Nix9to5

WAHM Office Hours, Part Two

// January 5th, 2012 // No Comments » // Organization, Time Management, Work at Home

In part one of “WAHM Office Hours,” I wrote about how staying up all night to get your work done is not the most effective use of your time.  After all, if you are tired, you are never at your most productive.  When I’m sleep starved, I think less clearly and do everything more slowly.  Being slow and dull-witted are definitely not desirable traits in a copywriter.  In fact, I can’t think of any occupation in which being dim and unproductive is a a requisite for hiring or promotion.

So how do you organize your time so that you can get everything done without burning the midnight oil?  Well . . . to be honest, I haven’t completely figured that out.  But I do know that MOST nights, I go to bed later than I’d like, but I don’t stay up until ridiculous hours.  I also know that, if I were better at following my own advice, I could get to bed at a reasonable hour without sacrificing my to-do list.

I think it is very important to schedule “office hours” for yourself.  When I set office hours, it helps me really focus on my work.  If I’m working from the couch (like I am now), then it is too easy to watch what’s happening on TV (Clemson is up 17-14 over W. Virginia), to check Facebook (it’s my move on Words With Friends), or to peek at Pinterest (I could make “snowmen on a stick” for Bear’s breakfast using banana slices and apple pieces–how cute is that?!).

That’s not to say I never get distracted when I’m working from my home office, but I’m generally better able to keep it in check.  It also signals to Hot Husband and Bear that I am working and not available for minor emergencies like locating keys or wiping pee dribbles off the toilet rim.  Mostly, though, it helps me maintain my focus, so I even work from the office when I’m home alone.  If you do not have an office in your home or a room that can be used as an office, consider making a designated work space for yourself.  This may be putting a small desk in the corner of a room or even clearing a corner of the kitchen table and setting it up for use as soon as the dishes are cleared away.  As long as you have a place where you can work, a place that helps you switch from parent/homemaker/chef to employee/entrepreneur, that will do just fine.

Home office in a closet. Love it.

As for setting office hours, that’s actually a new development for me, but one that has already boosted my productivity.  Between Mother’s Day Out and generous in-laws, I am virtually guaranteed 8-12 hours a week of work time.  It is shocking how easy it is to fritter that time away.  By considering those hours to be my “office hours,” I eliminate time wasters, I dedicate time to work rather than errands, and I get much more accomplished.  The first time I implemented WAHM office hours, I got nearly twice the work done (seven web pages written) and still had time to get my car battery checked; deal with the plumber; wash, dry, and PUT AWAY laundry; vacuum the house; and spend half an hour on the treadmill.  Not bad, eh?

The great thing about being a WAHM is the flexibility in the hours.  I don’t have to adhere to office hours each day.  In fact, I don’t even have office hours each day.  Instead, I look at one week at a time and plan my hours around the week.  Here is  how my office hours work in practice.

Bear has MDO on Tuesday and Thursday?  Then office hours are 10-2 on Tuesday and Thursday.  Oh–wait.  I need to buy groceries and get my oil changed on Thursday.  That means I can’t be behind a desk all day Thursday.  So now office hours are 10-2 on Tuesday and 12-2 on Thursday.  Beela and Papa can watch Bear on Monday, so I’ll have office hours from 10-3 on Monday.  Hm–let’s see.  My project list is too big to complete in only 11 hours of work.  I’ll need to add in some hours during naps and in the evenings  . . .

It’s not a complicated planning process.  It’s mostly a matter of looking for pockets of time and committing myself to working during them.  Some days “office hours” may only be an hour in the evening.  Some days, I’m off work.  By setting designated times to work, however, I make sure that I’m not procrastinating and ending up with more days “off” than I intended.

When setting your own office hours, there are really only a few things to keep in mind:

1. When can you reasonably work uninterrupted?
2. What goals/tasks can you reasonably accomplish during that time?
3. During what times of the day or evening are you sharpest and most productive?
4. What other non-employment obligations must you complete during the week?
5. Will your hours significantly impact quality time with your family?

If you plan on working for several hours every night after your children are in bed, when are you going to have time with your spouse?  If you plan on popping  your kids in front of the TV for two or three hours every afternoon, when are you going to play with them.  Most people choose to work from home for the flexibility and the increased family time.  If you aren’t careful, you can end up sacrificing that time.

As in anything else, working from home requires a careful balance of priorities.  Setting flexible office hours helps you create that balance.

If you work at home, do you keep office hours?  Are they rigid or flexible?  Morning, evening, or scattered pockets throughout the day?  I’m interested to hear what works best for you.

