Working at home: Smart strategies by Jamilah Samian

Remember the two seminars that I contemplated on going recently? Well, last Monday I attended the one organized by ehomemakers.net and Jabatan Pembangunan Wanita called Small Office Home Office Conference – “The Road to Entrepreneurship”. It was good – I felt inspired and motivated! I’d like to share with you some notes I took from the afternoon workshop by Jamilah Samian about smart strategies with regards to working from home. If the name Jamilah Samian sounds familiar to you, one of the reasons could be because you have read her book Cool Mum Super Dad.

But before that, I’d like to touch a bit on the other earlier sessions, just bits and pieces of what made the strongest impressions to me. Helen Read (founder of MS READ, fashion label for plus-sized women) recounted her own experience, which was pretty amazing. She reminded us not to despise the little things, that it’s okay to smart small. “I had fears,” she said. “But I didn’t allow myself to think about the outcomes and just concentrated on plodding along day by day.” Gary Gilbertson reminded us to really know the business of our business. And that includes understanding the marketing, finance, operation, and management bits of it. Dr Kamal Jit Singh spoke about innovation. In order to become a ‘disruptive force’, we have to understand the what business we are in (which is not the same as what products we are selling, for example Rolex don’t sell watch, they sell status symbol/lifestyle etc), understand pain and pleasure (to turn pain into pleasure eg design more fun exercise machines), adapt innovation from other industries, and become an ‘orange’. He paused (on purpose, I think) after saying this phrase. I was curious – what did he mean by that? Apparently, that’s just a catchy way of saying: you have to really differentiate yourself so that customers can’t compare you apple to apple with competitiors, in other words - you have to become an orange. Haha…

Okay, back to Puan Jamilah’s session. Firstly, let me clarify that the term ‘working from home’ should be interpreted as widely as possible – it does not necessarily mean having a business from home alone, it could also mean being employed but working from home all or part of the time (like what I do now - I work from home one week in a month, so I could really use some of these tips!), or doing freelance tasks, or studying, or even teaching your own child etc. To begin with, Puan Jamilah reminded us although working from home is very attractive because of the sense of freedom (and flexibility to be with our family), we have to remember that: with freedom comes responsibility! She started by giving some common causes of failures:

• Unrealistic expectations


• Inability to prioritise, disorganized, inability to work around kids, unsupportive spouse/family members


• Procrastination, lack of self-discipline, lack of self-motivation

So what are the smart strategies that Puan Jamilah had shared with us?

• Create a dedicated workspace, it could just a corner of the living room or bedroom, that is safe, secure, convenient and fits your needs and your family needs


• Preferably have your own PC, your kids might accidentally delete your work if you share PC with them


• Ensure safety (eg toddler grabbing cable/wires?)


• Utilize technology, for example WIFI


• Chunking/bundling your activities (eg make several changes to your website at one go if it’s not urgent, don’t check your email all the time – just limit yourself to two or three times a day, errands etc)


• Develop a routine


• Time management (consider diary/PDA)


• Analyse your activities (is there a better way to do things?)


• Identify time wasters


• Use timer for activities


• Get spouse/kids to help with housework


• Don’t be a perfectionist (for eg don’t refold the clothes your kid helped you fold because you think it’s not neat enough!)


• Outsource some mundane, non-value adding jobs eg laundry or cleaning


• Involve your kids/family with your work (age appropriate eg stapling, putting stamps – not because of the job itself but to make them understand and feel involved)


• Have sacred family time at least once a day eg dinnertime (so that they are less likely to feel like they need your attention all the time)


• When the clients/customers make impossible demands - negotiate, don’t make promises you can’t keep, and be prepared to say ‘no’


• Always do your best


• Stay in the present moment


• Set limits and be honest with yourself


• When things don’t work - forgive yourself, be kind to yourself


• Have a positive attitude, get as many positive people around you

During the Q&A session, I wanted to ask how to manage work when you have to mind your toddler and there’s no one else around, but someone else beat me to it. These are some tips from both Puan Jamilah and Sharon Ong (emcee for the workshop):

• Break down your working time, perhaps use some time before he wakes up, during his naptime (feed him heavy lunch!), after he sleeps


• Encourage him to entertain himself with toys and activities but make sure the environment is safe eg safety gate for stairs etc


• Consider getting a part time babysitter – doesn’t have to be a ‘proper’ babysitter because you know you are around to take care of things, but just someone to play with him, for example older kids (relative or neighbour maybe?)

It’s not easy to work from home. Puan Jamilah shared some of her personal stories. When she first started her freelance translation and copyrighting services from home, she had no experience (she was from IT background) or contact. She called the companies listed in the yellow pages one by one, until one kind heart from a cement company gave her a tip: “Kak, if you are looking for translation works, you don’t call cement companies. You call PR and advertising companies.” She also recalled how she managed typing on her laptop with one hand while breastfeeding one child as well as rocking another in a ‘buai’ – not recommended though, she added. Puan Jamilah is such a cool working-from-home mum; I hope I can emulate her in some ways. That’s all folks, hope there’s something to gain from this post.

SELINGAN: As far as I can remember, I was never lucky with lucky draws. But last Monday, I did win something – an ebook. I thought it would be an ebook on something like starting up a business or something, but it turned out to be (disappointingly) – DIY Maid to Order: Essential Tips & Tools For Training Your Foreign Maid For A Happier Home. I definitely don’t need the ebook now, and I hope I won’t ever need to read it! But then again, I just might – although I wish I don’t ever have to use live-in foreign maid services, I would definitely consider part-time help though in the future.