Interesting!

I do the front-loading thing, too. I even wrote a blog post for my indexing firm about it, as I do it routinely with every project, no matter if I think I’m going to have enough time — something always comes up. Depending on what kind of work you do from home, it can help — it’s probably easier-ish with freelance work than if you’re expected to be in meetings or responsive to clients between set hours. My kids are also old enough to play together if I have to work, and don’t need minute-to-minute supervision. We’re working on them understanding that I’ll get through things faster and have more time to play if they don’t interrupt me (they’re 7.5 and almost 5).

I also give myself permission to sleep in if I’ve had to shift my schedule to work too many nights — I find after 2 or 3 nights working until even just 9 pm, I’m really worn out — and let non-essential things go. Then we all pitch in on weekends or after school when the dust settles. My 4yo is currently upstairs napping after I had to pick him up early from school because he’s sick …

@Sherrell – in the picture? A greenroom model I picked up at Target!

@Katy – here’s to fitting things in! Writing invitations before school sounds like a majorly productive use of small bits of time.

And oh, I know… octopi. But if it’s wrong…

@Natalia- possibly a good topic for a post. The short answer is that yes, fitting work into every spare minute around dealing with kids’ illnesses and school disruptions is stressful. The longer answer is that having a full time nanny provides a lot of back up. If I’d been gone and unable to get home for the early dismissal, she could have been there. When the big kids are sick, I often deal with them so she can still do the toddler’s classes and such with him – but if I were not working at home, she’d stay home with the big kids too. So there’s a lot less stress because I don’t have to do this coverage if it’s a big problem. Last week when I was in CA I wasn’t dealing with the kids being home from school. That’s why we went to this model. The first two years of parenthood, when we didn’t have that back up and my kid got sick all the time in day care were incredibly stressful.

Of course not everyone has this option, and once all kids are in school I know a lot of families would find having someone on the payroll kind of over-the-top (but if both parents travel or need to be in the office you do need a solid back up!) I deal with winter as much as possible by front-loading the week. Get everything that needs to be done done on Monday and Tuesday, so if the rest of the week falls apart with weather it’s OK. If I look at the forecast and see Mon/Tues will be bad, I try to work on the weekend. Since I cover more of the sick/weather stuff, my husband is on the hook for weekends if I need the work time.

Not sure I’m ready to say goodbye to Octopi, just yet. It sounds so much better…