WAHM Office Hours, Part One

// January 4th, 2012 // No Comments » // Time Management, Work at Home

The Nix9to5 blog was actually named by Amazing Amanda.  I’m a little (lot) disappointed that I didn’t come up with it myself, because, well, I think the pun with my name is just so stinkin’ clever–you can also access this site via http://nics9to5.com.  And I really don’t like it when people are cleverer than me.  (Note:  I was trying to be funny in using “cleverer,” and then I realized it is the recommended grammatical construction, so . . . yeah.)  Anyway, when she came up with the name, I had no idea how true the name would become.  I not only nixed the 9 to 5 in becoming a work at home mom, but “Nic’s 9 to 5″ is certainly different from most other people’s 9 to 5.  Though I try to give myself scheduled office hours, even the attempt is pretty laughable at this point.

Most of my work is done while Bear is at Mother’s Day Out or playing with his Beela and Papa.  However, there is generally more work than I can successfully complete in these roughly 14 hours per week of child-free work time.  I also have to squeeze in working during Bear’s increasingly short naps and after he goes to bed at increasingly later times.  I tell you what, I would kill for his ability to fight a nap or bedtime.  If I didn’t need to sleep, I could get so much more done.

I’m trying to be more productive in short bursts of time, and I’m trying to develop better sleep habits so I’m able to work effectively without getting run down.  I’m not the only mom, work-at-home or otherwise, who loses sleep in the attempt to Do It All.

Earlier tonight, I read an article on the At Home Mom Blog entitled “WAHM Advice:  Pulling All-Nighters.”  Now, in college, as the Queen of Procrastination, I was also the Queen of All-Nighters.   I would stay up until early morning completing assignments, and then, rather than trying to sleep an hour or so before the alarm went off, I’d just stay up, knowing that there was no way I’d get to class if I went to sleep.  Instead, I’d go to class, eat lunch, and come back to the dorm to sleep for a few hours before starting all over.

Now, however, an all-nighter won’t work for me at all, even if I’m desperate to accomplish things.  That’s because staying up all night means excessive fatigue the next day.  If I’m too tired, I can’t get any work done the next day and I am a colossal grump with Bear and Hot Husband and anyone else I encounter.  One thing every mom of a three year old needs is patience; without sleep, I have none. (more…)

Productivity Apps for WAHMs

// January 3rd, 2012 // 2 Comments » // Organization, Time Management, Work at Home

I think one of the biggest struggles for work at home moms is organizing time and tasks for optimum productivity.  Prioritizing tasks, taking advantage of “downtime” (ha), avoiding time sucks (Pinterest, anyone?), and keeping up with never-ending to-do lists is a challenge for anyone, but especially for someone working from a home office–or even from the kitchen table or living room couch–with a mountain of laundry in the next room and a toddler pulling on her shirttail.  Of course, moms who work outside the home and stay at home moms struggle with balancing tasks and to-dos as well, and most of us could stand to be a little more organized and a little more productive.

I’m becoming much more aware of the necessity of organizing tasks on-the-go as well as at home.  Over the holidays, we took a 12-hour road trip to visit family (including the Amazing Amanda).  Knowing I’d have 24 hours in the car, I bought a car charger for my laptop and got ready to be held captive by my work while I was held captive in the passenger seat.  Unfortunately, my laptop battery is completely, unchargeably dead, and the adapter I bought did not have enough oomph to power my laptop.  In that 24 hours in the car, I got ONE article written.  *sigh*

Because I was away from home, I wanted a good way to organize and check off my work to-do list.  At first, I tried using a gTask Android app on my phone to integrate Google Tasks from Google Calendar.  If you are looking for a completely basic to do list, Google Tasks and the gTask app will work fine.  I find Google Tasks to be a little too basic, though.  I can’t prioritize tasks, and I can’t have different colored labels for different task lists (I’m wanting separate to-do lists for each client and for personal tasks).

Because I’m not enamored of Google Tasks (which is sad because I heart Google), I’m moving on to something else.  Currently, I’m trying Wunderlist.  I like how Wunderlist allows me to easily see my separate task lists and to display a single list or all my lists.  I can view by day, week, or more.  Wunderlist also sends me an email each day I have tasks to complete (read:  daily).  But still, with Wunderlist on my PC, I have to open a new window and can’t simply work from my Google account.  I know, I know–not a huge problem in any way, but it’s still not quite what I’m looking for.  I have to juggle enough tasks–I don’t want to juggle task apps as well.

