Spring Break: How did I do?
Ah, Spring Break. The time when students everywhere gleefully embrace the mornings they get to sleep in, the nights they get to spend wide awake watching movies and the days they get to spend (gasp!) NOT being in school!
It’s also the time every single parent who works from home takes in a breath of dread, preparing for the challenge of trying to balance their work with time spent with their children. And while, yes, I DID spend time with the kids on Spring Break, and we did stuff, I also made it a point of getting things done. Since this was the last week of March, I especially wanted to wrap things up since April means moving forward with OTHER projects on the table. I didn’t know how I’d be able to do it, especially since travel was a possibility for us. (But, unfortunately, our travel plans were canceled after we had some car trouble.) But I took in a deep breath, rolled up my sleeves and stood ready for these five days of trying to work from home as a author/book reviewer/editor, AND find the time necessary to fulfill my role as a mom!
I made a list of the things I had to do this week, just so I could stay focused:
1. Finish editing manuscript for client.
2. Read in the book I am reviewing for the Dabbling Mum.
3. Work on what I am calling “the alien book” – the book I am co-authoring with Martha Jette and Usko Ahonen. I had to finish reading the draft they have put together then send that back with my notes, revised outline and any extra questions and comments I had about what to bring to this project.
4. Finish reading the novel I am reviewing for Night Owl Reviews.
5. Finish typing up the second draft of the third book in The GHOST Group series.
6. Finish reading the book I am reviewing for my own book review blog.
Yes, that DOES seem like a lot, but I work in clusters of time for each project (which has been an amazing time management tool for me, by the way!) so I was able to figure out ways to fit them in. That’s actually my USUAL schedule – though next month I am working on 4 books at a time, so I have to figure out a new system for that – so it’s nothing new.
The only wrench in the machine was finding a way to do my usual thing while also enjoying Spring Break with the kids!
The good news is, we DID enjoy Spring Break in our own ways (I only wish it didn’t RAIN so much!) and I DID get some things done.
I kept tallies on my progress from Monday through Friday. Here is how it came out:
Editing: Four days. (I had to stop work on it after the project became compromised.)
Book review for The Dabbling Mum: Two days.
Book work on the alien book: Three days. (Finished it today.)
Book review for Night Owl Reviews: Four days. (Finished it yesterday.)
Book work for The GHOST Group #3: One day. (I will try to finish it tomorrow.)
Book review for my own book review blog: Two days. (Will definitely finish the book tomorrow.)
And, you know, that’s not really all THAT bad. I’m thrilled I got some things done – the IMPORTANT things done – and look forward to wrapping up some other things before Monday gets here.
So, the bottom line is, I survived Spring Break. Yay! Yes, our Spring Break could have been better if we had been able to travel and if it hadn’t rained so much. But my kids made the best of the situation.
And, apparently, I did, too.
It’s also the time every single parent who works from home takes in a breath of dread, preparing for the challenge of trying to balance their work with time spent with their children. And while, yes, I DID spend time with the kids on Spring Break, and we did stuff, I also made it a point of getting things done. Since this was the last week of March, I especially wanted to wrap things up since April means moving forward with OTHER projects on the table. I didn’t know how I’d be able to do it, especially since travel was a possibility for us. (But, unfortunately, our travel plans were canceled after we had some car trouble.) But I took in a deep breath, rolled up my sleeves and stood ready for these five days of trying to work from home as a author/book reviewer/editor, AND find the time necessary to fulfill my role as a mom!
I made a list of the things I had to do this week, just so I could stay focused:
1. Finish editing manuscript for client.
2. Read in the book I am reviewing for the Dabbling Mum.
3. Work on what I am calling “the alien book” – the book I am co-authoring with Martha Jette and Usko Ahonen. I had to finish reading the draft they have put together then send that back with my notes, revised outline and any extra questions and comments I had about what to bring to this project.
4. Finish reading the novel I am reviewing for Night Owl Reviews.
5. Finish typing up the second draft of the third book in The GHOST Group series.
6. Finish reading the book I am reviewing for my own book review blog.
Yes, that DOES seem like a lot, but I work in clusters of time for each project (which has been an amazing time management tool for me, by the way!) so I was able to figure out ways to fit them in. That’s actually my USUAL schedule – though next month I am working on 4 books at a time, so I have to figure out a new system for that – so it’s nothing new.
The only wrench in the machine was finding a way to do my usual thing while also enjoying Spring Break with the kids!
The good news is, we DID enjoy Spring Break in our own ways (I only wish it didn’t RAIN so much!) and I DID get some things done.
I kept tallies on my progress from Monday through Friday. Here is how it came out:
Editing: Four days. (I had to stop work on it after the project became compromised.)
Book review for The Dabbling Mum: Two days.
Book work on the alien book: Three days. (Finished it today.)
Book review for Night Owl Reviews: Four days. (Finished it yesterday.)
Book work for The GHOST Group #3: One day. (I will try to finish it tomorrow.)
Book review for my own book review blog: Two days. (Will definitely finish the book tomorrow.)
And, you know, that’s not really all THAT bad. I’m thrilled I got some things done – the IMPORTANT things done – and look forward to wrapping up some other things before Monday gets here.
So, the bottom line is, I survived Spring Break. Yay! Yes, our Spring Break could have been better if we had been able to travel and if it hadn’t rained so much. But my kids made the best of the situation.
And, apparently, I did, too.
Labels: writing books, writing life, writing parent
posted by Dawn Wilson @ 11:12 AM
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