Working at Home While Pregnant: Staying Productive When Faced with Challenges

When I found out that I was pregnant, I was shocked, then thrilled, and then nauseated, tired and moody. I soon found myself having a hard time getting my writing done while trying to deal with the symptoms of my pregnancy.

So what can you do if you are working from home and having a hard time staying productive while you are pregnant?

Working From Home During Pregnancy: How to Stay Productive While You Are Pregnant: Exhaustion

Many pregnant women complain about how tired they are, which can become a big problem if you are working from home where it is real easy to just climb in bed and take a nap. So, what can you do to stay productive while working from home during pregnancy?

You don't necessarily have to work through your exhaustion if you make sure that you go right to work when you wake up from your nap or from a night of sleep. Going right to work when you wake up ensures that you get the most work done before you begin to feel tired again. If you procrastinate when you wake up, telling yourself that you will work a little later, then you might never get any work done, because before you know it you are tired again.

Working From Home During Pregnancy: How to Stay Productive While You Are Pregnant: Morning Sickness

Whether you are throwing up or just feeling queasy, morning sickness, or all-day sickness as many have come to call it, can be one of the biggest hurdles to staying productive while working from home during a pregnancy.

I am totally guilty of using my sick feeling as an excuse to not get any work done, but after a week I had to learn how to function even though I wasn't feeling at the top of my game. I learned that eating smaller meals and drinking tons of water helped to minimize the amount of time I spent feeling sick. I also made sure that I got as much work done as I could when I was feeling the least sick and tried to coordinate my sleep time with the times of the day when I was usually feeling sick, that way time wasn't "wasted" being sick and being tired, it was "wasted" being sick and tired at the same time.

Working From Home During Pregnancy: How to Stay Productive While You Are Pregnant: Endless Hunger

Many people snack at the office, so that is the approach I took to dealing with my endless hunger while still remaining productive while working from home. Granola bars, frozen appetizers, Sun Chips, and carrot sticks, those were my favorite items that helped to satisfy my endless hunger, while still allowing me to work while I ate. And as I mentioned before, eating smaller meals throughout the day helps to curve some morning sickness, so the benefits of snacking are two-fold.

Working From Home During Pregnancy: How to Stay Productive While You Are Pregnant: Frequent Bathroom Breaks

There isn't much you can do here, when you are pregnant and you have to pee, you have to pee. In fact, I highly recommend that you don't try to hold it so that you can get work done because the last thing you want is a UTI. The only advice I have when it comes to this pregnancy symptom and staying productive while working from home when you are pregnant is to pick a location in your home that is close to a bathroom to work from to minimize travel time. If you used to work upstairs and your only bathroom is downstairs, then try finding a place downstairs where you can get work done and easily make it to the bathroom.

Working From Home During Pregnancy: How to Stay Productive While You Are Pregnant: Worry

Worrying is one symptom of pregnancy that is hard to escape. When you find out you are pregnant you begin to wonder how you are going to support the baby, what religion do you want it raised in, what school district do you want the child to attend, do you need to move, etc. All this worrying can be distracting when you are trying to get work done, especially when you don't have coworkers around to remind you to get things done. So, if you are working from home and you are pregnant, then try taking a second out from your work when a worry pops into your head and write it down. Then, later on in the day, when your work is done, look at the list and try coming up with some answers to your worries, or you can call someone and talk to them about what is concerning you.

Working From Home During Pregnancy: How to Stay Productive While You Are Pregnant: Nesting

The urge to nest might distract you from getting your work done when you are pregnant. Lately all I have wanted to do is sew baby clothes, quilts, and crib dust ruffles, but I know that I need to get some work done. So, I have found a way to motivate myself to get some work done by incorporating my work into my nesting. I have decided to set aside a certain amount of my earnings each month to purchase items for the baby. This means, the more I work, the more I earn, and the more I get to buy for the baby. You can also use the breaks that you most likely take from your work to nest, instead of whatever you used to do. If you used to take a break to watch your favorite show or to go for a walk, then maybe you can use the time to set up the nursery or sew some baby booties.