Beyond to-do list apps and task apps, I need to find some productivity apps for managing my documents as well.  Currently, I’m researching the oh-so-generic term “productivity apps” to see what I think will solve all of my organizational dilemmas as a self-employed freelancer/blogger/household manager/(insert whatever else I’m forgetting here).  If I discover the perfect app to organize it all and make productive use of my time, I’ll be sure to pass it on to you.  The next apps I’m planning to research and try are as follows (if you have tried any of these, please let me know what you think of them):

• Remember the Milk
• Astrid
• Jorte
• Evernote
• Springpad
• GDocs
• Dropbox

In the meantime, have you discovered a can’t-live-without app?  What are your favorite task managers/organizers/productivity apps?

Happy New Year from Nix9to5

// January 2nd, 2012 // No Comments » // Life in General, Money Matters, Work at Home

Now that the whirlwind of the holidays has come to an end, I’m ready to settle back into a routine.  Well, maybe not so much “settle in” as “develop.”  I’ve been toying with some task lists and productivity apps to try to find a way to efficiently manage my time and my projects.  Surprisingly, I’ve had a very productive couple of days, even with traveling across three states for “Christmas, Part Two.”

I’ll now be able to share with you some of the gifts I made for Christmas.  I’ll have the “recipes” for a Vanilla Brown Sugar Coconut Scrub and a Brown Sugar Almond Oil Scrub that I made for the women in my family (and that launched an obsession with coconut oil).  I still have some DIY cleaning product recipes for you as well.  Oh–and a few easy craft/home decor projects I made, too.

A couple of years ago, I launched Nix9to5 shortly after the start of the year.  Fresh on my mind was developing a budget and sticking to smart spending strategies.  Since that time, I’ve become lax in my spending, and as such, things have become a little tight.  When I first started the site, one of my main principles in making it as a work at home mom was that what you don’t spend is as important as what you earn.  Maybe more so.  It’s time for me to go back to basics as far as budgeting and saving, and so that’s where I’m starting 2012–with a spending freeze.  For the month of January, I’m planning on spending money only on necessities like perishable grocery items.  We have enough stuff in the freezer and pantry that, for the most part, we should be able to eat without having to buy much.  Maybe an ingredient here or there, but nothing major.

I’ll be interested to see how much “extra” we have at the end of the month if I’m careful with my resources again.

My goals for this year are to be more productive with my time, to spend more quality time with my family, and to be a wise steward of our resources.  I’d like to make 2012 my “Intentional Year,” focusing on how I spend my time rather than letting time just happen and pass me by.

I hope this year brings you and your family many blessings.  What are your goals for 2012?

Making It Work as a Work at Home Mom

// December 6th, 2011 // No Comments » // Balance, Life in General, Work at Home

When I first started Nix9to5, my tagline was “Nic’s Guide to Nixing the 9 to 5.”  The focus of my blog was how to achieve the goal of becoming a work at home mom.  Since then, my focus has changed.  No longer am I concerned about being able to become a WAHM, but rather being able to stay a WAHM.  Mostly, I’m just trying to manage my time and maintain my sanity.  The blog posts are no longer just about working from home and saving money, but they are about all aspects of working from home–entertaining toddlers and young children, time management for work and household duties, and trying to carve out a little time for oneself along the way.

I’ve said before that I think the Nix9to5 blog has lost focus over the last year, but really, I think it has just shifted its purpose.  No longer is this blog about figuring out how to nix the 9 to 5, but it is about making it work as a work at home mom–which inspired the new tagline for Nix9to5.

I’ll continue writing about the “Work” in Work at Home Mom–opportunities, tips, budgeting, and strategies–but I’ll also be writing a lot about the “Mom” in Work at Home Mom.  From child-centric activities to date nights, from housekeeping and cooking to relaxation and leisure, I’ll be writing about everything that goes into finding and maintaining balance as a Work at Home Mom.

I’m excited about this new phase of my work-at-home journey and about the new direction Nix9to5 has taken.  I hope that all of my readers–not just WAHMs–will find something of value here.

Now let’s get to work.

Being a WAHM: What Doesn’t Work

// December 3rd, 2011 // 4 Comments » // Money Matters, Time Management, Work at Home

When I first started working from home, I did so with a complete fervor and dedication.  I mean, I had to make this work.  I was terrified that we wouldn’t be able to pay bills or that I’d have to go back to working outside the home and leaving my sweet boy every day.  I worked late hours.  I budgeted and clipped coupons and watched sales and scoured deal sites and coupon blogs.  Whatever I didn’t earn through working, I made up through savvy shopping.

When everything worked out fine, I got a little lax.

