how does everyone do it?

[mvmc]

I am a mt student so by fall I should be able to have my first job....I will have a new born by then too....I already have a 4 year old who is really awsome about letting me do my work study and studying for my course. (couldn't work on work study much this morning because of morning sickness).

I was just woundering how each of you do your jobs at home with children. I don't think it will be too hard for me at first but as the baby gets more active it might get harder. I may decide to sent the baby to preschool but that will be a while...I want to be able to keep him/her at home just like I did with my daughter. I don't think working while the kids are sleeping will work for me either.

[Lynn Terry]

My children are older now - 8 & 13 years old, but I began working from home when they were 5 and 5 months. The key is to go with the flow, because every phase is different, and requires adjusting to. Children are constantly growing out of this and into that and needing different levels of attention and such.

As a mother you'll know what's best, and when... and your business will grow with the children

[mvmc]

Right now my daughter is really good and I make sure to take breaks to play a game of trouble or cooties with her... so far this helps to keep her good for when I am working because she has something to look forward to

[Cate]

My kids are currently 8, 6 and 4, but I started working from home (doing medical transcription) when they were 3, 1 and just a twinkle in my eye.

I worked days while they napped--3 hours in the afternoon--until my youngest was born. Then it was ONLY possible to work at night. However, keep in mind that doing transcription required me to wear headphones and pretty much be unable to monitor or respond to what the kids were doing outside of the office.

I dropped that career and switched to internet marketing in January 2003. By then, my youngest was 3, so I was able to work during the day. I pretty much worked every free moment, taking breaks only to make food, do some hugs, play a quick game, etc. After a couple months I could ease up a bit. I found that working the morning--especially during the summer--was best. Once we hit around 11 a.m., it was impossible to concentrate. There was lunch, kids arriving home from school or neighbors coming over to play, swimming, picnics and outings in the afternoon. So it was either early morning or after the kids were asleep.

Now two are in school and my youngest is independent at 4. I have found that my plan to work at night is not working--I am just way too tired. It's either in the morning or it doesn' t happen at all.

Plan your housework for two days a week, in the afternoon. I do upstairs on Mondays and downstairs on Fridays. Maintenance tasks are done each day to keep it presentable, usually during dinner or lunch cleanup.

I also arranged a car pool/babysitting services with another school family where the mom works part-time. She gets her hours in because I drive two days a week and keep her daughter one afternoon. I get all day Monday to myself because she watches the kids, and don't have to drive two other mornings a week (so I can spend the time in the office).

Finally, when I have really big projects (like making landing pages), I usually go to my parents' house to work. I bring my wireless network and set it up at their house in a jiffy (they also have cable internet). They have an upstairs office with a TV, so I hang out there, while they generally take care of my daughter. Molly can run up to see me and we eat meals together--but I have zero distractions, because I'm not hearing my phone ring or staring at the dust on my end tables!!!

The trick is to identify the best 2-4 hours of your day where you can reasonably say there are no distractions each and every day. That's your work time! Stick to it and you're all set.

Good luck!

[stephfoster]

I do medical transcription too. My daughter is 2-1/2 and I'm 7 months pregnant. My best working time is evening. I can work in the mornings sometimes too, but I prefer to work on my business then.

My daughter rarely takes naps anymore, which has made getting things done a lot more interesting. You definitely have to be ready to change your schedule as your children's needs require.

[mvmc]

I havent had to worry about the head phones yet...I have done some transcription practice and my daughter is in the same room with me. When I get my job she will be in school so I will probably transcribe then. I am planning to transform my upstairs bathroom into my office. The bath room is kinda small, but it will work. The bathroom is also not used a lot because the owners before us put it in badly and it clogs a lot. Anyway a corner of my office will have a swing in it for the baby. Cant wait till I get done my mt course

[Cate]

mvmc,

Sounds like you have a plan!

I only had to use headphones because I transcribed quite a few doctors with foreign accents, and I did radiology. I had QC at the hospital where I worked and I could NOT make mistakes. I typed directly into the patient's record.

One of my fellow transcriptionists mixed up records, and for 3 days one patient thought he had cancer while the patient who really had cancer thought he was fine.

I was terrified something like that would happen to me!

Cate

P.S. I love the bathroom idea! Think out of the box! My brother rents an office, and made the hallway his desk/working area and the former "office" his showroom for his invention: (may I make a plug for him? It's a 4x4 accessory called the RatCage at I'm just a proud sister. )

[mvmc]

Right now I am in the corner of my living room. None of the bathrooms are origional in this house. The house was built about 1920. The owners before me put the upstairs bathroom in and it keeps clogging. I would open it up more by taking the walls the guy put in out but when he did that he cut the railing so I would have to replace that too. I'll have to think about doing that just so I can feel more open....

Also the bathroom is a problem because the pipes go through my down stairs hall into a closet the guy made too.... He did't do a very good cosmetic job of this at all.

Whats QC? I had to do a few ESL transcripts in my last course they can be a bit of a pain, but if I can slow the tape down enough I can usually figure out all the words.

[Cate]

QC is "Quality Control". Someone would randomly check my reports for errors.

I didn't use tapes; I had a special phone that would dial into the hospital and pick up reports. I had access to their computer system (for reports only) for typing.

What part of Maine are you from?

We used to vacation at Higgins Beach down near OOB until it got to be too expensive.

Cate

[mvmc]

[PattyGale]

[Cate]

[mvmc]

[Lynn Terry]

Anyone heard of OAMC? When my children were younger and I was just starting the business, there were 7 of us at home - myself & husband, father in law and 2 children + 2 stepdaughters. OAMC is "once a month cooking", though I only did it "OAW" (once a week). The idea is to prepare all of the meals ahead of time - cook & freeze. You save money by buying in bulk, and save LOADS of time at dinner hour.

What I would do is make all of my beef recipies at once. All of my chicken recipies at once, etc. Sloppy joes, lasagna, ziti, meatloaf, etc - they all freeze well. I would take something out the night before, then at dinner hour only had to prepare vegetables or side dishes - very simple!

It takes the same amount of time to cook 5 or 10 lbs of sloppy joes as it does just enough for one meal. You can freeze them in gallon ziploc bags, 1-2 lbs at a time, and they'll freeze flat (bricks, I would call them) and take very little space in the freezer.

There was an entire website dedicated to recipies and such, I'll see if I can find it. Hmm - I dont see the site I used, but a search on Google for OAMC pulls up some interesting groups.

[mvmc]

That would be awsome... I do like cooking extra food, especially beef stews, my grandmother always froze hers, but I can't seem too because my potatoes taste funny after I do. I should make up my skyline chilli dip and freeze that to see how it comes out after.....should be fine....