Where to Find the Time to Work

Well I'm back in the saddle again today. Ethan made a full recovery and is his usual, happy little self. Adrien and Eva are spending the weekend with their dad and I've been trying to use today to catch up on work.

Which brings me to today's topic – finding the time to work from home. I know that everyone's schedule is different. Some of you have a job outside of home in addition to taking care of your children. Others may have school and sports obligations. You may not be able to use my routine, but that's OK. Take an objective look at your own schedule and find time that works best for you.

My typical day goes something like this. I wake up around 6:30 in the morning to get Ethan dressed and ready for school. Eva usually wakes up around that time as well, so I get her out of bed, fix her a bottle and let her watch a Baby Einstein movie while I dress Ethan.

After Ethan leaves for school, I fix breakfast for Eva and Adrien. We eat and then we all get dressed and ready for the day. I spend the morning playing with them and getting in some good quality time together. Eva lays down for a nap around 9:30-10:00.

While Eva's sleeping, Adrien and I exercise together and then he sits down with a cup of juice and watches cartoons while I pull out the laptop to work. I work until Eva wakes up and then the kids and I eat lunch together.

After lunch, I take the kids to their room to play and I bring my laptop back there with them. They play while I get in a little more time to work. When I'm finished, I join in their play until snack time.
We have snack and then have “afternoon cleanup” where I turn on some dance music and the kids help me pick up all the toys, vacuum the floor, etc. After that, we all load up in the truck to go pick up Ethan from school. Sometimes, we leave a little early if we have to stop by the store or something.
When we get back around 3:00, I lay Eva down for her afternoon nap and I spend a little time with Ethan and Adrien. At 4:20, I start dinner.

Dinner is served at 5:00 with bath time following shortly thereafter. Eva's the first to bed at around 7:00 pm. At that time, Ethan is usually playing quietly in his room and Adrien gets some time at the computer to play games. By 8:00 the boys are in bed and I get ready for bed myself. I try to take a little time to check my mail, facebook, twitter, etc before bed. Sometimes though, I'm just too tired and I go to bed as well.

I do a lot of my work on the weekends when the younger two are with their father. That's also when I try to do most of the errand running and what not.

As you can see, my schedule is pretty loose, with plenty of wiggle room. That's just how it works best for me. This week, I encourage you to try to find some time for starting a few projects of your own. I've just recently started my latest project that I plan on sharing with you tomorrow. :o)

Good luck, mammas! If I can do it, you can do it with me.