You know the saying “I’m working for the weeked?” I think it stops being true the second you have kids. Kids seem to be of the collective mind that oh-hell-no o’clock is the perfect time to wake up EVERY DAY, and none of them have even heard of Loverboy. What this means for me is that most of the time I’m not working for the weekend but working for the end of the workday; forget spending several days apart from my job, I’m excited for those several hours each night, when I might have some peace and quiet and time for myself at last before it all begins again in the morning.

Because I mostly work from home, defining the end of my workday is both harder and more important, and a lot of the time I don’t manage to do it very well. On thing I think might remedy that is having a consistent after-work ritual to help me shift the gears from workbrain to homebrain. I have some ideas, but I’m also taking suggestions. 
Read the rest of this entry

Will power is great and all, but sometimes (most of the time) it just isn’t enough. Over the course of an average day, I’m generally able to tackle the handful of minor annoying necessities (necessary annoyances?) to keep myself and my surroundings functional (e.g., get up early, work when I’d rather be napping, stay up late to make deadlines, occasionally take a shower), but when it comes to accomplishing bigger things, I need a little outside pressure.

There’s something empowering (and at the same time terrifying) about stating an intention publicly, and social media–from blogs to message boards to Twitter and Facebook–have made it easier than ever for anyone to build a framework of support to help them achieve their goals, whether personal (losing ten pounds, learning to play the guitar) or professional (switching careers, getting a promotion). Nothing quite replicates the pressure of having an audience, but sometimes I wonder if we’re doing ourselves more harm than good when we invite the world to witness our challenges. Consider this: Is your audience a cheerleading squad or a firing squad?
Read the rest of this entry

One of the frustrating things about parenting is working for bosses who don’t always give useable feedback. Sure, if your kids are happy, you’re probably doing a reasonably solid job with them, but sometimes doing a solid job also means your boss is upset and tantrumming in the corner because you won’t let him play with matches/stay out all night/stick a crayon up his nose/hit his sister with a ball peen, and so even in those moments when you’re doing your best audition for Parent of the Year, chances are your “superiors” aren’t always patting you on the back and taking you out to lunch. And rarely is someone screaming “noooooooo” in your face considered constructive criticism. Aren’t bosses the worst?
Read the rest of this entry