Comments on: If You Had A 2-Hour Workday… https://lauravanderkam.com/2011/04/if-you-had-a-2-hour-workday/ Writer, Author, Speaker Thu, 28 Apr 2011 14:09:43 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.2 By: Laura Vanderkam https://lauravanderkam.com/2011/04/if-you-had-a-2-hour-workday/#comment-19749 Thu, 28 Apr 2011 14:09:43 +0000 http://www.my168hours.com/blog/?p=1341#comment-19749 In reply to Amy.

@Amy- Thanks, so glad you like it! And I’m thrilled you’re using some of your time to read it 🙂

]]> By: Amy https://lauravanderkam.com/2011/04/if-you-had-a-2-hour-workday/#comment-19748 Wed, 27 Apr 2011 17:55:04 +0000 http://www.my168hours.com/blog/?p=1341#comment-19748 Laura…You read my mind! I’ve been thinking of reaching out to moms in the neighborhood for some swapping. I guess that’s the next step. I love your blog, btw. thanks!

]]> By: Laura Vanderkam https://lauravanderkam.com/2011/04/if-you-had-a-2-hour-workday/#comment-19747 Wed, 27 Apr 2011 17:39:42 +0000 http://www.my168hours.com/blog/?p=1341#comment-19747 In reply to Amy.

@Amy-
I imagine it is stressful. One day was about all I could take, and clearly I had to put off anything truly time consuming until the future. I guess the best way to give yourself more time without paying for more childcare would be to try to trade off with other people — if you have friends with kids of similar ages who are home with the kids, you could each give each other a morning off. Or there might be a cheap afternoon option with a teenager who’s out of school at 3pm or so that would give you a concentrated stretch from 1-5 (nap, plus a few hours after). But yes, lunch dishes cannot be done during nap time — that’s too precious!

]]> By: Amy https://lauravanderkam.com/2011/04/if-you-had-a-2-hour-workday/#comment-19746 Wed, 27 Apr 2011 01:16:57 +0000 http://www.my168hours.com/blog/?p=1341#comment-19746 I was laid off earlier this year and have kept childcare 2 days a week to focus on freelancing and job searching. As I’m picking up more freelance work, I’m finding that I’m falling into this “2-hour workday” category on the days I have my daughter. (Luckily, my 18-month-old often takes 3+-hour naps!) I try to also put in some work time in the evening, but I’m often too tired to get much accomplished and end up sitting in front of the computer wasting time. I’m also having trouble finding the time for myself to unwind, which I really need. The flexibility is great, and I’m loving spending more time with my daughter, but there’s a lot of financial pressure to make ends meet, so I feel like I have to work on work and the job search with any free time I can find. I’d love to hear from others about how you manage this type of schedule. Prioritizing is great, but the naptime “beat-the-clock” rush to get things done can be stressful as well, especially when the kitchen is a mess from lunch, toys are everywhere, etc.

]]> By: Laura Vanderkam https://lauravanderkam.com/2011/04/if-you-had-a-2-hour-workday/#comment-19745 Tue, 26 Apr 2011 03:12:22 +0000 http://www.my168hours.com/blog/?p=1341#comment-19745 In reply to Denise R.

@Denise – oh, you can lose hours at The Happiest Mom! It will be worth it some week when you have a bit more time.

]]> By: Denise R https://lauravanderkam.com/2011/04/if-you-had-a-2-hour-workday/#comment-19744 Mon, 25 Apr 2011 22:43:41 +0000 http://www.my168hours.com/blog/?p=1341#comment-19744 I have been prioritizing like this the past week, as both my kids were off and though there was still a lot to do, being with them was my top priority. As you did, I concentrated on ‘what really needs to be done now’ and only did that. Gone was Facebook, and emails that didn’t relate to the track team registration that I am focusing on. TV dropped off, though I did watch a movie (and crochet). I sent my husband on errands so I could bake. I decided to go to Target instead of making separate stops at the shoe/clothing/food stores, so we’d have more time for fun today. I forgot how much I can get done when I really try force myself to stay on task. (I only lost focus once, when I clicked on your link to Happiest Mom, but bookmarked it, and saved it for another day)

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