I procrastinated writing assignments.  I stopped watching the sales so closely.  I let the coupon inserts pile up and remain largely untouched.

My income went down as I stopped getting quite so much work done.  Our expenses went up as I stopped being so vigilant about shopping wisely.  I started spending more on luxuries as well as necessities.

Procrastination and spending freely do not work well with being a Work at Home Mom.

I’ve been looking at my billing and our bills, and I realize that I need to get back to that dedication I had in the beginning.  My office desk has become cluttered with arts and crafts supplies for me and for Bear.  I need to clear it back off and move my laptop from the living room couch back into the office.  I really think working from my desk helps signal “WORK,” not only to me, but to Hot Husband and Bear as well.  I mean, if I’m typing on the couch, how do they know whether I’m working or browsing Pinterest or playing Words with Friends on Facebook?  They are much less likely to interrupt me if I’m at my desk.  Well–Hot Husband is.  Bear knows no boundaries–including bathrooms.  Sometimes, mama just wants to pee in peace, am I right?

I also think it helps to reframe how I think about some of my leisure time.  Let’s say I decide to spend a half-hour catching up on Facebook statuses or reading the news or getting clever ideas off of Pinterest.  Half an hour doesn’t sound so bad, does it?  Now, if I look at it from the perspective of work, depending on the client, in that same half hour I’m messing around on the internet or watching TV or making some crafty whatnot for the house, I could be earning up to $55.  Seriously, if you tried to CHARGE me $55 (or even $15 on  my lowest paying projects) to use the internet for half an hour, I’d think you were out of your ever-lovin’ mind.  If I start thinking of my time-wasters as expenses, I’m much less likely to waste that time.

It’s amazing what you can do (or do without) when you put a price tag on it.  Several years ago, I was in a body transformation contest.  The grand prize was $50,000.  In twelve weeks, I did not cheat one time.  I didn’t eat anything unhealthy, didn’t splurge for special occasions, and never missed a workout.  I went from a size 14 to a size 4 during those twelve weeks.  The way I managed to stay dedicated is that every time I was tempted to cheat, I told myself one of two things:

• “The person who wins this contest isn’t skipping any workouts/eating dessert.”
• “Man, that (cheesecake, nap, Mexican dinner) sounds good, but not as good as $50,000.”

DailySteals.com’s Questionable Ad Strategy

// November 22nd, 2011 // 2 Comments » // Life in General, Work at Home

For those following Nix9to5 on Facebook, you’ve already seen a link to this story.  Earlier today, Amanda at Simple Saving Savvy linked to a story from Sunshine and Sippy Cups about the disturbing advertising copy being used by DailySteals.com (note:  I am not linking directly to Daily Steals because I do not wish to give them any additional free advertising.  If you would like to see the ads for yourself, feel free to type the URL in your web browser).

Daily Steals is a daily deal site which features toys, electronics, and more.  It also features a very questionable ad strategy. I can only guess that these product descriptions are an ill-conceived attempt at humor, but they are disturbing and not in any way funny.  For each product, the write-up is a little story.  The story does not mention any features or benefits of the product, but rather uses the product name somewhere in the story.  As far as I can tell, the majority of these stories are laced with violence, sexual innuendo, and references to drug and alcohol abuse.  These stories tell of kidnappers and creepy old men in toy descriptions, and mock depression and suicide in a camera description.  One alarm clock is marketed by a story about a boy at his grandfather’s funeral.

Here is an example of an advertisement for a remote control car:

What’s your favorite thing about kids?
Two men in their late thirties sit in folding chairs on a front year. The sun beats down and causes little droplets of sweat to accumulate on their faces. Children play in their view along the sidewalk. The men casually watch them, mostly getting wrapped up in a conversation with each other.

“That’s a cool thing he’s got over there,” Jeff, the shorter one, asks his friend, pointing to the boy in the Lil’ Rider Battery Powered Sports Car.

“Yeah, I bought that not too long ago,” Gabe responds.

They watch as Gabe’s son drives around the yard and the sidewalk.

“You know what the best part about it is?” Gabe asks.

“No, what?”

“This remote can control the car too,” he says, breaking out the remote and taking control of his son’s car. He drives the car straight over to the neighbor’s dog and runs it over. Tom Robinson, the owner of the dog, sees the whole thing and walks over to Jeff and Gabe.

“What did you do that for?” he demands to know.

“I didn’t do anything, that was my boy,” Gabe retorts. “He’s just a kid give him a break.”

Tom Robinson storms off to his own house in a huff and the two men sit back down in their chairs.

“You can blame anything on kids and get away with it,” Gabe says, laughing.

