RW Makeover #1: A Schedule for Success
Do you have a schedule for success? If I want to be successful I need to have a schedule to accommodate that and my current routine just isn’t going to cut it. So, for the past week I’ve been in prep mode. My husband and I worked out a schedule that incorporates his job, caring for the kids, home management, 35-40 hours for writing, time off for both of us, etc. Since my husband is done working by mid afternoon and his second job is wrapping up for the season he’ll be around more, which will be a big help! Here is what we’ve worked out:
- I’ve made a list of all the weekly cleaning duties and we are dividing this up over the course of the week. Everything is broken down into smaller tasks (15 minutes or less) for easier management.
- During the week from the time the kids get up until about 4 p.m. I’m the primary caregiver. With four little ones running around I can’t expect to get much writing done during this time (at least nothing that takes any real concentration). So, I’ll be the typical stay-at-home-mom (multitasking the day away). After lunch I get the older two kids off to school and the younger two down for naps. Then I’ll have a little *me* time (woohoo)! I’ll take about an hour to recharge my batteries and then work for about an hour before the little ones get back up.
- My husband gets done working mid afternoon and claims he’ll need a break before taking over with the kids-what a wimp
 So, three days a week starting around 4 p.m. he’ll be Mr. Mom until the kids go to bed (about 7 p.m.) and I’ll work from 4-11 p.m. The other two days we’ll hang out as a family. One of these days after the kids go to bed I’ll work from 7–11 p.m. and the other night I’ll be OFF (I have a feeling I’m going to LIVE for that night each week). -  We’ll just need to play the weekends by ear and communicate. I’ll be working another 5-10 hours and the rest of the weekend will be typical family stuff.Â
EXPECTING THE UNEXPECTED: I can’t schedule when my family members get sick, the printer breaks down, and the kids have a snow day, but I can have some back-up plans in place. Here’s what I’ve come up with if I have a pressing deadline:
- I can always get up early, stay up late, work during my scheduled time off, and work more on the weekend.
- I do have family and friends who can help out in a pinch.
- I’m also getting my kids registered for a drop-off childcare center in my area. The hourly rate is pricey for all four kids, but if I’m in a jam it’ll be money well spent.               Â
I’m confident we can make this arrangement work. I had my own medical transcription business for 5 years and my schedule for that was much worse (very little sleep, no free time and a lot of exhaustion, not to mention the work was boring)! Plus, this is only temporary. Once I get established I’ll hire someone to help with childcare. Now I just need to figure out the best way to use my 35-40 hours of time set aside for work. This is one of the goals in need of the experts’ help. More on this to come! [ja]
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If you liked that post, you might also like:
- How to make a full-time income on a part-time schedule
- 3 Tips for Balancing Freelancing with Parenting and Housework
- Renegade Writer Q&A with Laura Vanderkam, Author of 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think
- How to Work Less
- Are You Unable to Stick to a Writing Schedule? Here’s Why It Doesn’t Matter
Nov 2, 2006 RW Makeover
Wow! I feel like we’re rowing the same boat! I’ve been feeling the push for a better schedule for some time now, but I could never “find” the time to write it down and get it going! Imagine that! You’ve motivated me to have a pow-wow with my hubby tonight and schedule our brains out! Thanks!
Ooooo. As a card-carrying member of the OCD and Anal Retentive club, this is one of my favorite topics. I’m a SAHM with (only) one kid who has been freelancing for 2 years. Now I get from 8:30 a.m. till 12:15 p.m. every day, sadly no nap time, and evenings after 8:30 p.m. Hopefully some of the things that have worked for me will help for you.
My first thought is you gotta chuck that “one hour me time after the kids go down for nap.” The second they are sleeping you should be ready to go.
This is what I do: Every night after my kid is asleep I go through all my files of stories that are in the works, pitches, etc and make a very detailed list of every call I need to make – not just – Call Bob, but Call Bob, re; X story, 555-1212.
