Before I was a mother, I was a marketing developer.
That’s a fancy way of saying I got to write for a living. (Yay!)ย I loved it.
Every weekday (except holidays) I spent hours and hours poring over my research, writing and rewriting, and occasionally answering a phone call or two.
Flash forward eight years–to right now. I’ve only been writing for about ten minutes, and in the middle of that last sentence I was interrupted by a blood-curdling shriek, thundering footsteps, and a tearful, hysterical demand that I remove a bug from under someone’s bed.
So what I’m saying is, times have changed a little bit. ๐
I’ll talk more about getting long stretches of time to yourself later. Today I just want to help you figure out a couple ways to getย stuff doneย even though you’re constantly being interrupted.
Stuff like putting away groceries, hanging a picture, unloading dishes, sorting paperwork.
You know.
Stuff.
Here are three things to try…
Try the 2-minute rule.
Because I am almost constantly distracted by someone or something, it isย really reallyย easy to put off almost anything until “later.” Filing a piece of insurance paperwork. Putting away the stuff I bought at Target. RSVPing to an evite.
But honestly, once I put something down or read an email, I rarely want to have to deal with it again. Also, raising kids makes you tired. And when I’m tired, and they’re in bed, and it’s “later” I don’t want to sort stuff.
So all my “laters” turn in to piles of things I don’t even want to do.
The 2-minute rule is simple: if it will take less than two minutes, do it now. When you pass the kitchen table and it’s covered in Cheerios, sweep it off now. When you’ve opened the invitation, check your calendar and RSVP now (even if it’s just a MAYBE!). Put away the laundry!
It’s going to take less than two minutesย toย wipe a to-do off your list, so just go for it.
It’s one of my favorite ways to get work done with kids around because it’s soย fast and non-committal. ๐
Utilize meal and snack times.
Let’s be honest: life with kids is chaotic.
I love them. Nay–adore them!
But sometimes I just need everybody to sit still so I can get something done.
Dinnertime is sacred time: I really try to make sure we all eat together in the evenings to share that special bonding time.
But breakfast and lunch? Those are mine, baby! I’ve got a busy, busy toddler who loves to be into anything I’m working on, so I plan my chores around the times she will be safely strapped into her highchair. (And her sibs will be seated and eating, too!)
For example, every morning while they’re having breakfast, I unload the dishwasher.
That might sound like a simple thing, but it sets the stage for the entire day. Anย empty dishwasher means space for the kids to stick their breakfast dishes right in, the counter stays clean, the kitchen stays nice.
I also use their breakfast time to pack lunches. Lunchtimes I put away groceries (I time my shopping trips accordingly–my baby girl loves to pull things out of the fridge), prep for dinner, or sometimes work on bills and paperwork.
Involve the kids.
Kids interrupt for a lot of reasons (like if they have a hair in their mouth that they needย you to find and get out). But one of the most common (and semi-heartbreaking) ones is that they crave ourย attention.
Today while I was eating lunch I had a list pulled up on my iPad. As I tried (fruitlessly) to review it, my 6-year-old kept calling for my attention:
“What if I slurped up a spaghetti?” She held up her index finger. “Look, this is my throat and this–” she pointed to her fist “–is my stomach. It would go allllllll the way down my throat to my stomach.” Then she went on and on, doing goofy things and talking about things that really didn’t contribute to any kind of conversation. She was just making sound to get me to look at her.
She could see I was reading, and I (I’m sorry to say) was mostly annoyed at the interruption. But when I thought back on it after lunch was cleared up, I realized that she wasn’t talking about nothing just toย talk.
She was talking because she wanted me to engage.
One of the very best ways for us to really be productive is to involve our kids. They don’t want to interrupt you if they’re a part of the process. They want you to teach them more, talk to them more, and trust them with responsibility.
They don’t have to do everything you can do. Age appropriate participation is enough. For example, when we do laundry:
- Toddlers can help load clothes into the washer or dryer,
- Preschoolers can sort socks, put away their own clothes (teach them how first!), and fold towels, washcloths, and rags,
- Elementary schoolers can do any kind of folding and put away their own clothes,ย and once they’re tall enough can learn to wash their own laundry start to finish.
Yes, it takes longer.ย But it also:
- helps get the work done (eventually),
- creates more opportunities for family time,
- builds an expectation that everyone pitches in, and
- teaches your kids valuable life skills long before they’re calling you from college to ask why all their clothes turned pink in the wash. ๐
And anyway, if all else fails you can always take an at-home day off, right? ๐
xo,
Jamie
ps. More ways to get work done (or just pee alone) with kids around and how to find some breathing spaceย in the whirlwind.
