May 20 2009
Working from Home when Summer Starts
Well, as an example of my on-going challenges in balancing everything, I haven’t updated my blog in almost two weeks! How did that much time go by already?!
Birthday parties, graduation events - our house is just full of celebrations and the stress that goes along with even the fun times. And after tomorrow, summer vacation starts in my house, as my youngest finishes the school year.
Every year, I look forward to summer because the commute to my daughter’s school ends for a few months, the events after school are on hiatus and everyone gets to sleep a little later. Then after about a week, I realize that I already miss those quiet hours when my kids were at school.
Working from home is a choice I’m glad I made, but it requires a good bit of discipline to stick to my schedule and not let the summer “fun” get in the way of necessary work.
Now that my kids are older, it is much easier to explain to them that “mommy needs time to work; please find something to do on your own”, but it still requires a schedule and set of rules ahead of time.
Things that have helped me stay on track and still keep the house “fun”:
1. Getting up just as early as I always did. The kids may enjoy sleeping in, but I need that extra time when no one else is awake to organize my day, do some exercise and just enjoy the solitude.
2. Making the kids clean up before someone comes over or they go out. With 3 kids and the numerous friends that end up here (I always encourage my kids to have friends over), we have to get our daily chores done before the fun begins – otherwise the day gets away from us and the laundry piles up dangerously high.
3. Making a rule about how much advance notice is required for day trips. We are lucky to live in area that is close to beaches, parks and amusement parks, but my kids know that we have to plan ahead to accommodate everyone’s schedule. They understand that just because I work at home doesn’t mean I can drop everything on last minute notice and drive the neighborhood kids to the beach.
4. Keeping an organized work schedule instead of looking at summer as my “vacation time”. While I take breaks and organize my work hours around family time over the summer, I can’t let myself get influenced by the kids’ lazy summer attitudes.
5. Keeping food and drinks organized in a “self-serve” system. Without such a strict meal schedule over the summer, I can easily find myself in the kitchen all day, helping the kids make a meal/clean up a meal. So I try to keep the things on hand that they can serve themselves (for breakfast and lunch): sandwich fixings, yogurt, fruit, and salads. If I make extra chicken for dinner, we cut that up, put it in a bag or container and the kids can use it for salads or quesadillas. Homemade frozen pizza crusts or store-bought pizza dough is easy to keep on hand; then I just make sure we have enough pizza sauce (store-bought or homemade) and cheese so the kids can make their own pizza.
I’m looking forward to summer and want to have lots of “fun” since this is the last one before my oldest goes off to college, and with a little advanced planning and organization, I’m hoping I’ll achieve the balance I strive for at home.
