I spent most of my time offline this weekend. I did check in on email and some social media accounts periodically, but didn’t really do too much. I think I tweeted once during the last two days and answered a total of two emails. And no actual “work” was completed – no blog post drafts, no client work – nothing.

This got me thinking, do the majority of people take the weekend “off” or do they work? I know for those who hold traditional 9-5 jobs, they take the weekend off – for the most part. But for those who are freelancers, bloggers, or work from home in some other capacity, it seems like we’re always working. Even if we’re just keeping up with networking and marketing ourselves through social media, we’re always “on” and rarely unplug.

I have yet to decide which I prefer – keeping up with work over the weekend or unplugging and keeping work for the weekdays. Each have their benefits, don’t you think?

Benefits of Working on the Weekend

• Can keep up with time-sensitive events.
• Get a head start on work for the next week.
• Keep ideas going for projects you’re working on.

Benefits of Unplugging on the Weekend

• Can fully dedicate yourself to your family.
• Provides you with a mental rest so you can rejuvenate yourself.
• Able to have fun and do those activities you can’t get to during the work week.

Your Turn

I’d like to hear what you think. What do you see as the benefits for one or the other? Which do you prefer to do on the weekends?

Since Fridays are all about fun here, for today’s Viernes Social, I wanted to share this fun SuperMom Action Figure I came across. Her “bio” begins with “Up at the crack of dawn and working long into the night, this heroine magically creates extra hours each day juggling kids, schedules, chores and career.” Sound familiar?

Image from Happy Worker

Whether you work outside the home or work at home, you will probably appreciate this humorous look into the world of being a working mom. The doll comes with accessories like the super long to-do list and a tag line that reads “Juggling kids & career while standing on her head.” How can you not relate?

The Happy Worker site also provides Fun Mom Facts and a section with Resources for Modern Moms, which includes a topic of Balancing Work and Children.

As the doll portrays, busy moms have a lot on their minds. Let’s take some time today to laugh a little and take a break from work. Maybe you can even squeeze some me-time in there for yourself. Happy Friday and have a great weekend!

What do you like to do for a break from work? Any fun stress-relieving activities you do to give your mind a quick break?

Photo by ugly banana from Flickr

What do you do on days when you’re not feeling great? If you’re a blogger, do you force yourself to post something that day even if you know it won’t be a great post? If you run a home business, do you put business on hold until you feel better? Or do you push through and work regardless of how you feel?

When I was working outside the home, I knew just what to do. It was easy. I’d just take a sick day and spend some quality time with my TV catching up on shows I’d been missing all week. Now that I work at home, I feel guilty if I take a “sick day.” If I don’t do something – write a post, check email, whatever it may be – I feel like I just wasted the day. I think the main reason is that I’m not getting paid for my “sick day” like I used to when I worked full-time. I know that if I’m not working, I’m not earning anything either.

So, how do you handle it? What do those of you that work from home do to ensure you don’t fall behind? Do you seek help? Do you just take a day or two off and deal with it when feeling better?

I did a quick search online to see what others have to say about this. However, most of the articles I came across were about how to get work done when your kid is sick. The suggestion for that? Reschedule, use a laptop to be more mobile, and work after the kids have gone to bed. And that makes sense, of course.

But, what about when you are too sick to think straight? There’s no rescheduling or shifting around that’s going to fix that problem. This article, There Are No Family Sick Days for Freelancing Moms, touches on free time for those that work from home as freelancers, but doesn’t offer any solutions either.

I’m looking to you now. I know that many of you have a home-based business, freelance, and work at home as bloggers. And, you’ve been doing it far longer than I have. Tell me, how do you keep business going when you’re sick?