Recording the Best of Both Worlds podcast is occasionally a logistical challenge. This week’s episode was recorded during the one 18-hour window when I was home during a 2-week period. I set that window partially to coincide with Sarah’s day off work. But we got it done! We’re recording today as well for future episodes, looking at the topics of making time for health, and also interviewing one of my favorite organization and time management experts…more on that soon!
In the meantime, today’s episode is an update on our Quarter 2 (or Quintile 3) goals. We also talk about routines that are working for us.
Sarah has been nailing her various goals. She “survived” her transition to residency program director, by which we mean being a total rock star. The transition from mostly patient work to mostly administrative/leadership work is actually quite complex from a day-to-day time management perspective. For instance, she counted and found she was sending 70 emails a day, vs. previously doing much less email based work. This has required various new routines. She also did her two Mommy Days with her older kids, and planned her family’s summer trip to Legoland and Amelia Island.
I have been slightly less gung-ho on my goals. I set a Q2 goal to revise my NaNoWriMo novel. I read it, but have done nothing else. We were going to do a lot of work on the back yard, and while we signed a contract to get parts of the deck repaired and repainted, the rest is what it is. As I note in the episode, it’s now summer, which naturally makes everything look better without our doing anything. So that just seemed…non-urgent. I set a goal to get together with friends every 2 weeks or so, and that has happened, including getting together with Sarah in person in Florida. So, yay for that.
We run through our various routines: bedtime, mornings. I spent a lot of June on the road, and learned a few travel routines, such as basically staying packed (I’m now home for July, so I finally unpacked! Well, sort of. None of my make-up came out of the bag because I stopped using make-up now that I’m not going anywhere and am just sitting in my home office. I think my curling iron may still be in my suitcase too as I’m not doing anything with my hair…I must really be in summer mode!) We’ve fallen into a few new routines, such as my husband doing a big grocery shop on weekends and cooking something interesting for Saturday nights.
In the question section, we handle one from a listener who’s wondering how to handle small children not sleeping well in hotel rooms and with time changes. At home, you can let a kid fuss herself back to sleep for 10 minutes or so, but in a hotel room, this is much harder. Alas, there is no really good answer. This is one reason to try staying in houses (through VRBO and such places) on vacation rather than in hotels. And time changes are just brutal. I have definitely been up at 3 a.m. with kids in California. Keep your expectations low, and plan for naps. And share the load. This particular listener’s husband felt it was so miserable to be up early with the baby on vacation that he wanted his wife to be up with him on his days which we thought…no. Trading off is really the way to go here.
Please give the episode a listen!
For whatever reason I am better at routines in the summer. I get up early and meditate, go for a walk and read for 15 minutes before getting ready for work. During the school year I’m not able to sustain this routine. We also have a lovely tradition/routine of going to our local pool at 4 pm on Sundays. The pool is generally less crowded, and the children always know when we’re going so there’s never any question. The pool closes at 6:45 and I order pizza that we pick up on the way home and then we watch a movie together and eat our pizza. We all love this tradition.
I did very little on my goals the first half of the year but I have entered Q3 with a fired up optimism and actual plans to follow through and make stuff happen. I think since I have an academic year planner for my personal stuff getting the new planner and setting it up allowed me a fresh start to get back on track.
Would the questioner’s husband consider wearing ear plugs? She said he’s anti-white noise but ear plugs seem like a potential solution? I agree with what you guys said and it seems like taking turns is the most equitable solution. We definitely opt to stay in VRBOs and airbnbs for this exact reason. We also find them to be more affordable than hotels!
@Lisa- I wear Mac’s pillow-soft ear plugs and they work pretty well. Not perfectly, but OK.
For the questioner, we have had wonderful luck adjusting our baby’s sleep to travel and new situations with the SnoozeShade. It’s a cover that goes over a pack n play or similar and makes it really dark inside. If you’re sharing a hotel room or in an AirBnb that doesn’t have good blinds or curtains, it makes it much easier for baby/toddler to nap, go to bed while you are still up, or stay asleep (or fall back asleep) when you do get up (depending on which way the time change goes). Also, recommend traveling east not west if you have a choice. Going from the East Coast US to Europe shifts baby’s bedtime from 6pm to 11pm, which is much easier to deal with than going to Hawaii and shifting from 6pm to noon or 1pm bedtime (and midnight or 1am morning wake up!).