Separating work and home

[BigPapa]

I decided to work from home so that I can spend more time with my daughter and keep her from being in daycare. I find it very difficult to separate my work and home life this way though. Do you set a certain time aside for "work" or do you just squeeze it in when you can?

 

[Victor]

I squeeze it in when I can. Working from home makes it so much harder to keep that separation. I've often read it's best to have a dedicated office and only do work in there, but that doesn't work if you are simultaneously watching the kids.

 

[jason]

I'm supposed to work from wake until 5pm. Does not always work, but I try. I then take from 5pm until their bedtime to spend with them, and then back to work or house duties. Nice in theory, but I get interrupted.

 

[Sinbian]

I work from home as well and it is hard explaining to the kids that you need to work and when do you need to work. Since I tailor my time I don't have a strict schedule.

 

[uhoh]

I'm lucky in that I can run my business around my own schedule. Anything that needs me to really concentrate on for a time, I save until my son is in bed for the night.

 

[Enrique]

I also work from home and I try to follow a specific schedule to do my online work. However, as far as priorities go, I prioritize the needs of my family first.

 

[Andersson]

Not only should there be a separate work time but also a separate work area. I kind of feel the same when it comes to computer time in a house, do not put your computer in your bedroom if you expect to keep your bedroom a relaxing area of the home.

 

[joeldgreat]

As a working parent, we should learn to separate our work from being a family man. I've learned it already, but I took me more than five years to do it. Every time I step to our front door coming from work, I see to it that every work related task goes out to my mind. One thing I'm looking forward to becoming a father again, helping my kids with their home work, my wife in the kitchen and having great time with them laughing at dinner table and a little time to watch TV all together. If one could switch his mind to something like this, then he would be able to teach himself on how to separate work from family.

 

[klarawoodenjr]

After work, I have a 1 hour break with my family in the entertainment room and watch movies. In some instances, I can't due to heavy workload. But still I try my best to hang out with them.

 

[Andersson]

Most people that I know setup an area to work in that is away from the family in order to get some quiet time and fewer distractions. What are you doing, do you have anything specific that you need like a spare room to work from if your job involves being on the phone?

 

[themdno]

I work at home, and I try to just find time around when I'm dealing with the family. I work early in the morning, or late at night. That's what's great about working at home, you can set your own schedule. So, if I'm busy with the kids all day, I'll just do some work at night. I'm really glad I started doing this.

 

[flfsurveyor]

I work late at night when everybody's asleep. There would be no distractions. I have set aside the extra bedroom as my 'office'. Sometimes, I am also able to squeeze in some work in the mid-afternoon up to just before dinner.

 

[Hedonologist]

I find it difficult really, I'm quite poor at keeping the separation. I end up working around 10-11 hours a day, of which 4-5 are not really doing anything work related. I could get it done within 6 hours if I had 2 solid chunks, but the temptation to make a sandwich, then nip to the shop, and go in the garden throws me right of schedule. I get the work done, but I am missing out on a routine. I do enjoy the flexibility however.

 

[edvisual]

I decided to work from home so that I can spend more time with my daughter and keep her from being in daycare. I find it very difficult to separate my work and home life this way though. Do you set a certain time aside for "work" or do you just squeeze it in when you can?

I think it's very hard for you to keep up with both of them. Surprisingly I cope very well with my job and spending time with the kids

 

[Niceness8000]

My wife and I agreed that I would stay home and start an eCommerce website. Since it's just barely getting off the ground, it still requires a lot of my time. My wife takes most of the time with my son right now, but the reason we want to start the website is so that we will have more time together as a family. Once the website is up and sustaining our financial needs, I only plan to work when my son is asleep at night.

 

[Victor Leigh]

Even when you work from home, it's good to have an area designated as the office. It works in a number of ways. With an office area in the home, you get conditioned to go into "Work" mode when you are in the office area. Another advantage is that the children knows that you are at work when you are in the office area.

 

[Niceness8000]

Even when you work from home, it's good to have an area designated as the office. It works in a number of ways. With an office area in the home, you get conditioned to go into "Work" mode when you are in the office area. Another advantage is that the children knows that you are at work when you are in the office area.

Yes, and I understand that sometimes it's necessary to "train" your family that you are not to be disturbed during those times you are in your office area doing work. Training your family not to disturb you when you have to work is the best way to separate the two.