RW Makeover #1 More than you’ve ever wanted to know about my schedule
by Jennifer Applin
Greetings! Thanks to the readers who have sent me e-mails! I love getting the feedback, questions, and encouragement on my makeover 
I know there are many moms trying to break into writing and are curious about my schedule with four little ones, so I thought I’d post it here. It’s probably way more information than you’ve ever wanted to know about me, but here ya go:
WEEKDAYS
-Each day I’m up about 6:30/7:00. I KNOW it would be really beneficial to get up before my kids and have at least a little time to wake up, get ready and clear my thoughts before I’m bombarded with all of the needs of my crew, but I just haven’t been able to do that ever since my youngest was born (1 year next week). So for now I “sleep in†until all four of them are clamoring for breakfast.
-For the next three hours (yes-it really does take about three hours) I’m doing the morning routine. This includes: feeding everyone; getting them all ready for the day; breaking up fights; cleaning up the kitchen; getting started on the laundry (we average two loads a day); cleaning the downstairs (floors, bathroom, picking up); breaking up fights; checking e-mail and maybe a few blogs as a break; helping my daughter with her homework and getting her backpack ready (she has afternoon kindergarten); getting myself ready for the day; going over my to-do list for the day; getting the kids started with crafts, puzzles, etc.; nursing the baby and getting him down for his morning nap; and breaking up fights (really they are best friends and total enemies simultaneously)! My kids do help with some of this, but I’m still supervising-which can be just as much work at times.
-Three days a week my babysitter comes from 9-1 (seriously the best financial investment ever!). She takes over with the kids and for the next four hours they are having a blast and I can finish up my morning routine and get to work in peace. One of the best things is that by her being there and taking over I’m able to concentrate on work even while I’m finishing up a few household-related things. This allows me to focus more when I sit down at the computer around 9:30/10. The days the babysitter doesn’t come I still get started with some work. I just don’t get as much done because I’m constantly interrupted. But I know it’ll be like this so really any amount of work I get done is a bonus. Ironically this is where working at home with four kids is actually easier than when it was just the two. They really do play together a lot. The older two are great about entertaining the younger two and I am able to get some work-related items crossed off my to-do list.
- The three days my babysitter is here I can work without any interruptions until about 12:30 when I take about a 30-minute break to get my daughter off to school, have some lunch and visit with the other kids. On the days my babysitter isn’t here I work off and on until about 11:30 and then I’m pretty busy getting lunch ready, cleaning up from lunch, changing diapers, getting my daughter off to school, and taking my 4-year-old to preschool two days a week.
-From about 1-3 everyday I get to work. The babysitter is gone, my oldest is at school, two days a week my 4-year-old is at preschool and the other three days he has quiet time, and the youngest two are napping.
-From 3-7 everyday we’re hanging out as a family, and doing everything that typical families do in the evening (kids’ t-ball, dinner, evening bedtime routines, etc.). In the winter months my husband is home around 3 and takes over some with the kids, but it’s summer, his busy time of the year, so many nights he’s gone until dark. Therefore, this is my most exhausting time of day. Getting dinner ready, cleaning up, giving four kids their baths/showers, getting them ready for bed, and all of the other evening details like finishing the laundry, and cleaning up a home that gets wrecked from people living in it all day long leaves me feeling a bit worn out by 7 pm. This is the time the kids go to bed (although with the weather being nice and since it’s light out later the older ones have been staying up a little bit later).
-The rest of the evening (from about 7-midnight) is sort of a crap shot. I’m usually still cleaning up, getting things ready for the next day, running errands, office work, etc. I usually have a little bit of “me†time and hang out with my husband. I also try to work at least 2 hours during this time (although my brain is usually turning to mush at this point). I’ve started exercising at home and as odd as it sounds 10:30 seems to be the best time right now to fit this in. Once I’m done I shower and “wash away†the stress from the day. Then it’s lights out for me around 12/12:30 and I’m quickly off to dreamland until the morning (or about 4 am when my youngest gets up to nurse about half the time. I know I need to break him of this but he’s only up for about 10 minutes, I never tire of seeing his chubby smile-even at 4 AM, and he’s my LAST, so what can I say?!).
WEEKENDS
-Some of everything! Cleaning, cooking, family time, couple time, me time, church, errands, family gatherings, working on projects, everything else that didn’t get done during the week, and yes I do get some work done in there somewhere.
So that’s my schedule. We’ll see how things change when my kids are done with school in a week or so.