Running over a dog? Blaming the child? And this is one of the more tame “stories.”  I’m truly baffled by this strategy.  I would think the target demographic for the toy ads would be parents and grandparents–those who love children and who overwhelmingly desire to protect them.  To write an advertisement that uses kidnapping, violence, drug and alcohol abuse, and pedophilia as a gimmick seems to go directly against good business sense.  Why alienate your customers this way?

As a Work at Home Mom, I write web sites, blog posts, and product descriptions for a variety of businesses.  None of my clients would think of accepting writing of such a poor caliber and in such poor taste.  Ads should appeal to the customer, not repulse her.

There are dozens of Daily Deal sites available:  Groupon, Deal Pulp, No More Rack, Save More, Plum District, and more.  Please consider giving your business to one of these more ethical, professional, and family friendly sites than to a site that tries to make a buck off the exploitation of children.

EDIT:  Though it appears as if Daily Steals is not responding to questions or comments about their ad copy, I have found at least one instance where they changed the text.  However, the change is, in my opinion, clearly sarcastic and patronizing.

Here is the original text:

And here is the text of their revision, now available on the site:

Everything was super happy and nice.
All the little children of the land got together to go on an adventure. Their destination was an enchanted forest to the north of the town where it was believed that an ancient spirit that loves children lived. The group gathered up their Disney Pix Click Cameras and headed off early in the morning.

They had the most fun they ever had taking pictures of the marshmallow bushes and licorice trees. They found a telephone shaped like a smiley face that they used to call their mothers. They told them all about the world they had discovered and that they wanted their entire families to move there. They said it was great because nothing could get in without the explicit permission of the people inside.

“Finally,” one of them said.

And everyone lived happily ever after with sugar and marshmallows and cherries on top with gigantic smiles that never fade.

I don’t know.  It looks to me like there is a copywriter out there who is actively trying to get fired.  If Daily Steals is looking for a work at home writer, I know someone who could do a MUCH better job than this.  Maybe I should send them my resume . . .

“The Hurrier I Go, the Behinder I Get.”

// October 17th, 2011 // No Comments » // Cooking, Family, Time Management, Work at Home

I saw that quote on a poster in one of my elementary or junior high classes when I was growing up.  I don’t know which class, and I don’t know why it stuck with me, but it has certainly seemed to relate to my life lately.

A few weeks ago, I had a crazy-busy week with trying to meet work deadlines before the end of the month while simultaneously preparing for Hot Husband’s 80′s theme birthday party by making a Pac Man cake, cleaning furiously, preparing snacks, decorating, and putting together an awesome 80′s costume.  Somehow, despite my stress and my unwavering belief that I couldn’t pull it off, everything got done, and got done well.

Here we are just a few weeks later–the house is messy again, I’m behind on work again, I haven’t been working out, my fridge is empty, and I just realized I have fewer than three weeks to come up with a theme for Bear’s third birthday and plan the party.   At the end of September, I thought I was really getting it together.  Today, I have no idea how I ever got so close to caught up or how I’ll get there again.

Does anyone else feel like you can’t let it go for even a second or it all falls apart?  I think constant vigilance must be the key to success.

I think when I was writing about planning the birthday party, I promised some pictures.  Well,  I certainly don’t want to break a promise, so here are a few 80′s party pics:

Pac Man Cake

Rockin' the 80's Style

80's Movie and Band Poster Fridge Decor

Breakfast Club Movie Poster Re-Enactment

Any excuse to wear a costume . . .  Only two weeks until Halloween!!

Tomorrow’s post will be from the Amazing Amanda, who’ll be sharing a tip on how she gets her boys to actually eat dinner without resorting to antics and without taking roughly 38 minutes between bites (if you have a toddler son, I have a feeling Super D’s dinner time feats will be shockingly familiar to you).

Speaking of Super D–Happy birthday, little man!!  We love you!!

Zzzz . . .

// October 11th, 2011 // No Comments » // Life in General, Work at Home

There are exactly two things I miss about working outside the home:

1. Seeing my friends on a daily basis.
2. Sick days.

So, What Do You Do All Day? (by Amanda)

// October 3rd, 2011 // 1 Comment » // Children and Babies, Life in General, Time Management

Note from Nicci:  While I’ve been hard at work trying to get this new cleaning routine down from the I Hate Housework Challenge, the Amazing Amanda has been thinking about some of the ways she tries to make housekeeping manageable with two small boys.  She shares some of her ideas here.

On days we stay at home, I feel like I work all day to keep the house clean, and by the time my husband gets home, the house looks pretty much exactly the way it did before (at best.)