Comments on: Toddlers Don’t Do Time Management

By: » When the Time Isn’t Right Strocel.com

» When the Time Isn’t Right Strocel.com — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 00:36:01 +0000

[...] about the nature of having no time, how I’m learning to seize the moment and how it’s hard to find time with small children underfoot. This week, I’m talking about recognizing when the time isn’t right. I also have links [...]

By: Betsy

Betsy — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 18:14:08 +0000

Dude. I almost totally lost it trying to work from home with a toddler. I was working part-time (0.6 of full-time) for an online university. Most employees in my faculty worked from a home office and we only had once-a-month in-person meetings in one of the university buildings. I tried to do it without childcare at first and it was not do-able. I had to work 4 hours a day which sounds easy but if you do the math subtracting the number of hours my child needed constant attention I was left with 7 to sleep and 0 to, say, brush my hair or sob in a corner.

As soon as I got my girl into part-time daycare everything went tickety-boo. I even had time to go for runs with my dog in the sunshine which for me = mental health.

Now I’m not working at all but when my youngest is 1.5 I will try the online university again with a full-time nanny. There probably won’t be much left of my wages once I subtract her pay but the childcare will be tax-deductible which should make a big difference.

My WHAM tip? Get childcare! You are working from home already! You can’t do two jobs at once even if you and everyone else thinks it sounds doable on paper! And remember that childcare is tax-deductible!
.-= Betsy´s last post ..Birth Performance Anxiety, or, unassisted in a yurt with Enya in an owl-sanctuary =-.

By: Lady M

Lady M — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 04:05:28 +0000

I worked at home fairly frequently when Q-ster was a baby . . . but I had a full time nanny – that’s the only way I could get enough done. I occasionally entertain the thought of turning the plush toys into a at-home business, but there’s no way it could compete income-wise with the tech work, it’s likely to stay a hobby.

Good luck with figuring out the balance. I like how you think through things.
.-= Lady M´s last post ..Bedtime, When the Server Status Really Matters =-.

By: Christine LaRocque

Christine LaRocque — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 12:26:35 +0000

I work out of the home, but would like to say that these tips are relevant for me too, particularly for when I'm at home trying to get whatever work I have to get done in the home (by this I mean, cleaning, finances, cooking, etc.). I think they are pretty universal truths that we can all learn from as we balance whatever we have to balance with little ones in our lives. .-= Christine LaRocque´s last post ..Lessons on growing up =-.

By: TheFeministBreeder

TheFeministBreeder — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 05:32:14 +0000

The first one is KEY – pay attention to the kid first, or they’ll neeeeever let you get anything done. I somehow have to relearn this (the hard way) every freaking day.

And this week I asked for help too (which I never do.) I had to do a radio show and didn’t want to let my kids take over the conversation, so I got on Facebook, and asked if anyone would come over to sit with the kids for an hour, and sure enough, one of my husband’s best friends (we call him Uncle Romero) offered to come over. He’s great with the kids (he worked for parks & rec for years, mostly with kids, and now he’s training to be a firefighter). It was perfect. He showed up, watched the kids for an hour, I did my radio show, and everybody was happy. I really have to learn to ask for help more often, and think outside the box on how to get things done.

This is a great list. Gotta remember this stuff more often.
.-= TheFeministBreeder´s last post ..The Story of Julesy and his Bum Leg =-.

By: harrietglynn

harrietglynn — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 05:01:49 +0000

Like the concept of working at home but have a funny feeling you need the same amount of childcare.

By: tracey

tracey — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 01:24:43 +0000

Routines are really important for WAHM’s. Saying “I am working from 10-12 and then off until 7 or 8 or bedtime and then at work again for blah blah blah” Being flexible is important, yes, but making sure everyone knows you’re unavailable is important, too.
.-= tracey´s last post ..Quickly, before I go… =-.

By: Old School/New School Mom

Old School/New School Mom — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 01:10:29 +0000

Amber, this is great advice. I am just delving into the WAHM realm. And I am feeling badly because I can't quite juggle paying attention to my son and emailing and being on business phone calls. It's really tough. These tips are wonderful! .-= Old School/New School Mom´s last post ..The Writing On The Wall =-.

By: Jen @ Recovering Procrastinator

Jen @ Recovering Procrastinator — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 00:30:38 +0000

These are great tips. I am about to leap into the world of working at home and am wondering if I’m crazy since I can barely even keep up a blog while being a SAHM. This gives me hope.

By: AmberDusick

AmberDusick — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 23:07:39 +0000

No secrets here, just chiming in that yeah, it is hard. Mostly I get work done by staying up late and taking advantage of rare naps. “This is temporary” is a good mantra.