Now, I have a question for you. How do you keep your writing career from being put on the backburner when things get chaotic at home? I’m not talking about meeting deadlines-this I have no problem with even if it means staying up all night. I’m talking about all of the marketing, pitching, etc. For example we recently dealt with nearly two solid, straight weeks of the flu. I had to go into total “survival†mode just to meet all of the basic needs around here. Then I had a number of days dealing with the aftermath (laundry, cleaning the house, catching up on errands, etc.). Needless to say anything writing related that didn’t HAVE to get done didn’t. I guess I should be glad that I’m able to put it on hold (versus having to go to a job everyday), but I’d like to hear what others do to really make writing a priority all of the time (and especially when everything else is chaotic-which happens a lot with many small children!).
If you liked that post, you might also like:
- 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
- You Ask, We Answer: How Do I Pitch My Idea Over the Phone?
- It’s a Freelancing Miracle!
- When Your Priorities Shift: Observations on Parenting and Freelancing
May 30, 2007 RW Makeover
Jen, thanks for posting this! That’s quite a hectic schedule you have, and I know our busy readers can relate.
Hi Jen, thanks for posting this – I found it really interesting… and encouraging! I’ve also got a 1 next week year old and often feel like I haven’t done much because I don’t get plenty of sit down and do it time – it’s more like squeeze it in when I can time. When I look at it I guess I do get a lot done, I just need to remind myseldf of it from time to time.
I just wanted to tell you that you have a wonderful website. I enjoy reading.You are a very amazing talented individual.Please keep up the excellent work!
Michelle Knudson, Freelance Writer
http://www.michelleknudson.com
Wow! It sounds like you’ve definitely got it down. I am seriously thinking that a babysitter would be a good investment for me too. Just three days a week for three hours would really help me out a lot.
As for your question, I’m not sure if I’ve handled balancing writing and family quite yet!
Wow Jen!
Thanks so much for posting this! It really helps to see the details of how you get things done. You are doing an awesome job!
Sonya
Oh, I loved reading this! I, too, am the mom of four little ones (my girls are 6, 4, 4 and almost 3), and I maintain very similar schedule. Like Jen, I have a sitter three mornings a week from 9 a.m. to noon, and I agree that it’s a smart investment! I can also usually squeeze in a few hours of work while the girls nap or have quiet time in the afternoon. A few years ago, I taught myself to be a morning person (it was a tough lesson, let me tell you!), and I now get up between 4 and 5 a.m. to work, answer emails, start laundry and simply get a head start on the day. Of course, I also had to teach myself to go to bed at a reasonable hour. I’m almost always in bed by 9 p.m., otherwise my brain is pure mush!
You can almost always squeeze in a little work time at one end of the day or the other, but I imagine it would be really hard to do both!
My schedule is similiar, but my girls are younger and I do not have a sitter. I have stories due each week, between one and two, sometimes more, which helps me prioritize. I get up early and blog, for me and soon for a paying blog, and get my stuff in order, like a to-do list. Sometimes my girls wake up sooner than I wish, and so less is done then. They nap twice a day roughly 1.5 each. In the morning, I get them up immediately. In the pm, I let them hang for another half hour so they rest for 2 hours straight. I do all of my phone calls 9:30/10 and 1:30/2. Most of my sources have been WONDERFUL about this. My editors are also very lenient, so if things like illnesses hold me back on deadlines, they are pretty forgiving. I am getting to the point of possibly needing a sitter a couple times a week just so I’m not staying up until midnight some nights … but not quite there, yet. It’s tough. I have 3 stories due in the next week, one I picked up today and then I’m hoping for 3 weeks off of everything but blogs, novel and pitching some ideas to larger paying markets. Ugh.
I am so glad I happened on this blog…WOW! There are other women living the way I do! One of my biggest challenges is that I am perceived as a stay-at-home Mom that has the time to bake cakes, volunteer for the school, and so on. To be fair, I don’t really know many stay-at-home Moms that don’t write—or run another business— that have that kind of time! I volunteer once a week at the school, which has been a real time sapper for me. Over the summer, I am going to practice saying NO. No. No. No!
Thanks everyone for your encouraging words! It’s good to hear I’m not the only newbie writer living a hectic life with little ones running around. Only a few more days of school then my schedule will go out the window and the “real fun” begins
Sounds like you are doing quite well as is Jen! I have 3 and when it gets crazy I tend to just go with the chaos. I remind myself that I will catch up when things settle down. If I didn’t do this, the worry/stress would make me very cranky! I think dealing with periods of chaos is part of finding the balance between work and home when you work at home. The beauty is-you have the flexibility to deal with 2 weeks of the flu (poor you!) and shift your work around a bit. Maybe you work a little more at night for a week or two or whatever until you catch up. I find I get the same amount of work done regardless.