Any other working-from-home moms out there? How have you been doing with balance? I find I can run myself ragged pretty quickly because I’m always doing something. There’s always something to clean, someone to change, a pile to fold, a family to feed. And that doesn’t even include any of my work. I write while the girls are sleeping and in the fifteen minute increments when they play by themselves. But this means I have squeezed out almost every minute of the day. You might call this “productive,” but I’m exhausted.
It’s really easy to do too much when you’re home. You literally see everything that needs to be done all day long, unless by some miracle you actually get out of the house. So I find I’m either tired because I’ve folded 5 piles of laundry, or I’m just tired of looking at five piles of laundry. Either way I’m exhausted, and I feel like I can’t win.
I’ve found carving out some time where I do very little (nothing just isn’t really realistic with three under three) to relax is crucial. I try to get all the cleaning done before the girls wake up from their nap, and then we go outside, play music, and I read a book, while they run around. Now, yesssss they interrupt me to go potty, get more snacks etc, but being away from my screen and being outside is one of the highlights of my day. And the girls run around laughing (read not fighting) because they love it too. Baby V runs around in her walker and is just happy to follow her big sisters around.
In addition to setting this time aside, I’ve also had to set some strict working boundaries, specifically with bedtime. I would stay up all night and write, but then I’m a mess the next day. So I set aside chunks of time during the day and some time at night, but Yev and I try to wrap everything up by 9:45, so we can be in bed around 10. Making sure I give myself enough sleep is the only way I can continue to write, or i’m just a hot mess during the day.
What does your working from home routine look like?
Jacqueline Pinchuk 