Working From Home: Work/Life Interrupted

Posted by: Renata | Posted on: April 04, 2008 | Comments 24

This week has been interesting.

Aside from the typical challenges of working from home -- removing the french fry wedged in my laptop, keeping my dog quiet during conference calls, and dispelling the myth firmly held by my husband that I have plenty of time during the day to tackle our to-do list – this week was teacher conference week at my boys’ school.

Which means three half-days of school, from 8:45-12:25. (Effectively for my schedule, once I build-in drop-off and pick-up, 9-noon.)

To add to the creative work scheduling, both my boys, poor guys, had to stay home sick, each on a different day.

All of this combined to leave me with lots more work than work hours. A challenging spot, especially for a semi-obsessive to-do-lister.

In contrast, one of my coworkers has been behind closed doors all week, working on a colossal project, barely coming out to refill his coffee. Not that he probably sees his current situation as a bed of roses. But for some reason, dare I say it?, I’m slightly, well, jealous.

I love being a mom, I do. I really do. And I am entirely thankful to be at home with and for my boys. But, this week, there is this small little vicious and selfish bundle nestled somewhere near my spleen that is yelling, "I WANT A FULL DAY OF UNINTERRUPTED WORK!!!"

Can anyone relate? Please?

Related tags: balance, family, telecommuting, work-life

24 people have responded so far. Add your comment below.
Quinisha Watkins said:
04.04.08 8:47 p.m.
I understand fully about your situation. I myself don't think your being selfish at all. As I was checking my emails, I was talking to my husband about the same thing. You love being a mother, but it too can be hard when your trying to work on something and you just don't have the space and privacy you need. All you can do is stay calm, patient and keep on going. If you have the will, God will make a way. I too have a busy too do list. Being an at home mother is a busy job. I say to anyone you're doing a great job and keep up the good work. Sometimes we just need to be encouraged. I'm giving all of you a hi five online!!! I mean It's hard for me to even blog, because of all the activity around me. Sometimes I just say, Lord help me to stay strong.
Quinisha Watkins said:
04.04.08 9:05 p.m.
Vivian, forgive me if I misspelled your name. Thanks for emailing me and I appreciate what you said. It is truley a blessing to even receive anything, especially in the time of need and stress. I enjoy blogging. I've never done it before. Thanks to the company for pushing this oppurtunity through. This is a great and positive thing that has been added to my life. Thank God for great people who care about others.
Emma said:
04.05.08 4:37 a.m.
This could have been me writing this. At the moment i am finding it so frustrating trying to work and be a good mum. i have found that the easiest way is to leave the house so i can concentrate solely on the kids. It would be so much easier to leave the house and go to work but there is no way that i am paying someone else to enjoy my children. I am big believer in fate and that things work out for a reason, my nearly killing myself to be a great mum, wife and start a fantastic business will definitely pay off and in years to come i will relax and laugh with my husband over how stressful these times have been! For now, the slog continues!!! Emma
Quinisha Watkins said:
04.05.08 2:54 p.m.
Ha Ha, we do know one thing for sure and that is we do what we have to do to the best of our ability. I know we'll have great stories and testimonys of the struggle. Then just to find out it wasn't as bad as we made it out to be. It could very well be a lifelong experience that we needed to go through, in order to accomplish the trials we have ahead. I know that later everything will come together and make more sense. The questions that start with the word why, we will understand it without any confusion. We are all being built up to withstand tougher tribulation. That way we would be able to pass it with flying colors and not ponder on the situation as much as we use to.
Diana said:
04.05.08 6:13 p.m.
I can definitely relate to this. This week will be spring break for my girls (7 & 9) and I have a 18m son. So between helping with a big test they have the following week (dumb system), keeping them entertained, keeping them out of trouble,tending to the little one it can be very overwhelming. Oh did I mention that I am looking for job and trying to start a bath & body products business. How crazy is that? But we have to be proud of ourselves because we have be granted the chance to do all of this. God only allows what we can handle. I try to do what I can during a given day and be thankful that I was given the strength to do it. If it were up to me, I probably would stay in bed and let someone else do it. :)
Quinisha Watkins said:
04.05.08 7:54 p.m.
Diana girl, I hear ya and who doesn't want to be catered to sometimes? I would be the first one to agree to that. Honey child, I use to say that until I tried once and I do mean once. My Mother had watched my kids for me and I was going to be all alone. I thought I was going to relax in some peace. Shoot, that didn't happen. Girl, I couldn't sleep and after already having the house cleaned the day before and writing some, I found myself bored out of my mind and wishing they were back. I guess sometimes too much peace can also drive you crazy. Ha Ha! Girl, and when I tried to go to sleep, because we all know that sleep is always sacrificed, I felt myself getting even more lazier than I expected. Talking about finding balance. Ha Ha!!!
