For some, working at home is a full time job, which includes weekends. This can be quite challenging to those with young children or a spouse who has worked all week, and wants to engage in recreational or social activities as a family on the weekend. So, what does a work at home mom do? How does she balance work, life and family on the weekends? Here are our suggestions:

1. Rise and grind…earlier! We know that weekends were made for sleeping in, but a work at home mom may need to sacrifice a few Zs in order to get the job done. A few extra hours before everyone wakes up can free you up for fun family time later in the day.

2. Devise a weekend schedule. Unless your work at home job entails predetermined shifts, work out your own schedule that is different than your weekday schedule. If you don’t have to work an 8 hour work day, don’t. Perhaps you can work 2 hours in the morning, before your family arises, and 2 hours in the evening after everyone’s settling down.

3. Take your laptop with you and hit the road. A portable office means that you can work from just about anywhere. As a location independent professional, learn how to work in spurts while away from home and you’ll be surprised at how much you can actually get accomplished while spending time with your family.

During Superbowl 2009, I had a ton of work due the following day, but my husband and I were also invited to a party. Not much of a sports fan, I attended the party, was sociable before the kickoff and, while everyone was shouting at the television, I hammered away at work. I admit to not being much for multi-tasking, so if I can pull this off, anyone can.

4. Don’t be a superwoman. Unless you absolutely must work on the weekend, limit the time that you spend doing so. It’s okay to be passionate about your job or career, but be careful not to burn yourself (and your family) out by doing too much. Set realistic goals for yourself AND set limits…and stick to them!

5. Remember your priorities. Work is important, but so is family. Chances are that you don’t get to spend a whole lot of time together during the week as you all move in different directions. While your work at home job must be treated with respect, your family should always come first. If your telecommuting position is taking up all of your free time…time that should be spent creating memories with your family…it may be time to reprioritize or even explore other work from home opportunities.

Hopefully these tips will help you strike a balance between working from home on the weekends and having a life with family and friends. I know some of you have been at this for a while and can probably share a few additional insightful tips. So, what are some of your best strategies for working at home on the weekend?

A few days ago, I heard about several unfortunate employees who were in hot water for cashing checks for their employer. While I don’t know the exact details, it sounded alarmingly similar to a common work at home scam where a crook sends a large check or money order and requests that a work at home employee cash it, pocket a small portion and forward the rest of the money to the thief. While the scenario sounds almost identical, there is one glaring difference: the employer in question ran a brick and mortar business and all of the employees worked on site.

The lesson here? Scam artists do not only lurk behind Internet pseudonyms, but many of them are hiding in plain sight. With this knowledge, it’s important to never let your guard down. While work at home jobs for moms often bear a bad rep thanks to scammers, this sort of thing can happen to anyone anywhere and at any time if people aren’t careful.

It’s unfortunate that work at home jobs for moms are sometimes harshly prejudged or met with extreme skepticism. As we know, legitimate work at home jobs for moms DO exist. It can be particularly hard when your own friends and family members don’t take your work at home job searching seriously, but you may want to remind them that  we hear of scams existing everywhere from Wall Street (Bernie Madoff, anyone?) to Main Street.

Just thought you could use a little reminder that thieves don’t just stick to work at home jobs for moms. Be careful out there!