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?

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.”

“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!!

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.)

Productivity and Working at Home

// September 29th, 2011 // 2 Comments » // Family, Organization, Time Management, Work at Home

Let me just start this post by saying, “Happy birthday,” to my wonderful Hot Husband.  He’ll probably never read this post, but now you all know that it is HH’s birthday.  It’s a pretty lame one, too, since he has Parent/Teacher Conferences and will have to work until 8:15 tonight.  We celebrated early by going out to dinner at the Wedge (yum), and we’ll be celebrating late by having an 80′s theme birthday party Friday night to celebrate his Rhymes-with-Schmortieth birthday.  I’ll post pics of the cake and our attire . . . well, that is, if I look like a cute 80′s girl and not like some old hag dressed in Goodwill 80′s garb (which I will be–the Goodwill part, not the hag part).

Anyway, I’ve mentioned before that this week is going to flat run me into the ground, and I’m about there.  However, I will say there is nothing like a deadline and pure panic to motivate productivity.  Remember that list I posted the other day about how many projects I needed to complete by the end of the week?  Well, I wrote sixteen web pages today.  SIXTEEN.  That’s twice my previous record of eight.  Man, that’s pretty, pretty good.  I’m starting to feel as if maybe, just maybe, I’ll get it all done.

Well, probably not, but I’ll be a lot closer than I thought possible.

I’ve been doing a great job with the I Hate Housework Challenge, too.  Yesterday when HH came home from work, he took one look at our kitchen and passed clean out from shock and joy.

Okay, maybe I exaggerate, but he NOTICED, which is pretty substantial for most men.

Yesterday I accomplished all the daily tasks on the list, including the room of the day (dining room).  The dining room part involved cleaning windows, dusting baseboards, and even climbing on the table to clean the light fixture thoroughly.  I even took it an extra step and cleaned the “Tupperware Cabinet” in the kitchen.  You know, the one you can’t open when guests are around because everything will fall out and you’ll be flat mortified because their “Tupperware Cabinets” are probably perfect?  Well.  Mine’s perfect.  I should photograph it.  And the linen closet.  And under the sinks in the bathroom.  They are, quite frankly, works of art.

Today I didn’t get everything on the IHH Challenge completed.  I didn’t do the living room windows or dust thoroughly, and I didn’t do the daily Swiffering in the kitchen.  I’ve even got a dryer full of clothes that need to be put away.  But did I mention that I wrote SIXTEEN web pages today?  Or that my cabinets are the most beautiful gems of organization or that my dining room light practically sparkles?  The rest of the house is “clean enough,” and we’ll get more of the deeper cleaning accomplished Friday morning when we get ready for the party.

So what are the secrets to my productivity the past few days?  Well, I’ve given it some thought, and these are some of the things that have helped.  Take what you can and leave the rest:

1. Priority Determines Capacity - I cancelled some appointments and focused my energy on the things that really need to be done.  And no, Pinterest doesn’t really need to be done.
2. I moved my laptop back into the office.  I don’t watch TV or anything when I’m working on the couch, but I really do feel more like I’m working and not like work is interrupting potential lounging time if I’m at my desk and not on the couch.
3. The Amazing Amanda - She has bailed me out with several posts on times when I just wouldn’t have been able to get to it.  I hope she doesn’t mind being paid back with a Pinterest scarf rather than money.  Because this blog, as she has discovered, ain’t a paying gig.
4. Beela and Papa – Bear’s grandparents, as always, have stepped up to care for Bear when I just absolutely had to have more time to work.
5. Bear himself – My goodness, that little guy has been helpful.  He’s finally at an age where he wants to “help” me clean.  I give him the Swiffer and he goes to town.  I give him a dust rag and he wipes everything in sight.  I give him a spray bottle, and Hello, Dolly, it’s like he’s won a prize.  He has been patiently watching Disney movies and has been just as sweet as he can be this week.  I could not love that little boy any more or my heart would just absolutely burst into a million pieces.
6. Hot Husband – That handsome man took over Bear duties so I could work.  He ran to the store and picked up milk, taking Bear with him, when I mentioned we were running low.  He took over bedtime, reading to Bear, so I could work.  Bless his heart, he’s so exhausted from his long days at work during conference week, that when he rocked the Bear to sleep, he rocked himself to sleep.
7. Flat Out Panic – I’ve been so stressed that I won’t be able to get everything done before the end of the month (read:  by deadlines and in time to put on this month’s invoices and before guests arrive for the party) that I’ve been working like a madwoman to get it all done.  The sheer terror I’ve felt has really motivated me to get a lot accomplished.  Tomorrow is going to be another challenging day, but I feel confident that, even if I don’t get it all done, I’ll be close enough that none of my clients are annoyed with me.

