Self-employed need to find time to relax

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Striking the right balance between work and freedom can be as simple as slipping on a cozy bathrobe for the day.

While such attire might not fit a corporate dress code, many people working from home can look forward to enjoying such luxury on "Doing Business in Your Bathrobe Day" on Feb. 12. Local entrepreneur Monique Fabregas, who founded and runs Mom2mom Toronto, is one such local home office worker.

"It's a great way to enjoy the freedom you have working at home and it's a great way to relieve the stress of work," she said. "It's a celebration of life balance that you can do on your own."

With home-based professionals often spending upwards of 12 hours a day focusing on work-related activities, Fabregas said a chance to decompress and relax in a home office is much-needed.

"It's so easy to focus on work and forget to relax when you're really busy," she said.

Fabregas works out of her home office in the Yonge Street and Davisville Avenue area, co-ordinating and facilitating events for local mothers. She got involved with Bathrobe Day through a work contact she made. She said that working at home - whether in her bathrobe or in more traditional work clothes - is an ideal lifestyle for her.

"I do as much of my marketing online as I can, and I was surprised to learn that there are so many moms across North America who work from home," she said. "My daughter is four years old, and she has a little laptop of her own, so I'm able to work and have her sitting next to me."

Her business provides free services to moms, with all revenues coming from sponsors online.