Hi!
My brand new schedule begins today. I am now working 80% time, with one official weekday off every week. I am really, really excited. I used to schedule a random day off months in advance and look forward to it that entire time — and then, often something messed it up anyway (because when you only have one ‘swing’ day in a several month period, it ends up getting eaten up — makeup for a sick day, or the like).
I still haven’t figured out exactly what I am going to do with our childcare. The kids are in school 8:45 – 2, so it’s not like I won’t get some time to myself. I think we will basically change it up on a week-to-week basis. This week, our nanny will have the day off in exchange for working those extra hours this weekend; another week, I’ll have her come in 12p – 8p so Josh and I can sneak in a date night. Hopefully things will evolve naturally. It just doesn’t make sense to keep the normal hours every week when I can easily take the kids to school.
Things I hope to use this time for:
– Writing more
– Going to kids’ appointments (dr, dentist, etc) without having to squeeze them into very hectic days
– Having one-on-one time with the kids (ie nanny has one kid, I take the other – esp Annabel but C alone too as he gets older)
– Working out without having to wake up so early! Maybe going to some more workout classes instead of just running / doing stuff at home.
– Keeping things a little more organized at home (though no, I don’t want to spend all my time sorting toys so I will have to hold myself back in this realm because it can be oddly tempting)
– Reading
– Getting a little more involved with the school (especially as A enters our local public school kindergarten next fall)
– Doing our yearly photo albums sooner than October of the following year
– Getting a monthly pedicure (maybe even a manicure b/c YOLO)
Things that will also probably happen:
– Some work projects, but will try to keep this to minimum because I have to keep reminding myself I AM NOT GETTING PAID for this time . . .
If anyone has made a similar transition, thoughts / suggestions are welcome!
Happenings this past weekend:
A’s bday party!! It was awesome.
Lots of unplugged time.
Friend time.
Radiohead concert (well, that was Thursday, but close enough) – and yes it was great!
Party (held at Miami Children’s Museum)
Radiohead fans
5 Comments
Do not work! Do not work! Do not work! Up your scheduling and planning game for a 4 day workweek. I cut back once and just did unpaid work at home. It was awful. Learn from my mistake.
Don’t do any more housework that you don’t absolutely love. That would be my biggest suggestion. If you wind up doing chores or errands on your day off — even in an attempt to have your weekends free — then you’ve just substituted your higher-paid labor for non-paid labor. Volunteering can be fun and meaningful but if you’re trying to get more downtime in your life then don’t commit to something more than about once a month or so.
That’s fantastic! I’m looking forward to seeing what you get up to. Will you have Fridays off?
I’ll be at 80% post-maternity leave and am looking forward to it. I’ll be working 80% on a project so will need to squeeze in my own academic work into the spare day but we’ll see how it pans out.
My dad will have the baby from 5-11 months and then they’ll go to nursery. Hoping to find an 80% nursery spot as it’ll be a bit cheaper and give me a day with baby. Husband is also hoping to flex his schedule a bit so we might end up with a half-day off together.
Congrats! I’m new to your blog but I see you’re into time management and organization. I’m curious to see what you do with your free day. I work part-time from home and have two little ones at home and two in grade school. I find I have to be very intentional about those mid-day blocks of time. They always hold so much promise and can easily get eaten up. My advice would be to pick a personal project that you work on during that time each week. The time blocks will add up and you’ll get the satisfaction of getting work done on it before the weekend. I’m trying to do this with my blog with at least a few small blocks of time a week.
I try not to do housework when the baby is asleep unless it is necessary to have a clean place to think/work! Happy writing, reading, photobooking etc!
These are lovely pictures. It seems that you all enjoyed a party a lot. I hope you have a great time with the family.affordableessays Planning your time is good for managing all things.