I Hate Housework Challenge Day 1 (and Other Assorted Stuff)

// September 27th, 2011 // No Comments » // Life in General, Organization, Time Management, Work at Home

I cannot thank the Amazing Amanda enough for her guest posts on the Nix9to5 blog.  I’m pretty sure that without her, I’d already be lapsing on posts.  I’m telling you,  I don’t know how she manages to have time to make and implement all these ideas with her boys.  I mean, it takes me weeks to even round up the supplies, much less start and finish a project.  (True story:  I decided to knit a baby blanket for the Bear when I found out I was pregnant.  I just found it in my closet.  It is exactly half finished.  Bear will be three in a little over a month.)

As far as getting things accomplished, this week is going to be CRAZY.  I have to finish all of my work projects before the end of the month for billing, and I just took on another project for a client.  I asked him if I could start it next week, but he needs it sooner, so I’ll be shuffling priorities and working extra late to make sure I get it all done.  By the end of the week, I need to write about 32 pages, 18 social media updates, and 9 product descriptions.  That doesn’t count any Nix9to5 posts or a few other pages that I should get done this week, but are secondary to the other bazillion projects (give or take).  I also have an all-day business meeting/work group on Saturday.

Oh, and did I mention that I’m throwing an 80′s themed birthday party for Hot Husband this weekend?  I’m not saying how old he will be, but it rhymes with schmorty.

I’ve already cancelled on appointment for the week, and I’ve already called in Babysitting Reinforcements in the form of Beela and Papa today.  Still, I’m not sure how it will all manage to get done.

In the midst of all this, I have officially begun my I Hate Housework Challenge.  I didn’t manage to get everything done–kitchen cabinets are still cluttered, and I didn’t sweep the floor, but I did at least buy new Swiffer cloths to help in this endeavor.  We went out to dinner tonight for an early birthday dinner for HH, so there weren’t too many dishes to load/unload, but my sweet HH did it anyway, even though it was his BIRTHDAY DINNER.  (Note:  If I did dishes on my birthday dinner night, I would pout about it.  Just so you know.)    I did, however, make the beds, sort the mail by taking care of what needed attention and trashing the junk mail immediately, tidy the living areas, and straighten and organize a bathroom (which wasn’t on the list).  And yesterday, I took the master bath and cleaned it so well that it turned into an all day ordeal.  You should come look in my linen closet and under my sinks.  Gorgeous.

Anyway, I’ve got work to do, a party to plan, and a house to clean before I pick up Bear from Mothers’ Day Out in a few hours.  This week is going to be busy, but it sure should prove to be productive!

What a Crock!

// September 19th, 2011 // No Comments » // Cooking, Time Management

I’ve shared with you before my love of the crock pot as a lifesaving timesaving tool for busy moms–WAHMs, SAHMs, and WOHMs alike.  Obviously, I’m not alone in my belief that a slow cooker is integral to being able to prepare a hot meal for one’s family while still managing all of the other Mom Tasks one must accomplish.  In just a couple of days, the Crock Pot Girls went from a brand new Facebook page to having over a million fans (by comparison, Nix9to5 has been up for a year and a half, and I’m up to 245 fans.  Holla.).  If you haven’t heard of Crock Pot Girls, I can only assume that this is your first time using the internet EVER, and in that case, I’m wondering how you found my page.  Welcome.

Anyway, I was wondering what it would be like if I cooked dinner for a week only using recipes from Crock Pot Girls.  Not such a crazy venture when you look at Stephanie O’Dea’s Crockpot365, in which she used her slow cooker every day for a year (by the way–awesome recipes there, too).

Anyway, I’ve made two recipes in the last few days that I found on Crock Pot Girls.  Following are the recipes, my tweaks, and my reviews.  For the record, I’m posting the recipes EXACTLY as I copied them from the Crock Pot Girls discussion board. (more…)

“Priority Determines Capacity”

// September 13th, 2011 // No Comments » // Balance, Time Management

I joined a Mom’s Group that began today.  The first class talked about time management and priorities, which, if you’ve ever read this blog before, you know I need.  The lesson today didn’t teach me anything new or earth-shattering, but it certainly put things into a perspective I could understand.

To begin the class, we watched a video from Andy Stanley‘s “Time of Your Life” series.  In this video, Stanley gave a demonstration of how when we prioritize correctly, all of those things we think we don’t have time for suddenly seem to fit.  I wanted to share a clip of the video with you, but I couldn’t find it.   I did, however, find another blog that had its own pictures of the demonstration, so I’m going to share them with you (providing attribution and hoping that the author doesn’t mind me sharing with you). (more…)