Keeping fixed working hours

shalhevet

Sat, Sep 20 2008, 5:58 pm

Since I have started being a WAHM I have a problem ever planning anything (this is partly due to the type of work I do too: freelancing). If I have free time (ie not getting ready in the morning time, or lunch time or bed time) and I have a project I will work on it. I just prefer to finish. So I can have days at a time without doing anything but really essential things in the house (laundry, making sure there is lunch etc).

But I am worried about deciding eg Tuesday mornings I will sort out a closet or bake for yomtov, because what if I then get a new project and I haven't finished the previous one? There never seems to be enough money to say - I've done enough this week/ month Sad

. Any ideas? And what do you do?

mimivan

Sat, Sep 20 2008, 6:20 pm

Since I usually work a fixed job, it isn't usually a question of figuring out if I have made all I need to make in a month, because it's...well..fixed. The problem I find sometimes if finding time in the day to fill the hours I need to work when something comes up, or when Chag approaches.

But for several years I was freelancing, it was very hard to navigate Tishrei and Nissan. I would often work extra in Elul and Adar and save some up. I would also tell potential clients straight away before taking a project that I would not be working such and such week or two weeks (I.e. the week before Pesach and Pesach) Looking at the time frame a job needs to be completed is also really important as well as discussing the deadline upfront (which is usually done anyways).

What I also found hard was not being able to get work during non jewish holidays. That would have made up for the holiday prep time I took off work.

ora_43

Sun, Sep 21 2008, 1:46 am

Most of my work isn't freelance but I try to be open for extra hours when I can.

Unless something is really important (simchas, family events, seeing people before they leave the country, something like that) I don't schedule anything for a certain day. Just "if I have time Tuesday I'll straighten out the bedrooms, if I have time Wednesday I'll make a menu for Shabbat."

Sometimes not a lot gets done, but fortunately I have low standards so I don't get too bothered.

When I have freelancing work I find that I can only work for so long before I burn out anyway. So then I structure my work time like this:
30 minutes translating video and getting increasingly frustrated at people who mumble, WHY does everyone in the video clips ALWAYS MUMBLE, for goodness sakes this doesn't even make sense in Hebrew AAAHHHHH
15 minutes baking cake
20 minutes writing and editing translation until AAHHH the program is crashing again STUPID STUPID COMPUTER
5 minutes starting laundry
20 minutes making work-related phone calls
etc.

Crayon210

Sun, Sep 21 2008, 2:11 am

shalhevet wrote:

But I am worried about deciding eg Tuesday mornings I will sort out a closet or bake for yomtov, because what if I then get a new project and I haven't finished the previous one? There never seems to be enough money to say - I've done enough this week/ month Sad

. Any ideas? And what do you do?

Just about this point, I think Flylady once wrote that she has a member who is a flight attendant and has a constantly changing schedule, and that she made daily schedules, each on a separate sheet of paper, then when she knew her weekly schedule, she was able to arrange them appropriately. Some variation on this theme might work for you.

shalhevet

Sun, Sep 21 2008, 2:24 am

Crayon210 wrote:

shalhevet wrote:

. Any ideas? And what do you do?

I wish. The trouble is I don't even have a daily schedule. I have people ringing me/ emailing me asking if I can translate this for tomorrow morning. When I get up in the morning I don't always know if I will have work that morning.

HooRYou

Sun, Sep 21 2008, 2:27 am

I have an unusual job in that I work by the month but I also have to work a certain # of hours / month. Its good since I can really work my hours more or less whenever I want but bad because I don't have sick days or vacation days. I am not expected to work CH"M, but I still have to work the same amount of hours each month.

So what I wind up with are mostly times that I work every morning when DC is in school and an occasional evening to make up for time missed and random times when I am working every night to try and complete my hours for the month. For example, right now the combination of coming off a vacation and all the chagim has me working every night through the end of October and I hate it. When I go through these periods I feel like I do nothing well since I am burnt out from working so many hours and I don't have enough time for my house and family. I also wind up staying up later than is good for me which also makes me moody and cranky. Working nights once or twice a week is ok, but working all morning and all night is just really not for me.

That being said this is the best possible job I could have since the salary is good, my boss is a real mentch and there is flexability, not to mentionthe benefits fo working at home. I couldn't find anything better but it still is not perfect. If only I could decide what I want to be when I grow up (other than independently wealthy that is Wink

)

Crayon210

Sun, Sep 21 2008, 2:36 am

shalhevet wrote:

Crayon210 wrote:

shalhevet wrote:

. Any ideas? And what do you do?

So then you can adapt this to organize things by the hour/chunk of time, changing things each day.

e1234

Sun, Sep 21 2008, 2:57 am

shalhevet - that is exactly my problem

I am freelance and B"H have had a lot of work.
My problem is that I probably work too much. I'm a scheduled type of person so I work every morning from when my kids leave till they come home. (well except for now when I have my baby home so take quite a few baby breaks)
It took time but I really tried to completely leave my work from when the kids come home till they go to bed though I still have not mastered it.
after they go to bed I always feel like I should work more!

sounds crazy - I don't have cleaning help but finally hired someone just to fold the clean laundry as I did not have enough time..
Cooking is another story - my family doesn't get meals that take very long...

TwinsMommy

Mon, Sep 22 2008, 10:24 pm

I work very set hours and when there is more work to be done than hours to do it I simply work hours I wouldn't normally be working as well.

I usually make my schedule for the next day the night before.... 9:30 this phone appointment, 10:30 that phone appointment, noon three clients come over..... and fill in "free time" with phone calls and emails that have to be returned. The trick is not to imamother or do housework during work hours!