I also try to keep this list in a priority order so that I don’t waste time. (And I also then keep a corresponding list with the date, date and all calls I’ve made, details on what message I left, when to expect a call back, etc.)
This way I can juggle more balls and have an idea what I’m doing even though I only work for a short spurt. And I can look back in my notebook and see who I’ve called when. (Did I just leave a “call me back” message or did I leave “call me back with the data from 2001 on cat urine” message.)
Another thing I found very helpful is to know exactly what I can do WHEN. This means I rarely do internet research during the day when my kid is in preschool because day hours are the only time I can do interviews. I save research for night when she’s asleep. Same thing (usually) for writing.
I know there are some calls I can take only when my daughter is at school or occupied by Daddy, but there are some I can take when she’s around. Caller ID is key. So is a baggie full of jelly beans.
All I can think of for now … love to hear other suggestions ….
Wow, Jennifer, I’m impressed! And we haven’t even let the experts loose on you yet.
Don’t worry, we’ll figure out how to keep you busy during your working hours (rubbing hands together/naughty glint in the eye)
HisGirl, you’re hardcore. I *love* the idea of writing down an itemized/detailed list of phone calls for the next day; consider your idea swiped. My method is sticky notes everywhere, then I sit down in the a.m. and start futzing with something not important (e-mail, eBay, etc.) and forget to call. So far it hasn’t bitten me, but I’m tempting fate.
I have started keeping a 5″ x 8″ notebook next to my keyboard and I write everything down in there: phone messages, brainstorms, places to check out on the web, to do items, etc. It really helps me manage the swarm of info in my office.
Robin-I feel that getting the schedule down on paper-and signed in blood
-is very motivating. Good luck with the pow-wow tonight!
HisGirlFriday-Chuck the one-hour *me* time? NOOOOO! j/k If that’s what it takes, no biggie. I totally agree about the detailed phone list. If my to do list doesn’t include the phone number for calls I need to make it gets dragged out all day long due to interruptions.
Great tips! Keep ‘em coming
Jennifer,
WOW-to be so organized…You are off to a good start. I can tell I am going to learn a lot through this blog. Not only from you, but also from the shared tips of others. Here’s one from me for what it’s worth. As a SAHM of 3, I find it really helps to be open to those little pockets of time that occasionally pop up during the day. I used to save my writing for when I had big chunks of time but I find I can really move ahead and keep my work from seeming ovrewhelming if I can do small things throughout the day.
For example, should my daughter be happily entertained with playdough, I can pop online and order books from the library for research. When she’s filling her clothes up with bean babies (she really does this), I can take like 15 minutes to outline what my article might look like. When my older girls are doing homework and the little one is engrossed in Dora, I can cook and check out the Renegade Writer Blog, make a list of ideas for queries or plan out exactly what I’ll get done during those precious preschool hours. And so it goes…
So, I am all for your schedule, and I say keep that me time hour in the afternoon to recharge, but also look for what you can do with your writing in small blocks of time throughout the day.
That’s a great tip, Tracy. When my son was under 2, I got *so* much done by using those little snippets of time and I’d save the big chunks of time for stuff like article writing or interviewing.
Wonderful suggestions all! Jennifer, you’ve positively inspired me. I’m busting out the spreadsheet this afternoon to see how I can maximize my time in the office AND out of the office.
Kristen
http://www.inkthinker.blogspot.com
I just found this blog and the Makeover – I know most people posted in November, but I have a tip if it helps.
I keep a some what large date book (not the ones you have to write teeny tiny to fit into the date box). When I have an interview scheduled, I put it under it’s date and include the person’s name, phone number, and reason for the interview. That way, I flip open to the date, there’s my calls for the day.
Now, I’m just at the start of my career and don’t have a whole lot of calls to do. Busier writers might need a bigger calendar. My mom used to use the large desk calendars – they had 5-6 lines to write on. But she hung it on a wall and put all our appointments/band events etc on it. That might be big enough for other writers.