Many home-based professionals find that working from home gives them the ability to do many things that they enjoy that they may not have time for if they worked outside of the home. When you give up your commute and are able to schedule yourself to work at times that make sense for you, you may feel like you have more free time even if you work forty hours a week. There are many wonderful and meaningful ways to use this free time, and today I am going to focus on one of them: helping others.
The flexibility of working from home puts home-based professionals in a unique position where they are able to volunteer some of their time or services to help others. Whether you work with a church group, serve as a mentor, or spend some time at the local food pantry, your efforts are sure to be well received. Even if you do not have a lot of time to spare, you can find other ways to help out such as donating old clothes to the local church thrift store or food to the local food shelf.
Some professions even lend themselves to unique opportunities to be of assistance to others. For example, a CPA could offer free tax assistance to a few lucky senior citizens. In the county where I live, any person who is representing themselves in a divorce must attend a class on the topic that is offered by the county court. Each month, a different attorney from the county gives their time to teach that class.
Of course, in order to be able to help others you must take good care of yourself. Be careful not to let yourself get pulled into too many volunteer commitments. Your work time, family time, and personal time are all very important. It is okay to say “no” when you are asked to volunteer “just a few more hours”, or serve on “just one more committee”. Only you know how much time you can give, and it is up to you to keep your volunteer activities in balance with the rest of your life. Whatever you do, know that it is appreciated.