The Juggling Act that Is My Life ( or Flexibility vs. Focus)

I was reading the Oatmeal's post about Why Working from Home is Both Awesome and Horrible the other day, and I got to thinking about flexibility and focus. Namely, about how easy it is for the flexibility of working from home to totally take over. One day, you're actually getting things done and making money. The next, it's 4 pm and you're sitting in your pajamas eating Doritos and watching Fraggle Rock with your kids, wondering where the time went. (Ask me how I know, and I'll deny everything.)

It seems like every time I mention the fact that I work from home and homeschool, people suddenly look at me like I'm superwoman. I'm not. If you could see the chaos at my house, the cereal on the floor, and the general weirdness that we call life, you'd understand. But you can't. So instead, I'm just going to offer a few freelance writing tips about scheduling. 

The key, for me, is to find a balance between focus and flexibility. I use my own unique brand of time management mixed with a dash of chaos in order to make this work. Use at your own risk. Your mileage may vary. Don't mix children and coffee. This blog post may self destruct at any moment. 

First, I work from home to have time for my kids. I made a promise to myself once, while calling home from the office and crying on the phone and telling my daughter that we'd get to see the Christmas tree lighting NEXT year, that important family events would always come first if I ever worked for myself.

I work for myself. Important family events come first. We homeschool, so this time is included in "important family events".

I put these times into Google calendar in red, first, before I schedule in work time. 

Next, I schedule in time for working. I aim for around 30-35 hours a week – some weeks more, some weeks less. I, personally, include weekends in this time so that I have the flexibility to attend daytime weekday events with my kids. I enjoy doing this, and they enjoy spending time with their daddy on the weekends while he's off. I also build in extra time around deadlines – I put things on the calendar for at least one day before they're due. Sometimes two. If we're having a rough month, or someone is sick, I stay away from deadline oriented work for awhile and stick to content mills. 

Last, I schedule in less important but still essential stuff – haircuts, errands, grocery trips, etc. Things that have to be done, but that can be done pretty much any time during the week. 

The schedule looks different each week, but I generally end up with enough time to accomplish both my work goals and my personal goals.

And sleep.

And I only occasionally end up in my pajamas at 4 pm  

The other key, for me, is to really, really focus when I work. When I'm writing, I'm writing. I'm not watching TV, or making dinner, or listening to the kids with one ear. 

I'm in my office, with my door closed. I've often got my noise cancelling headphones in, with a binaural beats track running through them so that I can't hear the chaos in my house. My kids are with my husband or my childcare provider. 

I set my timer for 15 to 25 minutes, and I focus for that time. Then I get up, take a break, stretch, get coffee, whatever, and then I start over. If I skip any of these steps, I don't get nearly as much done. For me, focus is key to getting things accomplished. 

 

How do you balance focus and flexibility while working at home? 

Tags: freelance writing tips