in your office during the day, set up an extra changing area there. This will save a bit of time and frustration running from room to room for supplies.

If your child/ren will be in your work area while you work, set up a permanent play area nearby. Rotate the toys frequently to avoid boredom for the child/ren. Keeping your child/ren happy can reduce stress for both of you. Be sure to also take breaks to play with the child/ren so that they still get the important parental interaction they need. Also, playing with kids is known as a natural stress reliever, as are hugs and laughter.

More on Stress:

How Stress Led Me to the Emergency Room
When you stress it can cause you more problems than you had before. This article will show you how to live stress free days.
View more »

4 Ways to De-Stress the Holistic Way
Holistic De-stressing helps you to balance your mind and body to create an overall emotionally calm spirit.
View more »

Reduce Work from Home Stress
Reduce work from home job stress through planning, organization, delegating tasks, taking time off and other great tips.
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I know I said I wouldn’t be able to post for a while but I have about half an hour to kill so I thought I’d post some articles and since I (and Pam Gaulin) have been in a DIY mood myself I thought posting some home improvement ideas would be a good idea.

I’ve never considered painting a radiator, but maybe that’s because I don’t have a radiator. If I did I would check out Uttini’s article How to Paint a Radiator. Or maybe I’d read Amy Whittle’s How to Build a Wooden Radiator Cover.

If you’ve ever wondered what sort of home improvement things you shouldn’t do then take a look at Steve Thompson’s article, DIY Home Improvements: What Not to Do: The Pitfalls of DIY Home Improvement Can Be Found in These Five Projects.

AC’s Amy Brantley has written an article for lovebirds about to take the plunge. Her DIY Wedding Projects article is perfect for the engaged couple looking to save a few bucks by having a DIY wedding.

I’ve been thinking about putting a screen door on my house lately and was looking for a way to build my own rather than buying a pre-made door when I stumbled across RS’s Vintage Screen Door headboard DIY Project article. Even though it doesn’t help me put a screen door on my house I thought it was interesting enough to link to it.

For more DIY projects see Associated Content’s Home Improvement Section.

Hi Everyone. I wanted to give you all a heads up. I’ve been super busy as of late and haven’t had a chance to work on the blog. I have tons of articles bookmarked that I plan to post about and new people to add to the spotlight.

I probably won’t be able to post or update things until the first week of August so I do apologize for lack of activity.

Have a great week!

Kelly

I left the threads for just a couple of days; when I came back I expected interesting,insightful,soul searching,funny and joyful threads. To my dismay they are in (almost) hibernation. And this while AC so loves our endless chatter! Admin.Mike said so himself; more or less. He wants more participation folks, not less! AC has well over 100.000 writers, and only a handful are active on the threads. Perhaps the other 99.990 are extremely busy lawn mowing, cleaning their house or smoking weird cigarettes, but surely there’s time to join in?

Joyful 324 is trying to find out what we do when we’re not writing. Since most of us seem to be the most creative at work, and so using the boss’ computers, it has become glaringly clear. We don’t have the time to write at home; instead we do it somewhere else and hope that nobody finds out.

Charlie had hoped that nobody in Denver realized it was a National Day: 4th of July to be precise. But since Sam keeps an eye on the calender this notion was dispelled of very quickly. Sam and staff will be putting their feet up and probably closing their tired eyes for the whole weekend. Or throw a party; I have no idea what they do in Denver when AC closes its doors.

And Crutnacker has probably seen more YouTube than he originally bargained for. To ask for songs that have your name in it will make people go absolutely wild, it seems . He has taken to listening to punk from now on and will re-appear with a Mohawk and safety pins in his ears. His new avatar will be for public publication soon. If he can find his camera, that is.

And Kelly is into needles as well; a new tattoo of intricate design has appeared on her arm. It shows that Kel is not afraid to go to great lengths and a lot of pain to get what she wants. And all this while she was also busy renovating her abode.

Well, that’s me for this week. Be nice to each other,

Mary-Jane