Linda said:
04.06.08 12:42 p.m.
Uninterrupted time to do ANYTHING just doesn't happen much in my life! My husband has the "luxury" of being able to work on a house project and that's what he does. Whether work work or home work, I'm doing 1/2 of the project; running someone to a playdate; 1/2 more and someone else is hungry... I've learned to work in bits and spurts, which gets a lot accomplished EVENTUALLY. Can be irritating and frustrating, but PT works REALLY well for my family; but definitely not easy. I find myself working at both family stuff and work stuff all the time. I worked late one night last week as my son had a late lacrosse game near my office and it was HEAVEN to have so much time!! I'm normally running out the door at 4:00 PM -- much earlier than most all of my colleagues and already running late for the second shift of activities, dinner and homework! I was still at my desk at 6:30 PM and it was quiet and my desk was actually nearly CLEAN when I left! That's my idea of luxurious!
Quinisha Watkins said:
04.06.08 3:30 p.m.
Linda, I know exactly how you feel. I wouldn't dare overwhelm you all with the work load. I wouldn't have enough space to finish typing ita all! Ha Ha! Especialy when having all of the church functions and programs icluded. Honey child, I get dizzy just thinking about it. Sometimes when talking with groups of people, I say that all I need is a good hour of relax time. Just enough to get my thoughts together, but it usually doesn't work out like that. Linda I bet you were in heaven, but what about sleep? Did you get a good nights rest? Ha Ha!!!
Quinisha Watkins said:
04.06.08 3:30 p.m.
Linda, I know exactly how you feel. I wouldn't dare overwhelm you all with the work load. I wouldn't have enough space to finish typing ita all! Ha Ha! Especialy when having all of the church functions and programs icluded. Honey child, I get dizzy just thinking about it. Sometimes when talking with groups of people, I say that all I need is a good hour of relax time. Just enough to get my thoughts together, but it usually doesn't work out like that. Linda I bet you were in heaven, but what about sleep? Did you get a good nights rest? Ha Ha!!!
Stephanie said:
04.07.08 11:20 a.m.
I can totally relate to all of you! It is so hard to catch up on sleep, have uninterrupted work time, finish the family to-do list, keep on top of our business, including the task of bookkeeping that has to be done in addition to the family bookkeeping...a mom/business owner's job is NEVER done! We really have to juggle it all now as we work at home. Finding the balance that Carolyn talks about is SO hard! And you know, what really frustrates me is when other family members can't understand why we can't babysit their sick kids (so that they can go to work) or cook a huge, good supper (for the hubby) because, after all, we are "at home all day"! Does anyone else hear that comment? I get really defensive of that one because it's not like I'm sitting around watching HGTV all day.
Quinisha Watkins said:
04.07.08 1:55 p.m.
Stephanie my girl, I do understand what you mean. Family members seem to think that all you do is sit around all day. Sometimes you just want to say.. Are you kidding me? You don't want to sound cruel, but it really does add onto your load. It's already hard to keep up with your own children and try to get to the bottom of the list. That made me tired just thinking about it! Ha Ha! I've never had the help, but I do thank God because I never would have learned how to survive during time of need. I've been on my own since I was young and still don't get help. I can't complain, because the children are mine and I know how to step up and pull threw the hard times. Thank God for the life lesson of becoming an adult.
Stephanie said:
04.07.08 2:18 p.m.
Quinisha, you are so right about everything you say. I, too, have been pretty much on my own since I was young and never had anyone there to help me either but I'm like you...I thank God for letting me struggle on my own because it taught me independence and it showed me that I really am strong enough to do what I need to do to succeed. I wish I could teach my own children to learn from my mistakes and struggles but I am afraid that they are going to have to learn from experience, as well (my 17-year-old daughter won't listen to anything I have to say). In life and in business, it's like that saying, "What doesn't kill us only makes us stronger."
jen marr said:
04.07.08 6:30 p.m.
@ Stephanie.... Don't be too sure that your daughter is not listening. We all know how WE were at that age!! lol :) Thanks for the posts ladies - you all sound fabulous! jen
deb owen said:
04.07.08 6:33 p.m.
while i'm not a parent, i recently began working from home...and the comment you made about your husband thinking you have plenty of time to tackle your to-do list struck me. on the one hand, i'm loving this new-found flexibility. last wednesday, when former President Clinton was in town, i actually got to go! (in my former life, this probably wouldn't have happened.) i just juggled my schedule and worked that evening instead. but i'm already having to convince family and friends that my working from home does not mean that i'm available all the time (or when it's convenient for them) -- that i actually *am* working! ;-) it's all worth it though. all the best! deb
