If you’ve decided that 2016 is the year for finding flexible work, you’re not alone. Many people are leaving office life behind in favor of work-life balance in the shape of remote jobs. But if the thought of job searching seems a little scary, here are five ways to jump-start your remote job search in 2016!

Forget the past.
Over the course of your working life, you might have held a string of forgettable jobs that paid the bills but did little to nourish your soul. Well, it’s time to stop looking for jobs that don’t align with what you really want to do. If you’re struggling to decide on a career choice, ask yourself what activities or hobbies you love to do. Then, look for ways in which you can turn those activities (or at least aspects of them, such as writing or fundraising) into a real job. It is absolutely doable!

Find flexible work.
If you want to be able to earn an income but still be available for writing celebrations or to help out in your child’s classroom, having a flexible job is the best way to truly have it all. But as time goes on during your job search, you might find yourself getting frustrated and ditch the idea of working at home altogether and resign yourself to taking an office job instead. Don’t. Even though job searching can be tedious and tough at times, it is of the utmost importance to stick it out and find a job that has a flexible schedule. You (and your family) won’t ever regret your decision.

Become accountable.
When you’re job hunting, it can feel like you’re in a bubble. Those feelings of isolation can hamper your efforts of finding a remote job, so be sure to stay social during your job search. Meet with friends or family for lunch, and let them know how you’re doing. Not only will staying socially active be good for you, but it can also help keep you accountable in finding a flexible job.

Use your family as inspiration.
It can be hard to see the end goal (i.e., finding a flexible job) when you’ve been a stay-at-home mom for what feels like forever. So if you’re looking for a way to jump-start your job search in 2016, just take a long, loving look at those little faces that mean the most to you. By using your family as inspiration, you’ll be motivated to job search (even when you really don’t feel like it). And envisioning the pride that they’ll feel when they see that their mom earns a paycheck and is still there for them to talk about their day at school can provide all the motivation you’ll ever need.

Schedule it.
You swear that you’ll start your job search on Monday. But then one of your kids is sick, so you put it off until Tuesday or Wednesday. At that point, your hubby needs you to run a few errands for him, and you have to take your mother to her doctor’s appointment. Suddenly, it’s Friday night, and the whole week is gone—and you haven’t even looked at one job posting. It’s super easy to put off doing something that you might not like doing, so you need to get into a work mode mindset ASAP. How? By scheduling your job search time just as you would any other appointment you might make for yourself. Block off times when the kids are at school and vow to make a valiant effort to look for work-at-home jobs during that time period—and nothing else. No Facebook peeking, no TV watching, no sudden trips to the grocery store. Take a few minutes’ break every half hour or so to get up, stretch, and recharge your mental batteries. By scheduling your job search into your already-busy calendar, you’ll ensure that you get in the time necessary to find a remote job of your dreams!