those of you who are self-employed...

[Caroluna]

Dear Stay-at-home parents, farmer-types, craftspeople--

How do you decide what to do when?


I can't seem to find the balance between being too random and being too
scheduled. Insights appreciated.

[emmline]

I have almost always fallen into that category.
I seem to be very necessity driven. It is true that I'll hit interludes which last, at most, a week during which I kind of relax and say "wow...I have time to write...this is a nice life." These lovely weeks are interrupted by month or more-long stretches in which I seem to exercise little choice about what comes next.
This week, for example:
Monday: Meet realtor 1.5 hours away to list properties for sale. Do associated paperwork and telephoning once I get home.
Tuesday: Meet different realtor 30 min. away to list other 2 properties. More associated calls and paperwork. Forget to take kid to orthodontist. Remember to take kid to drum lesson.
Today: Meet lawyer for estate planning and poa stuff. Lots of associated paperwork. More real estate paperwork.
Tomorrow: Doc app't.
Friday: uncommited as of yet.

The time not taken up by the pre-scheduled stuff fills, without half trying, with laundry, food shopping, eating, cleaning up, pet wrangling, solving everyone else's computer/hardware/homework problems, not to mention the woodwork and mess-handling I have as my own projects.

If the dog barfs on the floor I gotta fix it.
If the printer jams and the kid's essay is due tomorrow I gotta fix it.
If the memory-impaired spouse takes the faucet apart and can't put it back together I gotta fix it.

Mostly it's about attending to whatever seems the most immediately urgent.

I think if I had the option of more choice in how to arrange my time, I'd try to have a loose framework of a schedule, which could be disrupted as needed to smell the roses.

[rh]

i'd answer you, but i don't have time now...

feast or famine sometimes... kind of like emm says, a lot of it is driven by necessity. currently i have all of this stuff to take care of NOW and other times i can catch up on my reading or take the kid to the zoo or whatever.

my wife and i are BOTH doing versions of this work-from-home/self-employed thing so it gets kind of insane sometimes.

[anniemcu]

Dear Stay-at-home parents, farmer-types, craftspeople--

How do you decide what to do when?


I can't seem to find the balance between being too random and being too
scheduled. Insights appreciated.

"balance"? what is this thing you call "balance"??

I live by random schedules and I schedule randomness as a regular thing.

IOW - I am constantly in a tizzy. Such is life. Plus, I am certifiably ADD. (go figure)

[cowtime]

For farmers it's no problem to decide what to do when- it's dictated by the seasons. They control the livestock and the crops.That old saying"make hay while the sun shines " is true. The only time that could be considered "slack" is in the dead of winter, when other than the feeding and early calving there's a bit of a break. That's when you do repairs, etc. that you certainly don't have time for the rest of the year.Plus, that's when you do the (horror) planning and paperwork.

Remembering back to the days when my girls were small and I did not work outside the home I had quiet a bit of free time. This was before we took over the farming and before I went back to work full time. I did a lot of my painting, drawing, etc. Which I have not done in many years now.

I've always been a morning person when it comes to work, I like to hit the floor "running". Of course then I end up staying up too late at night because it's quiet.

[djm]

Its easy: my customers set the hours. I just have to be available to them during that time. If they don't call, I have free time. If they call, they all call at once, and I am left with my head bouncing around like one of those bobble things on the dashboard.

djm

[trill]

balance?

makes me think of graduate school, where the motto was:

"p***ing on the hottest fire".

[Caroluna]

balance?

makes me think of graduate school, where the motto was:

"p***ing on the hottest fire".

This makes me think of my husband's time in graduate school
during which time he went a bit crazy

His therapist remarked that graduate school is like the
ultimate in dysfunctional relationships, where you are expected to
do, do, do and do some more. The therapist didn't really specify which
body function you were supposed to be do-do-doing

My DH was miserable, it wasn't sustainable, it was bad for his health...
part of the misery was that he had to work on just one thing all
the time, like eating nothing but grapefruit and cottage cheese day
after day after day

I would love to hear some stories from people who are living
healthy, sustainable lives, full of variety and creative expression.
Any of you out there? Please, give me your secrets

I know that Doug Tipple is a craftsperson who works with very
technical machinery-- and also writes poetry-- !!!

I really enjoy Denny's posts, which range all the way from galaxies to
horses**t. I imagine a life with feet firmly in the mud, head in the stars, and
everything in between sort of nicely connected. Or-- that's how it appears
from the outside!....the impression I get from the previous posts is that--
I can see someone doing all these things (raising kids, doing chores,
supporting themselves with their home business, writing, studying,
finding time for their music), and I think they've got it all together, but
actually........... they feel just as crazy as I do..........