Viviana said:
04.07.08 9:31 p.m.
@Deb--it's so great to hear from you! Thanks for dropping by. Ladies, we are very pleased to have recently welcomed Deb Owen as one of our expert contributors. Her fabulous blog is called "8 Hours & a Lunch--A Search for Balance and Sanity" and you can link to it if you click on her name on the comment above. You will be seeing more of her great writing when FindingWhatMatters launches. Deb--I remember reading the President Clinton post on your blog--a good one. :-)
Jeannie said:
04.08.08 1:37 a.m.
It's nice to know that this is a struggle other women/moms are going through. There is that stigma that because you're "at home" it must mean that 16 hours are suddenly freed up. I actually think it's much more difficult to be at home. Having to juggle so much is overwhelming. I think it's natural that moms seem to think they can do it all. I'm guilty of that. Everything becomes a priority. How can I make one less important than the other? Yes, quiet work time would be wonderful. Like I said in my last post, early mornings and late night shifts :o)! It would be nice to have a day of uninterrupted time to do some work.
Stephanie said:
04.08.08 7:39 a.m.
My main struggle is that even though I have been working at home for 11 years, my family STILL thinks that I should be able to get everything done during my work hours. I try to work from 7 - 4 because that's when the kids are in school and the hubby is at work. I have 3 large clients to juggle within those hours. During these hours, the family also expects dinner, laundry, and housework to be done. If I have to end up working late nights or early mornings, the hubby gets whiney. He's just not understanding of the fact that I'm pulled in a million directions and it all cannot be done between 7 - 4! Then comes the guilt trip, "You are ALWAYS working...you never have time for us." Sometimes that makes me want to go back into the world and get what they would classify as a "real job". Frustrating! I'm so thankful for this blog so that all us women can unite! Maybe we can find some balance. I think need to start a blog because writing is so freeing!
Linda said:
04.08.08 10:34 a.m.
I work from home now after working at a "real job" for 25 years. You have all the temptations around you to procrastinate, the refrigerator, TV, laundry..... What I do is keep a schedule, go to the gym and then to work as I did in the past. My husband sometimes called in the middle of the day to ask me to run an errand, this drove me crazy. We settled this by making a list of everything that has to be done the night before. This gives us a foundation to work from.
deb owen said:
04.08.08 12:41 p.m.
@Viviana - thanks for the great intro and warm welcome!! i look forward to the great community this is sure to become! all the best! deb
Renata said:
04.08.08 1:58 p.m.
Many of us share the same struggles, most of which entail the juggling of multiple priorities. Yet I read Viviana's post today, and have to say she's closed the thought, here. Is it hard? Well, duh. Is it worth it? Absolutely. The icing on the cake is this community of support; sometimes all you need to know is that you're not alone. We're making good and hard choices, ladies. The beauty is in sharing them, supporting each other, and working towards what we truly feel matters most in our own lives.
Viviana said:
04.08.08 1:59 p.m.
@Linda--That is a GREAT idea that I intend to present to my darlin' husband no later than tonight!
Quinisha Watkins said:
04.08.08 3:32 p.m.
Hey everyone, I see what all of you are saying. That is what fwm stands for. I love the whole concept. When you don't think the world could offer you anything but a lot of confusion, this blog really does help bring calmn back into your life. I love how I'm not alone and that there still are real people out there and with real emotions!My husband is a last minute kind of guy. I've tried for years to get him to sit with me and write out our bills and our need to do's, but it hasn't worked yet. I have to admit, I'm a little bit more organized than he is. Any advice for me to help make the list work for my husband? I'm in need of something, because it can get difficult doing it all alone. I'm down for anything that is going to help iron out some of the wrinkles in my life. Stephanie, she is right. I can remember when I would listen, but act as if I wasn't. Honey Child, I'm sure she would be able to quote what you said even from years back, if the time calls for it.
Linda said:
04.08.08 6:04 p.m.
@Vivian I'm glad that that I could be of some help. This is the first blog I have participated in and I love it. What a great support system. My new life allowed me to take off last week to be with my 83 year old Dad while he was in the hospital having surgery. He's doing well. How great is that! I love working from home and doing what I have always dreamed of. All the challenges are worth the freedom that I know have. I love the freedom and look forward to more in the future as my business takes off.
Quinisha Watkins said:
04.11.08 9:15 a.m.
Linda I'm glad your father is doing well. I too love the support.
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