Comments on: Is Structure in Summer Possible?

By: startupprincess

startupprincess — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 22:06:40 +0000

If you all didn’t know, this post was for me… this has been our biggest challenge, just returned from 2 weeks and now our kids’ schedules are all messed up, can’t get them to go to bed early, can’t do naps, ugh! Love all the suggestions here, I will be applying them, just you wait, I will be structured AND having a fun summer soon.

By: Sarah Jane

Sarah Jane — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 15:42:49 +0000

Thanks so much for all this advice! My kids are really little…2 and 3…but I have found that it is a bit easier in the summer time to have a babysitting swap. I watch a bunch of kids one morning, and then the other mom watches them the next. this guarantees me at least a full morning once a week. In the summer, it can be easier to get school kids to come over and play with my kids for a couple hours a week. But most of all, with the ins and outs of summer, I am just learning that being flexible is KEY! Thanks kelly!

By: Erin Wiersma

Erin Wiersma — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 02:30:38 +0000

Structure and organization would be a blessing in my home. I am lucky that my children are old enough to entertain themselves to a point. I am a single mom so EVERYTHING is on my shoulders. I look at it as an opportunity to teach my children. Every morning after breakfast they do all of their chores with out fighting or interrupting my online appts. I have learned that bribery works and is a good break for me. If all of the choirs were done we go get a shake or a strawberry Frappuccino in the afternoon. I drop them off to a movie once a week which gives me a few hours to work. Wireless internet is great! I can email clients while I am supervising the kids mowing the lawn. I can sit in the car during hockey practice and work on my internet. I have tried to hire help but no one is reliable to cart my kids to hockey practice. Carpooling has been wonderful. One person can take and one can go get. Plus a group of my friends got together and bought passes to Lagoon, 7 peaks and even classic skate. The lucky one or two moms take all the kids and the rest of us are not required to go until our turn. It keeps the kids entertained and you can still work

By: Michelle McCullough

Michelle McCullough — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 18:32:01 +0000

Since my son isn’t in school yet, most summer days are the same as “school days”, but there are more distractions from family and friends. Now they want us to take our kids to the pool, go to the theme park, or come to the BBQ. It can be easy to play play play!

One of the reasons I work from home is to allow myself flexibility to DO the fun things and enjoy those summer days. Here’s how I keep everything balance:

My goals are center stage during the summer and during the fall, winter and spring as well. Sometimes that means scheduling around my to do list (and my son’s nap schedule!). So each day I ask myself what needs to be done TODAY to reach my goals. If there are tasks on my to do list I try to get them done BEFORE I go play, otherwise I end up not having a good time because I’m worried about not getting something done. Often, I have to wake up early to get things done before I go, but I have a great time while I’m enjoying my summer days. Not only is it done, but I feel like I’ve accomplished something. And that feels great!

My advice? Keep a calendar of important events both for work and for fun – but LIVE one day at a time. What’s the most important today? When you figure it out, do it!

P.S. I love summer nights. In the summer, I don’t work after my son goes to bed (which is prime time during the other months!) I just enjoy that it’s cooled off outside. I sit on a blanket and read, take a walk, chat with my husband or watch TV with the windows open. It’s my favorite time of year and I’m not going to waste that with email or anything else! I get everything done during the day so I can enjoy those lazy, summer evenings.

By: Leah Patterson

Leah Patterson — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 23:59:29 +0000

Oh my, this is such a great question! Thanks so much Kelly for asking for my input! Structure is something that I’m always seeking to create. My life is a little different than most – what I find myself juggling are multiple careers with everyday life. I’m the artistic director of a dance company and a dance instructor, I’m a makeup artist, I’ve got my mineral makeup line, I write for a women’s online wellness channel, I’ve just opened my own skincare studio in my town, I’m still working for another spa and as a trainer with another skincare company and I’m working on the business plan for my own skincare products company. Whooh! That is a LOT! Not to mention that I have a boyfriend and friends that need love and attention too:-D.

