Don't Interrupt Me Unless You're Bleeding, Or How to Balance Family and Writing

Writer Wednesday

One of the greatest benefits of being a writer, is the flexibility it gives you with your family’s schedule. You can work around school events, play dates, family parties, etc. You can put in a six-hour day while the kids are at school, but still be there when they get home. Or you can take a Friday off for a long weekend away with the spouse.

But the benefit is also the down side. Working from home can give family members the impression that you are available at a moment’s notice to take care of their needs. That you can drop anything and drive them around on their schedule.

This is where the problems begin. The more you say yes at the beginning, the more they will ask. The more you give over time, the more they will take, until you are doing more for others than you are yourself. Consequently, the writing suffers because you don’t have enough time to devote to it.

Here are some techniques to help you to work from home, and create a good balance of work and family.

Value Your Time—Your time is a precious commodity. Therefore, you should place a value on it. What would you charge per word if freelancing, and how many words can you write in an hour? Keep this figure in mind when someone asks you for a favor, or when there is work to be done around the house. Is it worth your hourly rate to do this chore or errand yourself? Or would you be better off hiring someone?

Prioritize—Plan ahead and see what absolutely has to get done that day, week, month. Prioritize your tasks accordingly. For example, you have a workshop presentation coming up on the 15th of the month. Start preparing weeks ahead—create an outline, write the workshop, practice, prepare handouts, etc. If you wait until the 14th to start preparing for a large project, it won’t be done to the best of your ability. Also, create a Command Center for the family. Have a calendar out in the open for all to see and use. For yourself, use a planner with both family and business so you don’t double-book. Look at your planner and calendar on a regular basis, so you can prioritize your tasks for each day.

Delegate—Get the cooperation of everyone in your family. Assign age-appropriate chores—even the youngest can help out. Hire out what can’t be done by family members. For example, is it worth it to have a weekly lawn maintenance service, or would you rather spend several hours a week mowing the lawn? Can you hire someone to pick up after your dog in the yard, or should you continue to do it?

Eliminate Interruptions—When you are home and have set aside time to work, don’t answer the phone (except in an emergency). Don’t reply to e-mails as they pop up. Save and reply to them all at once. Place a “Do Not Disturb” sign on your door, and make sure your spouse and children respect your wishes. Have them understand that they can’t interrupt you unless they are bleeding.

Make the Most of Your Time—Make lists so you don’t forget anything. In meetings, have an agenda and follow it. Go to only one store instead of shopping three different ones for sales. The time and money you save in gas will be worth the extra you spend in groceries. Also, if you are having a repairman over to fix the plumbing, schedule the furniture delivery or furnace check the same day. Don’t take two days away from your work.

Work Wisely—Don’t over-schedule yourself. Don’t be a perfectionist all the time. Learn to delegate. Don’t procrastinate. And concentrate on the task at hand. Multi-task only if it doesn’t compromise the outcome. For example, phone calls from the car can be distracting if you are trying to write down phone numbers or check your calendar. But phone calls while cooking or watching soccer practice can be beneficial.

Play Wisely—Schedule in fun time with the family and date time with the spouse. Make it clear to family members that if everyone helps, everyone wins.

Product Recommendations for Managing Projects

Starting a project is exciting. It can also create anxiety. How will you keep track of all the tasks that are part of the project? How will you store all the paper generated by the project? How will you schedule your time to see that the project is completed on time?

In this post, we're going to look at storing the paper generated by a project. We'll look at products for small and large projects, and also the portability factor.

The first aspect to determine is the estimated size of the project. Will you be writing an article for a magazine? Then you probably won't have too many papers to collect. Will you be coordinating a contest for your writer's group? You will have a fair amount of paper. Are you starting a novel? If so, you will have a lot of papers by the end of the project.

Knowing the size of the project will help you determine the size of your storage. For a novel, you will want something large, like a portable file box.
This will hold all your hanging file folders , one for each aspect of your novel—research, contests, submissions, hard copies of chapters, marketing efforts, etc. They are large, sturdy and portable. And once the book is published, the box can be stored away securely, and remain dust-free.

Another way to store a large project is a desktop file. These also hold hanging file folders, but are open on the top. They provide easy access to the files, which remain visible at all times. They are portable, but not as easy to tote around. And while they hold a lot, they are not good for permanent storage. Therefore, these would be good for projects in process, then could be emptied and reused once you begin a new project.

If you have a filing cabinet for storage, a hanging accordion file would work well. This would also work well if you don't like your desk cluttered with files. You can place it in a drawer and it's out of sight. It can also be moved to another file cabinet for deep storage at a later date. This product would not work well for portability.

For medium-sized projects, a traditional accordion file works well. These come in a variety of sizes, with anywhere from five to thirty-one individual pockets. Some come pre-labeled. Others have blank tabs for creating your own subjects. You can find them with or without a cover flap. A cover will prevent the contents from spilling out, but an open file will provide east accessibility.

Finally, there are a number of different products for small projects. My favorite of these is the Smead Project Folder. I have one of these for every client. I custom label the tabs—web site, contests, blog tours, etc. I can write account information in the Notes section on each pocket (User Names and Passwords). I record contact information on the inside cover, and other information such as mileage.
This can easily be used for a small project like a blog tour for a book. You can use a pocket for each blog, or a pocket for different aspects of the tour, such as a master list, guidelines, contact information, contest winners, mailing receipts, etc.
Other options for small projects are pockets. These can be plastic or paper (cardboard). They come all one color in a set, or different colors. A variety of colors is best for identifying contents at a glance. Some are pre-punched with three holes for use in a binder. Others are simple pockets. The pockets can be clipped together or placed in a larger expanding pocket.

This is just a sampling of all the possibilities. There are many colors and varieties. But this gives you an idea of how to manage the paperwork associated with a project. You will know what best suits your needs. And you needs will change between projects, so you may find one of these good for one project, but another better for a second project.

What systems have you used to contain your paperwork for a project?