Comments on: Surviving Summer While Working From Home With Kids

By: DavetteB

DavetteB — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 00:05:20 +0000

These are good ideas for all the time since I homeschool and I don’t get summers off ;o)
My son is now old enough to be pretty self-reliant, but he periodically picks the wrong time to interrupt. Our system now is that I say this period of time is business time and I can’t have interruptions/noise; ask me now or if you think of something that can’t wait, enter the room silently and pass me a note.

We have a lot of fairs, 5Ks, and other events during the summer in AK, so I just make those off days. Occasionally we will go to a park that has Wifi and I can work while he runs around, but that is a once in a while treat.

By: Lynda

Lynda — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 00:27:51 +0000

Thank you so much for this article! I’ve been having a hard time balancing work from home life with family life this summer. I’m glad school is starting in a few short weeks :). I’ve found that a chore list and a routine board have allowed me to schedule my time more effictively and then everyone knows what we need to do and when we can get to the fun stuff!

By: Nicole

Nicole — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 17:26:39 +0000

Wow! Thanks so much everyone for the comments. I love them all.

Yes, we battle about the lists – as my kids are far from perfect, just like their mommy. We’re all works in progress. 😉 But, having the expectations in black and white really makes things clearer. I hope it helps them to understand that part of being a grown-up is taking care of yourself, in addition to taking care of business.

Take time to read.
Exercise every day.

Little things like that. 🙂

Hugs and thank you again!
N

By: Down Or Just Me

Down Or Just Me — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 19:08:33 +0000

Personally I love YOUR answer! My parents did the list system with me, but they didn’t have a time limit like yours so it wasn’t quite as much motivation… It was still helpful though and I enjoyed getting things done because I usually got a reward if I did 😉

~Laurie

By: Tawra

Tawra — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 20:08:25 +0000

I got pretty much nothing done this summer. We just moved to another state, I have 4 kids, and am chronically ill and there is just no way I could get anything done.

I knew this would happen so for the entire month of May I worked like crazy getting posts done into July with the help of mom, my co-author.

Then each day I check emails, mail out orders once a week and the rest has just not got done. I know when school starts next week (YEAH!!!) I will be working hard to get our e-books spruced up and in order for the new covers and re-launch we will be having in mid-Sept.(hopefully)

By: Loretta

Loretta — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 19:29:40 +0000

My teenagers just started helping me with content and the 14 year old wants his own site, I let him dabble with Squidoo a bit while we discussed keywords and researching, etc. He’s just read SEO Fast Start and he’s now brainstorming blog ideas that he is interested in.

I definitely need to make new schedules for everyone when school starts next month! The boys are generally good about occupying themselves, but a schedule like yours would definitely decrease the number of times I say “brush your teeth” in a single day.

By: The Mom

The Mom — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 17:24:07 +0000

No kids… just me, the hubby and the cats. However, even in an empty nest, I can appreciate the ideas simply for the fact that it’s all about the organizing and planning. I just wrote a blog post about the end of multi-tasking in my life, so this Expert Briefs spoke to me in a unique way. Thanks Nik and Experts!

Planning, then working on one task at a time is the best way to get things done, for me, anyway. (Especially now that my multi-tasking days are over.)

I LOVE the checklist you use Nik. I also LOVE that you have taken into account the two totally different personalities and motivation styles the kids possess. My take-away from this is don’t push your own style onto your kids. It may not work. Good job, Nik! kiss kiss (ahem… where’s The Husband’s list??? wink wink)

ALSO – I love that you have finally given yourself permission to escape for a while. Instead of struggling each day to glue yourself to your office, resulting in half-a**ed attempts at producing something of value, why not just bow out for a good, long, concentrated escape?! Good job. Although I know everyone missed you, but as you always say, “There’s no kidney or heart transplant recipient waiting for Dr. Nik to arrive.”

Perspective.

Thanks for this fun peek into this topic.

By: Marcia Ming

Marcia Ming — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 13:59:13 +0000

I am an empty nester — my daughter is all grown up. But when I see how you all manage your businesses and kids, I know I can do better. Thanks for sharing.

By: Aurelia

Aurelia — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 12:03:37 +0000

What an amazing post!! Nicole, I am loving your schedule that you have for your kids! I was impressed to see how detailed it was and WOW, reading for 2hrs… I wish I could get my 11yo to do that.

Alice, WOW — I am so impressed with how you are involving your kids with your business! That is awesome. You’ve given me many ideas

By: Satu

Satu — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 21:49:59 +0000

What a clever thing to have children have their own sites!

@Nicole Could you possibly come up with a similar excel sheet I could use for my life in general plus im tasks? 🙂