Work and kids; the new oil and water

It's really hard to get any freelance work done when you're watching a couple of little ones. And, in theory, I'd really rather not. What I mean is, I want it all. Great playtime with the kids, a compartmentalized work time, and adult time with my husband.

Life's a little bit messier than that.

So here are a few tips to get stuff done when you can't keep all of the elements of your life so separate.

1. Play Doh. My almost four year old loves to create while he sits next to me at the dining room table. My infant cruises around us and plays with various toys in her orbit while my computer stays safely out of reach.

2. Indoor play areas. My favorite is the one at McDonald's, because I can get a coffee while he's running. My baby sits in the high chair and nibbles on munchies or in my baby sling, and I can edit on paper.

3. Tall furniture. In a pinch, I'll place my computer on the DVD shelf in the family room and compute while my kids play toys around me.

The nice part of all of this is that it avoids extra TV time or computer time, and the kids still feel like I'm present, even when they don't have my full attention.

Do it yourself

I got another add from a company that wants to clean my house today. Sometimes the idea appeals to me. I adore clean work and living spaces, but it's almost impossible to achieve unless I'm constantly running behind my two little mess-making cyclones (read: children).

So what's a girl to do?

Well, there's nothing wrong with cleaning your own toilet. I think it keeps you humble ... in a good way. Do you think Mark Sanford would have had time to run around with his Argentine hottie if he was busy cleaning up his own messes? It's a funny idea.

But on a serious note, my real resistance to hiring a cleaning service—beyond cost—is guilt. A few years ago, I read Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America by Barbara Ehrenreich. The premise is fantastic. Barbara takes a series of minimum wage jobs to demonstrate how people can't survive on minimum wage. One of the jobs she took was with a cleaning service.

And we should all be ashamed. These (mostly) women are hardly more than slaves, just so everyone in America can afford to have someone else wash their floors and wipe their windowsills.

So I say, "No thanks." I'd rather scrub my own floors. It's character building, right? That's what I tell myself. At the very least, it keeps me humble.

The multitasking myth

I once had an employee who had behaviors that very closely resembled a dog my husband owned growing up. The dog, Benji, could get his chain hung up on the tiniest stick in the yard. Once he was hooked, he was helpless. My little assistant was the same way. She just couldn't see how to work to get her tasks finished. If she got stuck on one chore, she might spend the rest of the day howling about it. The end result: She was always running behind and never understood why she failed.

It's not about multitasking. I've never agreed with the premise that you can do several things at once and be awesome at all of them. Think of it this way: How would you feel if you were in the phone with your mom and she was typing an e-mail, cooking dinner, and watching TV while you're trying to explain what you really want to do with your life?

No, I don't think anyone really multitasks effectively. That said, in my effort to organize this month I have been reflecting on simul-tasking. You know, working on several things in a row. Same as multitasking, right? Wrong.

Here's the difference. Working most effectively for me means being able to prioritize tasks on several projects. Mothers everywhere know this drill. Start the water boiling for pasta. Put the baby in her high chair. Thaw the meat. Get a drink for the oldest. Fill the baby's tray with finger foods. Add the pasta. Somewhere in there, you manage to feed two kids and prepare a dinner (probably while doing six or seven other tasks). It's just a matter of taking little steps on each project every day to make it work.

So before I let myself become consumed by any of my tasks, I try to focus on moving all of my projects forward every day. That way I feel like I'm making progress on all fronts—and I don't let my world fall apart anytime a stick crosses my path.

Making the list

Lists are a very important part of my life. When I was little, my mom would carefully print a chores list every Saturday morning. This was our blueprint for the day. And when we were finished ... freedom.

It's a habit I've carried over through my professional and home life. I like seeing everything spelled out in neat print. Somehow it isn't real to me until I've written it down.

What doesn't always make the list, though, is the stuff for me. I forget to write "enjoy a cup of coffee on the patio" next to "drop off the dry cleaning." The grocery shopping makes the list, but reading a good book doesn't.

So sometimes it's fun to go AWOL. Like today. I consumed a book. Read it all. It was delicious. And I didn't touch my list. Time for that tomorrow, right?

Oh, you'll do it for me?

I'm naughty, and I've occasionally been known to play the helpless little girl role in stores to get what I want. (Does this come with any discounts? *Twirling my hair, sheepish grin*) In my search to get organized I made a wonderful discovery—the Internet makes this all possible without the hair twirling.

Case in point: The freelance project I'm working on has been slaughtering toner cartridges. It's insane. Thousands of pages. And it ran out yesterday, mid-project. The thought of loading the kids in the car and driving around to six different office supply stores to find the right fit nearly unhinged me.

Guess what? I found my cartridge online. And a $20 discount. And they'll deliver it. And so $86 becomes $66 dollars that shows up at my home the next day without all the hassle.

And I just worked a little smarter. (And I can save that helpless little girl role for the next time I want my husband to hang a picture.)

Get it together, Part 1

One of the most difficult elements of a home business for me is getting organized. I really LOVE to put my folders together, to label them carefully with assignments, and print out my notes. For me, it's an inescapable part of the process.

I've written before about the importance of a separate work space. It's an idea I'm committed to, but I haven't yet managed to completely follow through. So, for me at least, this July is my "Get Organized" month. With five projects in the works right now--and the promise of more any day--it's really crunch time. No way I'm gonna survive if I don't do this, like, now.

Here's what I'm doing to get started:

1. Planning regular babysitting time for 2-3 hours at least once a week.
2. Setting daily goals--just as I did when I worked in an office full-time.
3. Recycling the leftovers from completed assignments to star fresh.

Want to try it with me?