I am intrigued by the sexy, futuristic iPad but I’m overwhelmed, too. Long ago I would get excited over the newest iteration of cell phone but now I’m simply getting annoyed by all of this technology.

Last year the netbook was the “it” tech item, with reviewers writing that it would replace the laptop. 

How many gadgets do we need? How many gadgets will marketers get us to purchase?

A desktop computer?

A cellphone?

A laptop?

A netbook?

an iPod?

Blackberry?

iPhone?

iTouch?

Kindle?

iPad?

AAGHHH!

And when the latest gadget comes along what do we do with the old? It’s such a waste.

I await the day not far into the future when we have what my husband has coined “the iWall”. We’ll be able to turn a wall into a giant touch screen and flip through documents and type simply by brushing our fingers across the wall.

• We all have children under the age of 5
• We are all within a few years age of each other (Gen X)
• We have all found ways to work that allow us to spend time with our kids

What is most remarkable is that everyone’s paid day job is something they want to be doing. One mom works three days per week in a science field, another works one day in the office and telecommutes a few other days as a journalist, another works some weekends as a coach, and another works part-time, splitting child care duties with his spouse who also works part time.

During my college days I recall being saddled with the label “Generation X: the slacker generation.” On the contrary, I think my generation has made great strides in creating a better balance between work and family. There’s nothing slacker about it. We’ve decided we want to spend time with our children as well as work, and we’ve been rewriting the rules to do so.

Rewriting these rules is exactly what Katty Kay and Claire Shipman have written about in their new book “Womenomics: Write Your Own Rules for Success.”  The book talks about how women can influence the balance between work and family, and that we don’t have to climb the corporate ladder in the traditional sense to achieve success.

The site purports to list one thousand plus telecommuting jobs with new jobs added every week. Through some networking I was granted access to the site to get the low-down. Could this site really help telecommuting job seekers? I really think it can.

For $49.95 per year, job seekers are given access to an ad-free, scam-free listing of jobs across the country (and even a few abroad). Before you scoff at the fee keep in mind that $49.95 is equal to $4.16 per month. That’s about the equivalent of two medium Dunkin Donuts coffees – at least it is in the metro Boston area.

Each job is screened and verified by the Flexjobs.com staff. Still, I wanted to be sure this was legit. I dug around the site and came across a few dead ends, such as job listings that had expired, however I was also presented with hundreds of opportunities that I never would have come across on my own. True, some of these jobs can be found with a few hours of research on the Internet, however Flexjobs.com has everything all in once place, allows employers to post telecommuting jobs to their site for free, and provides members, if so inclined, with email and Twitter updates on new postings.

Jobs are categorized by type – full-time, part-time, contract- and by area of expertise- web development/software, writing, sales, business consulting, etc. There are many listings for sales and telemarketing, which often seem to be the bulk of telecommuting jobs, however I came across positions as varied as Principal Software Engineer, Web Developer, Proofreader and Admissions Consultant. The hiring companies also ranged from tiny and unknown to large, well respected corporations. Flexjobs.com is currently working on some upgrades, including allowing members to search by geographic location, yet the site is still a breeze to use.

The employees of Flexjobs.com are also telecommuters, which made me feel they had a vested interest in helping members succeed. It’s hard not justify the modest enrollment fee when you consider the hours you save by not having to research job opportunities yourself. Instead, spend that time applying for the jobs.

TheTelecommutingMom.com readers have an extra incentive to give it a try. Type in coupon code “SAVE30″ during registration and receive a 30 percent discount on your subscription. That’s $9.95 for a month or $34.95 for a year.

I have a lot of files in my office. I prefer to search through files online rather than sorting through a stash of papers. I have a scanner with an auto document feeder (ADF) but it still requires a lot of time to turn my papers into digital images. I gave Pixily a try and I plan to continue to use it.

I received two water resistant envelopes in the mail within two days of signing up online. Just a note – I live within 50 miles of where Pixily is located so this may have an affect on timing. I filled each envelope with 50 sheets of paper. After three days I received an email notifying me that my documents were in my Pixily account, where I could review each sheet. I opted to download the files onto my computer so I could create a back-up disk. Having Pixily scan the documents was a huge time saver. I would rather put my working hours to use making money and pay $14.95/month (roughly $3.75/week) to have someone else scan files.

The only downside I can see so far is that it will take me about a year to digitize all of my files on the current program. I would prefer a package, with a flat introductory fee, for home business users that allowed me to send in a large amount of files in my first month, such as 500 sheets. It’s nice to have 100 sheets of paper files out of my cabinets already but now I am waiting for this month’s envelope to arrive. I would prefer to send in the majority of my files during my first month, as to clean up the clutter in my file cabinets quickly, and then continue using the service at the 50/sheets per month rate as ongoing maintenance.

Still, I think Pixily is a valuable service for the home office user (and for personal use such as maintaining receipts). I am including them in my list of Resources from now on.

Details:
Pixily offers other service plan packages which can be found at https://www.pixily.com/ze/user/pricing.The service also allows for online document sharing and will store your files, up to a certain page limit, online so they are accessible wherever you have a computer and internet connection.

Work-from-home jobs do exist but the jobs you will readily come across are nearly always scams. One of the reasons I don’t have Google Adwords on my site is because Google’s program chooses the ads to put on your site, based on relevance. When I implemented the program Google plopped in ads featuring “Make $1,000 in your first week!” I refuse to promote this garbage on my site.

Aside from scams, most other work-from-home jobs comprise medical transcription and virtual assisting. Isn’t there anything else?

I found my first work from home job on Craigslist. I was overqualified for the position but it was a start and I made good connections. This job led to a month-long writing gig. I was referred to another job from a former co-worker. This job is wonderful – I do many of the same things I did in my former marketing life such as event logistics (think tradeshow planning), marketing communications (email blasts, newsletters, brochures), and member retention (think client database management). After a year with this job I was referred by a Board Member for yet another position. Now I work for two medical societies and take on other projects as I can, mostly referrals.

Some sites I’ve come across that may be helpful in your professional search include:

Hire My Mom
The Creative Group
Guru.com
Orca Communications
Craigslist.org<(in the left column of the site under “Search Craigslist” type in “telecommute” and select from the drop down menu “jobs”)

Opportunities also exist in unlikely places such as town web sites. Towns usually have employment listings, though not necessarily telecommuting jobs. These listing may clue you into potential opportunities and connections you hadn’t thought of before.

Also, get a Linked In(www.linkedin.com) account. Linked In lists jobs that are often unique to the site. Get recommendations from past co-workers and bosses on this site. Be sure to keep your profile up-to-date and keep your skills as current as possible. Can you take a refresher software course at the local adult education center?

There is some great information on the web site Women for Hire. Check it out.