Now that I'm entering the "slow down" phase in my freelancing life, I'm thinking about what kind of life I want to live, and what kind of things I do and don't want to do everyday.
Obviously, parenting the kids and making a productive life for them is no. 1, but there will be a few brief hours (less than 3) every weekday when they are in school, and with my new freelance schedule, only one or two of those will need to be dedicated to work.
It'll will be a nice change from the three years of break-neck parenting and full steam ahead freelancing. All the constant deadlines and stress wore me down.
So, now what?
I've been thinking.
I'm happier and more balanced when each day has a range of activities. As in, not just sitting in front of the computer. Working. I like days where I get to work for a little bit, work in the garden doing something physical, do something creative like work on the house or some piece of art, and get to exercise, whether it's a run around the park or quiet yoga.
The question is, can I do all of those things each day? Maybe. Or at least I hope so.
For instance, yesterday. I wrote an article while the kids were in a two hour literacy class. Then we went swimming, DH and I shoveled gravel for the patio we are attempting to build, I made dinner, cleaned up, got the kids to bed, then diced, steamed, and canned some fresh tomatoes.
It was a tiring but very productive day, and I wasn't bored because the activities were varied.
Today, I took the kids to preschool, finished and filed yesterday's article, made two loaves of zucchini bread, then took a 40 minute walk in the sunshine.
I also want to do more scratch cooking and try to grow and harvest salad greens farther into the winter. But that is another story.
I was thinking the ideal structure to my day would involve little bits of these things every day or as the pace ebbs and flows
1.Paid work
2.Creative work and projects (novels, painting, etc.)
3.Exercise of some sort
4.Creation work, by which I mean cooking, gardening, baking, etc.
What do you guys think? Is balance possible? How do you manage to do what you need to do and make a nice life for your family even with competing demands?
New pace of life
August 6th, 2013 at 04:24 pm
August 6th, 2013 at 07:12 pm 1375816351
Whatever day the grocery store flyers come out works to plan menus. Knowing what you're making for dinner takes out so much stress. I do 'Desk Day' every Tues, about 15 minutes to review finances, pay bills, take care of paperwork and filing.
...just ideas
August 6th, 2013 at 08:30 pm 1375821000
My other challenge is not just collapsing on the couch to watch TV and putz around on the computer from the time the kids are in bed until bedtime. Way too often this is all I want to do, so I need to come up with activities that are a bit more productive/fulfilling/stimulating but don't require too much effort (since I am at my lowest energy level of the day from about 8:30 to 11:30 pm).
So I'd say the things I succeed at are locked in, scheduled or completely routine: exercise (walking to daycare; 5 min of weight training mornings and nights); paid work (I'm in a 9 to 5 so that's an easy one); "creative" (presently, just maintaining my other personal finance group/blog/Facebook page); and what you call (and I like the term) "creation work": cooking, menu planning, budget planning.
August 7th, 2013 at 03:35 am 1375846547