PS. Fun to check out people's websites. My son was looking over my
shoulder at the Sassafras Whistle Rolls, agreed that they looked
beautiful, but said that he thought from the title that it would be something
good to eat

[Caroluna]

(sorry so wordy)
I love hearing about what people are doing, how they actually spend
their time. So, here's my job description--

*bare-bones homeschool, to meet state requirements
*add to that whatever we think is worthwhile / interesting to learn

*design a new class every few years (in our homeschool group we
try to lead classes whenever we can-- because nobody can be expert
in everything-- and besides, it's fun)

*birdfarmer (we have an aviary with about 60 of 'em)
*turn outbuilding into a 'nature center' (for small classes)

*bond with new flute / listen to ITM
*hang out here, which helps to cure my Isocranial Inversion
AKA "head up your own butt" syndrome

[Denny]

imagination is such a wonderful thing

[Caroluna]

well surely I got the horses**t part right

[Denny]

I'm building a mountain! The view from the top, on a clear day, is...

[Scott McCallister]

One of the things that I have found to be helpful in this regard is to schedule the randomness. I know that sounds weird, but one of these attributes has to take priority, and if it is the randomness, then not a lot gets done.

Plan several blocks of time/week where the highest priority is "living well". Defend this time savagely. Don't use it as time to catch up on other things that should have their own scheduled priority, i.e. balancing the checkbook, or doing household tasks or whathaveyou.

Make the distinction between "living well" (time when you do whatever random activity strikes you as a worthwhile pursuit) and "quiet time" when you can briefly exist with out intrusion, deadlines, pressure, etc. You'd be surprised what even 5 minutes of quiet time in an afternoon can do in providing balance.

Something else to consider, is getting out of your self-employment job.

Punch a clock?! (perish the idea... )

Self employed folks often get themselves into a bit of a sticky trap though. Let's say you are a Dentist. If you want to make twice as much money, you have to see twice as many patients (=work twice as hard) if you want a 2 week vacation, then you may conceivably go 2 weeks without pay. Some of my daily routine is "systems development" That is to say, I strive to create work processes that can be easily duplicated by others for a reasonable wage and leave me with a strong profit center as well as scads of "living well" time. This takes a bit of a mental leap for many self-employed though. You have to go from being indispensable, to a delegator. It can be a very different hat to wear for someone who has made their own way. But ultimately, the payoff is huge, not only in life-style, but productivity and profits as well.

[Caroluna]

Thanks Scott, this was good stuff.

One of the things that I have found to be helpful in this regard is to schedule the randomness.

OK-- makes sense. Usually when I have random, creative time, I just
keep going until it burns itself out. You're saying-- put some kind of limit
on it.

Make the distinction between "living well" (time when you do whatever random activity strikes you as a worthwhile pursuit) and "quiet time" when you can briefly exist with out intrusion, deadlines, pressure, etc. You'd be surprised what even 5 minutes of quiet time in an afternoon can do in providing balance.

I do go through the whole day worrying "am I doing enough"-- I'm
creating my own pressure. So, take a break from that.

Some of my daily routine is "systems development" That is to say, I strive to create work processes that can be easily duplicated by others for a reasonable wage...You have to go from being indispensable, to a delegator.

One of the things my son and I do together as part of homeschool is care
for a small aviary and greenhouse. Kevin would also like for us to hold
small classes in our aviary / greenhouse, because he enjoys meeting
new people, and he likes sharing his hobby......So......at this point I can't
ask Kevin to create a whole 10-week class, but I *could* ask him to
come up with a few 5-minute talks. Get him used to the idea that I'm
going to be delegating more to him in the future.

[Scott McCallister]

Thanks Scott, this was good stuff.

One of the things that I have found to be helpful in this regard is to schedule the randomness.

OK-- makes sense. Usually when I have random, creative time, I just
keep going until it burns itself out. You're saying-- put some kind of limit
on it.

Ya, that's the idea. If you are using this time for being creative, you will find that putting a limit on the time spent, will do a couple of things for you. First, provide the benefits of getting work done by giving attention to other tasks that make your life run. And Second, by selecting a time when you can be creative, you learn skills that enable you to be creative "on demand" which over time will allow you to be very productive in your creative pursuits.

Make the distinction between "living well" (time when you do whatever random activity strikes you as a worthwhile pursuit) and "quiet time" when you can briefly exist with out intrusion, deadlines, pressure, etc. You'd be surprised what even 5 minutes of quiet time in an afternoon can do in providing balance.

I do go through the whole day worrying "am I doing enough"-- I'm
creating my own pressure. So, take a break from that.

Good idea. The things you fill your day with will be more enjoyable if you aren't fretting about if it is the right thing to do.

Some of my daily routine is "systems development" That is to say, I strive to create work processes that can be easily duplicated by others for a reasonable wage...You have to go from being indispensable, to a delegator.

One of the things my son and I do together as part of homeschool is care
for a small aviary and greenhouse. Kevin would also like for us to hold
small classes in our aviary / greenhouse, because he enjoys meeting
new people, and he likes sharing his hobby......So......at this point I can't
ask Kevin to create a whole 10-week class,

Well, why not? If he's as into it as you say, he'll probably get a big kick out of it. How difficult would it be? Most primary education while rooted in fact absorbtion has an underlying element of "learning how to learn". I've found the best way to learn about something is to go about it with the expectation that you will have to teach it to someone else.

but I *could* ask him to
come up with a few 5-minute talks. Get him used to the idea that I'm
going to be delegating more to him in the future.

Fabulous idea! I hope this works well for you.

Scott