So we school at home. Yes.
And I work. Yes.
While my work does take me in front of audiences and adult class settings, I primarily office from my house. Between women’s ministry, speaking, writing, running my personal blog, managing social media and running a non-profit, I can wear the hats I do because of my home office situation. I am very, very grateful.
I’ve long worked from home, even when I was in the days of little jobs that weren’t so much my passion but allowed me to be home with my kids. I put sequential stickers on medical files for several years. Yep. Stickers. On files. But it helped our financial bottom line and I could do it at home. I did voice-over work for commercials, did media for a nutritionist and produced a line of videos for him. I had my own photography business for a while. I produced several special events for several churches and designed video products and documentaries. All from home.
And gave spelling tests. And graded math papers. And made homemade play-dough.
It’s a weird world, conducting a professional phone call while trying to strap a diaper on a wiggly toddler and demonstrating the proper pencil grip to a first grader.
So here are a few little things I’ve learned along the way, should you find yourself with a double passion for work you love and schooling at home. Not that I have all the answers, as you’ll no doubt see. My biggest issues are trying to give ‘time honor’ to all my roles, without ‘cheating’ any of them. But real life is rarely tidy. So I’ve stopped frustrating myself with trying to neatly containerize all the components and have come to a place where I just try to best manage the life/school/work blend that makes a recipe I happen to love.
1. Stay off the phone.
This is one of the toughest, toughest, toughest things for me. I love to chat, love to interact. And particularly when it comes to the ministry hat of my work, I want people to know that they matter. But because I’m still not great at the quick phone call, text or email is often best. There are many, many questions that can be answered, issues that can be addressed and resolved, all by text or email. You’ve got to get very exclusive in your phone usage. I’ve had entire days flash by with phone call after phone call after phone call, each person with important questions and issues, but often questions and issues that didn’t require the length of a chatty phone call.
2. Get on the phone.
There are those situations that are most efficient by phone. Sometimes tone and intention can get lost in the verbiage of a text or email. If there is something potentially sensitive or complex that needs to be taken care of, I’m very intentional in handling that face-to-face or by phone.
3. Don’t underestimate the power of a handwritten note.
Because I have very little time in the week to be tied to a phone call and because text and email can sometimes come off as impersonal, I do love to drop some personal notes in the mail to folks several times a month. I can’t always control the length of a phone call and therefore have to be very disciplined about how much time I allot for phone work. But I can easily decide to spend 30 minutes writing up some personal notes and sending them. It’s a really beautiful and effective use of time to help people and clients know that you care.
4. Don’t multi-task.
When it comes to schooling, I keep reminding myself of this. When I sit at the table with my kids, when we talk through their assignments, when I keep the cell phone off and turn away from the computer screen, we can get more done more effectively in a shorter amount of time.
5. Multi-task.
On the other hand, I do multi-task certain activities. If I’m driving kids to activities, I’m often on a headset, getting through my call list. If I’m sitting in a dance studio waiting room, I’m answering email. And when there is educational value to a project I’m working on, I’ve got my kids all in it.
6. I’m not running for Homecoming Queen.
I should probably print that up in a really cool font on really cool paper and matte and frame that above quote. ‘Cuz I am still trying to make sure I don’t get pulled into my natural desire to want to be friends with everyone and to have time with everyone and to call everyone and to help everyone which can stem from that unhealthy place of wanting to Be.Liked.By.Everyone.Sheesh. How old am I? And why do I still go around the bend with this one from time to time? I hate to disappoint people. I want to help heal people. I want people to feel important and loved. I’m primarily in the people business.
But…
I’m not running for Homecoming Queen. I can’t be everybody’s best friend. I can’t be everybody’s counselor or mentor. I think for any of us in the ‘people’ business, it is so tempting to try to solve everybody’s issues and be everybody’s friend. But 24 hour days don’t allow for that.
7. It’s About Access…and No Apologies.
When it comes to working from home, it is so important to be timely, to be professional, to do what you say you will do. I’m very fortunate in that most people I work with are very aware of the size of our family and are aware that I still have young children at home. And I really do try to not use their awareness as any kind of excuse when it comes to getting things done. I’m getting better about shutting things down as well. I’m getting better about leaving that cell phone in my office after a certain time at night. I’m getting better about shutting down the email after a long day. I’m getting better.
I still have a long way to go.
And I suspect a lot of us do. Gone are the days when someone left their work and office phone on a desk at an office a commute away and took the rest of the evening for family and leisure.
One of my precious mentors told me that my struggle is in wanting to be so available to people in a work situation that requires some space and quiet. For me to be able to speak, I need some time of retreat. For me to write, I need some time of quiet. And whatever your flavor of work is, you need that time too.
And it takes some space.
My life is not more important that anyone else’s…and it’s just as important.
So it pays to be intentional. It pays to think through who fills your cup…and who drains it. It pays to be reminded that you can only truly, deeply invest in friendship with a limited number of people. And, in my case, it pays to be reminded that a chunk of that limited number of people live in your own house and need you to give them a spelling test.