A few people have asked me recently how I do it all, and my answer has mostly been, "not very well!" I've made a conscious effort lately to put my family before work, trying not to work in the evenings or much at all on the weekends, and it's been a real struggle to fit in the work that I'd like to get done each day.
I felt like I hardly had any time at all for work today, and I started thinking about everything I did today that women who work outside of the home don't do or have to cram into the evenings & weekends. As I wrote this list I started thinking... this also looks like a list of reasons why my husband doesn't want to work from home!
- wake the kids up, make breakfast, help them get ready for school
- walk my son to school
- order waterproof name labels for the kids' umbrellas & water bottles and sew-in name tags for their coats, gloves, hats, etc.
- drive my daughter to preschool
- call a landscaping company about moving a lilac bush in our backyard
- meet with the brick paver guy to get an estimate for extending our driveway
- exchange emails & voice mail messages with the architect, engineer, and general contractor for the new detached garage we're building
- walk to my son's school to pick him up, talk with his teacher while he plays with a couple of classmates
- drive to my daughter's preschool to pick her up
- make lunch
- meet with the landscaper and show him the bushes in our yard that need to be moved
- shampoo the area rug in the basement that got soaked with rain
- change into gym clothes and pack my gym bag
- reply to customer emails & fill a couple of orders
- take the kids to the post office, library, and Target - shop for Fall clothes & shoes for the kids, look at Halloween costumes, and pick up some groceries while we're there
- get so stressed out with their awful behavior at Target that I decide to skip the gym and come home for quiet time instead
- clean the house, do dishes, fold laundry, and put away the deliveries that arrived yesterday (envelopes & shipping supplies) while keeping an eye on the kids playing in the backyard
- work on my website a little bit and take a shower (finally!) while the kids watch a movie
I'm not complaining... I love my life, I love my family, I love my business, and I'm very fortunate that I get to stay at home with my kids AND do something challenging that I love. I guess I'm just stepping back for a minute, once again, to ponder this concept of "balance" and what shape it's currently taking.
I bought some new shelves and wall files for the workspace area in my office, and it feels like a whole new office! I used to keep all of these supplies in drawers and on the lower shelves of this storage unit, and it makes such a huge difference to have everything in sight and within reach. I can't believe it was only 10 months ago that I moved out of my 3' x 5' "cloffice"!