But I’ve finally accepted that I’m the type of person that has to have many eggs in many baskets so to speak – when one thing is cold, the other one is getting hotter and boom I’m off to grow it a bit more. I just listened to a podcast in fact that affirmed that the entrepreneurial spirit is about multiple streams of income, i.e. multiple streams of creativity. I used to have a big issue with this about me but now, not so much.

For me what makes it hard is that my schedule can be rather erratic – so this is my strategy: Serious commitment to time management, lol. I use the “10 minute” strategy when I find myself procrastinating on things – I’ll set my alarm for 10 minutes out and work diligently (this works for 30 mins too but I find that an hour is usually too long for my attention span.) I set 3 priorities for the day – the must finish today things – and tackle the most dreaded one first. When I’m setting my priorities, I match them up against my two main goals for the year (I picked these visions out for myself in February and goodness has that helped to keep me on track!). To my thinking, no matter what goes on in the day, I can get 3 things done and that helps me feel accomplished and like I’m making progress on things. After I finish my 3 things, I then really ease up on myself to decide what else I want to do with my time – hang out with friends, “vegetate” at home with a book, or even work some more.

When I follow this strategy well, wow, life is good, lol. I’m still working on my track record;-).

By: Leigh Anne

Leigh Anne — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 15:37:18 +0000

Summer has always been a challenge with a homebased business but I suppose if you worked outside the home summer would be a challenge too as you would need child care!

My husband also now works from home so in the summer – EVERYONE is home! This week is actually our first “official full week” of summer as we get out of school later and we went directly to Girls Camp after school got out so we are still doing some adjusting around here.

For the first Family Night of the summer we all make a list of our Summer Goals – how many books we want to read, things we want to accomplish or do. One of mine is to go to a drive in movie and make a quilt for my daughter who is going off to college.

I have also found that as much as I would like to sleep in with the kids it is crucial that I continue my routine of getting up early, before everyone else, and using that quiet time in the house to get a good start on my day. During the school year I get up at 5:30 but give myself an extra half hour of sleep in the summer – getting up at 6:00 a.m.

I still schedule my work time in each day but it’s just a bit more flexible.

My kids are old enough that they have their own stuff going on and most of them can even drive themself! I try to get my work done while they are at work, at camp, lessons etc. so that we can be a bit more spontaneous on those summer evenings when we don’t have so many scheduled evening things like during the school year – maybe we’ll even go to a drive in movie this week!

By: Celest Benn

Celest Benn — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 12:50:54 +0000

Structure – WOW what a concept! During school I work from 9am to 330 pm, get the kids to ice hockey, figure skating, choir etc… come home make dinner, homework and then bed for my little one by 830 pm (she turned 9 this year)s o I had to up the time. But yesterday was the last day of school and well in reality I wanted it to be the last day of work too!
You see, I still believe when schools out everyone should play and have lazy days. Ok in a perfect world there would be no war, gas at 50 cents (not the rapper), no bills ….
I was getting ahead of myself.. . Well what I do is get up earlier than my kids in the summer, send them to camp (9 yr) or to college (17 yr). My daughter will only go from noon till 4ish every day, nothing better than sleeping in. My son will go off for 4 weeks and study at college, so that’s easy. During mornings and during the camp time that’s when I work the hardest. And for some odd reason get more work done in the summer than in the winter in a lot of ways. I’ve also hired sales people to help me with getting more companies on my site, get someone to cut the grass, and a housekeeper for the bathrooms and the rest of the house once every two weeks. I’ve learned that I don’t like cutting the grass and I hate housework. Wow wouldn’t it be great if someone could grocery shop and then come back with you and put it all away? Or, how about do the laundry and iron, fold and put that away? Ok, now there is a business waiting to happen.
Ok where was I, structure I have some and some days it’s ok to have a lazy summer day and kick back…now where is that bestseller I wanted to read this summer….i think I’ll start now!