with Britt Reints
Forget the 9 to 5; Full Time, All the Time is a blog about the mobile working life - when you have the freedom to work from anywhere and the responsibility of always having your smartphone turned on. Britt Reints works as a freelance writer while traveling fulltime in an RV with her husband and two kids. She explores balancing real-life bills with an unconventional work life, and finding time to maintain relationships with family and friends.
You can also find Britt at InPursuitOfHappiness.net.
|
I remember learning about “Arsenic Hour” when I first had my babies. Every day, at about 4 in the afternoon, the baby would get fussy. The hours from 4pm to 6pm were filled with whining and crying and rocking and juggling and all around chaos for everyone in the family.
I don’t have babies anymore, but I still dread the beginning of the end of the day.
Now the crabbiness sets in about 5 or 5:30. Ironically, that’s when I get off work so you’d think I’d be ecstatic. But it doesn’t take me long to switch from work mode to prep mode and my mind is filled with the ever evolving list of things that need to be done.
Child care pick ups, dinner, homework, baths, dishes, maybe some laundry.
And all before the kids have to be tucked into bed.
I notice my husband fading fast at this time of the night, too. He’s tired from working and trying to get dinner on the table and lunches packed for the next day. And all the while I can see him stealing glances at the couch, counting down the minutes when he can flop.
The unfortunate thing is that these are our prime family hours. With school, day care and two working parents, the daily time we have with all of us together is after work and before bed. I hate that we’re wishing those hours away. But our biorhythms seem to be working against us.
Here is where an expert would offer some advice, I suppose. Maybe insert a list of ideas for getting through the afternoon slump. But I haven’t got a clue.
Do you?
How do you perk up in the late afternoon and early evenings?
yea, I wish I had some great epiphany for you, but I’m much in the same boat.
Except, that some nights, when the dinner/clean-up process miraculously wraps up fast, we’ve done Wii Fit as a family or put on some music and danced in the family room. It’s been fun, gave us a surge of energy and let us laugh a bit…together…as a family.
Melanie (Modern Mami) | April 15th, 2009 at 6:00 am
It might be helpful to figure out what can be done in advance over the weekend and get that out of the way.
Then if you can break up other “need-tos” and spread them out over the week so that you only have one or two things to do a night.
Something else that helps me is keeping a list somewhere. Then I can not think about what needs to be done; I just consult the list when I’m home. That makes the ride a time when I can just decompress and prepare for reentry!
Finn | April 15th, 2009 at 8:19 am
The first thing I do when I walk in the door at night is take a 20 minute nap/rest. Everyone knows to leave me alone. I don’t usually fall all the way asleep. I don’t turn on anything–TV, laptop, stereo. I just rest. It’s like shavasana at the end of yoga. I wake up refreshed and ready for the night. When Lauren’s not with me, I do this on the couch. When she is, I go to my room, lay on my bed and put my eye pillow over my eyes. Everyone knows not to bother me.
If I go out straight from work and don’t take this time, I’m wasted for days.
Now I just need a little sleep mat in my office for a 1:30 quickie nap and my life will be just fine, thanks.
Lynn @ human, being | April 15th, 2009 at 11:17 am
We call it “unhappy hour”. We do a few things to try to cope with it.
First, we give the kids a totally unnecessary snack (crackers/juice) and give the 30 minutes of TV while DH and I take a “break” usually chatting with a drink about our day and such.
We also do baths every other night. “bath night” is the worst, but at least its not every night. (they are young so this works).
Also we put the m to bed at 8pm no matter what. That way we know when the chaos will end and we always read at bedtime. My kids love books so that is easy for us, but it’s also a great cuddling time with them.
No matter how hard you try or how good your kids are, its still hard…
Renee | April 15th, 2009 at 11:26 am
Now see, I was going to suggest a nap (which I totally do), but I didn’t know if it was feasible when working full-time.
Finn | April 15th, 2009 at 11:32 am
I eat a snack in the afternoon, around 3 or so. If I don’t, I am a mess by the time I get home.
I also often have my daily cup of coffee in the afternoon instead of the morning.
And if my toddler is hungry before supper is ready, I give her a snack…I just make sure it’s something I wouldn’t mind her eating for supper (a cheese stick or some fruit, for example).
As for laundry, I sort my clothes when I take them off and often start a load before work, move it to the dryer after work, and fold it after my daughter goes to sleep.
I don’t think there’s a sure-fire solution, but those things help me.
Just me | April 15th, 2009 at 11:49 am
I recently did a post on quick and easy relaxation exercises for working moms. (http://www.examiner.com/x-5845-Atlanta-Working-Moms-Examiner~y2009m4d6-Stress-relief-Relaxation-exercises-for-busy-mothers) Try taking 5-10 minutes either just before you leave work or even in the parking lot for a quick relaxation session to help you switch gears. I’ve been doing it and it really does help to kind of wash away the workday stress before I get the kids and go into full-on Mommy mode.
As a single mom with 2 preschoolers, I’ve also found that giving the kids my undivided attention for a few minutes when we walk in the door can sometimes buy me a few minutes later. I’d rather come in and have a few minutes to unwind by myself but they won’t have that. If we sit down and read a story together or play in the courtyard together for 10-15 minutes as soon as we get home, then I can usually get them to sit down and eat a snack while I change clothes, wash my face, or just sit in my room with the door closed for a minute or two.
Having as much of the cooking done ahead of time as possible also helps, but when I need to cook, letting the kids “help” me sometimes works. Instead of fighting to get them out of the kitchen and out from under my feet, I can give them a job to do and we make a game out of it. Of course, that takes a lot of patience and some nights I just don’t have it in me.
There’s a new book that was just released called If You Give a Mom a Martini (http://ifyougiveamomamartini.com/) I got a sneak preview of it the other day and it looks great. Lots of fun ways for Mom to sneak in 10 minutes of grownup time.
I’ll be watching for more tips from other people because this really is a tough one!
Barbara Thompson | April 16th, 2009 at 11:20 am
I usually handle those hours alone since my husband has a long commute. Unfortunately, to get through, I have a cup of coffee in late afternoon before I leave work. It keeps me alert during the witching hours but it does make my sleep a little fragmented. But I want to be able to make dinner and tend to the kids in a decent mood.
Sharon | April 16th, 2009 at 11:31 am
On my working from home days, I take a quick 20 minute power nap right before my family gets home. Put my feet up on the couch, close my eyes, and relax. It helps.
Oh and a Diet Coke or an Iced Coffee can do wonders (although it can delay bedtime, so beware).
Robyn - Who\'s the Boss? | April 16th, 2009 at 3:00 pm