I have been noticing a few habits as I’m logging my time this week. Whenever I stop a project, I check email for about 10 minutes. I also do this whenever I return to my desk. I experience a gap between intention and action; after realizing I needed to go to Kinko’s, for instance, it took a while to actually walk out the door. Perhaps a topic to explore in a later post! It has been another day of flitting between things, but I’m hoping later this week to start focusing a bit more on my manuscript draft.
6:50 – 7 – awake. Try to snuggle on couch with the kids, but Darwinian struggle for my lap ensues, with my little bear cubs each trying to push the other out.
7-7:20 – get kids breakfast, eat mine, read headlines in WSJ
7:20-7:50 -play trains with boys, building a two-level bridge in their bedroom.
7:50-8 – clean up massive diaper explosion. Wow.
8-8:45 – hand over (cleaned up) kids, start work. Mostly setting up interviews.
8:45-9:10 – make self presentable, walk J to pre-school.
9:10-9:30 – write proposal, finding sources for Fortune piece
9:30-9:50 – interview for City Journal parks piece
9:50-11:00 – revise parks article (4000 words). This was my morning concentrated work for today.
11-11:30 – emails, write notes for Friday panel at Princeton reunions
11:30-11:45 – interview source for Fortune piece
11:50-12:30 – emails, lunch (southwest chicken salad from FreshDirect), share today’s BNET post, Twitter, etc.
12:30-12:40 – organize documents for choir (YNYC), realize I will need to make copies
12:40-12:50 – bills/checks
12:50-1:10 – review YNYC music, practice for concert
1:10-1:40 – run errand to Kinko’s – nice to get fresh air!
1:40-2:10 – cut 100 words from USA Today column, turn in
2:15-3 – run outside. Muggy, 80 degrees – not an easy run
3-3:15 – book move with building for late June
3:15-4:30 – talk with Michael by phone, emails, write invoice, other administrative stuff, start blogging.
4:30-4:45 – shower, dress for real
4:45-5:30 – paperback launch brainstorming
5:30-6:15 – play with kids, supervise drawing on easel, break up fights over whose turn it is at easel…
6:15-7 – sitter shows up, subway to choir, stop at Subway (restaurant) on way
7-9:30 – choir rehearsal
9:30-10:15 – subway home plus walk and grab ice cream on way. Normally I take cab but it is such a nice night I decide to get some walking in and enjoy these first days of summer.
10:15 – send sitter home, eat cantaloup and ice cream while writing this blog post. Will send a few more emails and hopefully be in bed by 11.
Day 2 is feeling more like one of my ‘normal’ days where I keep getting derailed by my daughter (18 months and SO curious and fun) whenever I try to get anything ‘done’. I am trying to motivate myself to do ‘work’ work when she’s sleeping or when her Daddy’s home, but when she’s sleeping I end up doing ‘me’ type things like perusing Google Reader or possibly cleaning(!)and when my husband is home I really want to spend some good family time. Hmm. Need to figure out a good transition from mommy mode to work mode. This is a really interesting experiment. I agree with the observation statement you made earlier, I find myself trying to be more active. I’m also feeling tempted to write down things that make me look good (to whom, exactly? ) Okay- this time for sure: bed!
Hi Corinne –
This is one reason I need childcare! I think if I were trying to only work during Sam’s naps or when Daddy’s home, I’d just be exhausted and not want to do any work. I guess it’s a question of what you want to focus on right now. If mommy mode is where it’s at then there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that — the housework can wait. No need to be productive with an 18 month old.
I think I love you 🙂 That sums things up so beautifully for me, I will have to present it to my husband that way! My daughter actually ‘helps’ with the housework by handing me the clean dishes from the dishwasher and picking up her books and putting them away (I have no idea how that happened, she is a great little mimic). Now I just need to get her to start grading homework and writing medical journal articles for me and I’ll be all set.
When will you be at Princeton? Can I come see your talks?
@Cara- I don’t think it’s technically open to the public – will be for people attending reunions. I doubt they’re checking IDs at the door, but not really sure. I’m just on a panel!
There is this book Your Brain at Work about productivity. Very helpful and interesting about how if you can mindfully avoid getting off track you avoid both the distraction and the time going to the distraction takes away from task at hand… this involves the front of the brain which is the last part developed evolutionally speaking and the first to go when we are tired, stressed, hungry etc.
Cara, Sounds like interesting reading, since I am going back into the workforce. I have requested it from my library