work at home mum Archives

Natalie Ray January 31, 2016 Being a work from home mum

A letter to a busy mum

Dear mum, Please mum, stop a minute for me. Dad says you’re busy. He says you work hard until late at night when I’m asleep. He says there’s lots to do around the house and you’re trying to look after us children as well. Dad says I can’t come and see you because you’re working. I don’t know what that means, so I sneak up to your office. I try to talk to you, ask you to read me a story or take me to the park. We could go for a bike ride or run around the fields. We could…

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Natalie Ray December 5, 2015 Being a work from home mum

Tomorrow I’ll be a better mum

To my beautiful girls, You are the last thing I think about at night when I try to get some sleep. I think about all the times that day when I’ve raised my voice to you. All the times I’ve had to work when you wanted me to play. I think about how quickly you’re growing up, how much you are changing. And about the things I miss when I’m not with you. I remember the times when you’ve been trying to get my attention whilst I’ve been talking or doing something. And the times you’ve asked to paint, bake…

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Natalie Ray August 30, 2015 Being a work from home mum

The health benefits of work-life balance

Blood pressure is often cited as a factor associated with your risk of having a heart attack or stroke. It is also widely accepted that exercise is a key factor in lowering blood pressure. And over the past few days, the European Society of Cardiology has revealed the results of a study about daytime sleeping. It turns out that napping during the day can lower your blood pressure significantly. In turn, this lowers your risk of having both a heart attack and a stroke. And yet, when it comes to both sleep and exercise, life tends to get in the way. I know…

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Natalie Ray August 12, 2015 Being a work from home mum

I haven’t got time

I hear a lot in the media about work-life balance. It’s often based around parents. Balancing work, childcare, family time and time to yourself is virtually impossible as a parent. I’ve interviewed seven amazing people now in my Inspirational Parents series. I’ve asked them all about their theories around work-life balance. Sadly nobody has come up with a miracle solution – other than asking for help. That’s really not my style so when I need to take on more work, something else has to give. Now that I’ve stopped everything else, the only way I can fit more working hours…

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Natalie Ray March 7, 2015 Being a work from home mum

Three things that can empower women

On the eve of International Women’s Day, I wanted to take the time to reflect on the things that I think are important to empower women in 2015. The first thing that strikes me when I think about empowerment is the struggle that women still face in male dominated workplaces. For a female wanting to get promoted in this sort of environment, it really is a battle. I know, I checked. The thing that I found difficult in that environment was that the men do tend to have a lot of solidarity. The higher management roles are predominantly held by men and they…

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