I now take one every week to work from home (some weeks I have meetings every day). The thing is because it’s not a formal arrangement, I feel like I have to work twice as hard (and I do) so I actually get a solid 9 hours in, but uninterrupted. That has meant I haven’t had to work late for months and months this year 🙂

I also think it’s fabulous for little boys to see their Mommies going off to work and their Daddies supporting them in that – and for it to be totally normal. It’s really going to help them have more balanced lives when they’re older, I think. So many men of our generation feel like they have to take the burden of work (just like women feel like they have to take the burden of home duties). Hopefully our sons and daughters will shift that – and that will party be due to the example their parents made and effort to give them. I hope so anyway!

I started commuting by tram one day per week as well – the day the kids are home with their day – and I also relish that downtime on the way home! For me, i get to read some fiction (and it’s also when i had the time to read Laura’s 168 hours book!).

We have 1 baby and 1 toddler and i’m lucky that their childcare is at my workplace and is fabulous. The downside is i have to do all the pickups, dropoffs, etc. My most productive/alert/focused time of day is 4-8pm – annoyingly, that time of day when i have to do kid picks ups and dinner and bed etc etc. But, now that the baby is almost 9 months old I have started working back late just one day per week to capitalise on my productive time of day (happily my husband stays home with them 1 day per week so i have no pick ups. it’s worth the salary sacrifice he makes for sure). It’s not a lot, but it’s better than nothing: it means that at least once per week i get my hyper productive time (i’m a social sciences academic). I feel like i’m clawing back into normal life. It was so freeing when i realised the baby would now be ok to take a bottle that one night! (Plus, i schedule 2-3 hour weekend work shifts about once a month).

My husband and son have a tradition where, if I am busy or not home, they go to the huge nearby grocery store, look at the seafood display, and eat a bowl of soup from the grocery deli for dinner. It’s nice father-son bonding time, and my son has developed a taste for clam chowder and lobster bisque!

@Meghan – very smart to work ahead when you can. This is the secret of people who meet their deadlines even when life throws curveballs. (Well, at least manageable curveballs).

Maybe I should do a post on strategies for the split shift. I think limiting it to certain low-energy activities, making a to-do list for this time (as you would any other work time) so it doesn’t stretch endlessly, and not doing it every night are key.

@TK – thanks for sharing this. A boys night with hot dogs and TV sounds like a lot of fun! And yes, if you are co-parenting with someone, there’s no reason each parent has to be home every night. And there can be some upsides for both parties in trading off to a degree.

This obviously won’t work for everyone, but I get around the problem of motivation by arranging my weekly team meeting on Monday night. This works because my team members are all in their early 20s and happily come to a night meeting, but it has turned out to be a benefit for me, too, because I have a standing commitment on Monday nights that I can’t bail on which frees up more of my day time hours for actual work.