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any home workers out there who can't stop twiddling about?

11 replies

fionagib · 01/09/2004 22:44

Hi folks - I work from home, 3 school hour days a week (twin boys aged 7 are at school and dd is at nursery p/time) and really love my job, so that time is really precious & valued... or I think it is - so why do I twiddle about on the Internet, do the washing, clean the kitchen, examine my nails, nibble oatcakes in the kitchen etc etc? It drives me MAD cos I see the day slipping away... have deadlines constantly looming so it's infuriating and so wasteful. I don't actually enjoy myself - ie, I'd never watch telly or read a mag - but just constantly twiddle. Any suggestions?

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jampot · 01/09/2004 23:18

its a little known fact that a lot of people only begin a task halfway through the timescale in which they have to complete it. ie. if you have 2 weeks to write a story, many people will only begin it after a week!! don't know why. I do it all the time and then spend longer in the evening trying to catch up on my work thereby making my working day longer than it would have been had I not twiddled!!! hope that makes sense - i think it may have been a Freud theory.

fionagib · 02/09/2004 10:41

That makes sense Jampot! It does make me feel quite cross & irritated tho - I can't stop thinking, is this why my daughter is in childcare, so I can twiddle about the house? I do work pretty hard & often v late at night (due to twiddling) & can't help thinking there must be an easier, more mature way to do things!

(apart from having some kind of tape recorded voice which bellows GET TO YOUR DESK!)

OP posts:
jampot · 02/09/2004 10:45

fiona - WHAT ARE YOU DOING ON MUMSNET!!!???????

Galaxy · 02/09/2004 10:48

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fionagib · 02/09/2004 12:36

Any tips galaxy???
am going to ban myself from coming back on here until this evening as have WORK to do...

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Galaxy · 02/09/2004 12:37

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PotPourri · 02/09/2004 13:21

I work from home too, and although I have mellowed out a bit since starting, when I first started I was really strict with myself. For precisely the reasons you say. I work in HR so had seen/helped tonnes of people to manage their time better/working relationships due to homeworking problems, so when I started homeworking I had already seen the pitfalls. I clear my desk at the end of each working day, as though I am leaving the office, so it all gets filed away, I sort out my tasks for the next day, close down the PC adn put that away also. If I am workiing in London teh next day at meetings etc, I pack teh bag up for that. Then I go out of the room and close the door. It apparently takes 20 minutes for you to switch between work mode and non-work mode. When travelling, this obvisouly takes that time up, so you get home and are out of work mode. So you shoudl try to get a routine that gets you out of work mode -e.g. collecting kids from childcare, phoning your mum or something. And in the morning when you start, get dressed (big mistake alot of people make strangely enough, although I have never felt comfortable sitting in my PJs talking to clients on the phone!), make a cup of tea while your computer is booting up, get your desk organised and revisit what you need to achieve that day (Outlook tasks is really worth getting used to using), and close the door of your office.

Like I said, I started off really strict on this, but now can allow myself to be a bit more flexible - putting the washing into machine, hang it out etc. But if I feel myself getting lazy,I either revisit my priorities for hte day (can I do that tomorrow, realistically), or just shut the door and make myself do part of it. Usually once started it is easier to continue. In fact, often the problem is stopping. Again, you need to be strict on that, and force yourself into a routine.

Hope that helps a bit - although turned into a ramble! Feel free to email me if you want to talk further...

PotPourri · 02/09/2004 13:26

In case you are wondering, Am off today, but usually I limit myself to mumsnet for an hour and call it lunch (as I have a bad habit of working through lunch). That's antoher tip, doing something while you have your lunch is a good way to give routine also. I often watcha bit fo Loose Women. A bit crap, but it doesn mean I switch off...

CP3 · 02/09/2004 13:30

I work from home, meant to be 32hrs a week but takes me double that as i
just pop the washing on
just have a sneak look at mn (like now) but PROMISE not to post
just make a cuppa
just feed the kids
just phone a friend
just send a text
just have a quick bath
just run the hoover round
just drop the teenager off at a friens
infact just about do everything apart from work

charliecat · 02/09/2004 13:30

Does twiddling include writing threads on MN...and then refreshing throughout the day to see if anyones replyed? Fiona! Get back to work!!!!
No twiddling allowed, when you find yourself wandering away from what you are doing think to the free time you will have in the evening and just do it! Good Luck!

fionagib · 02/09/2004 21:10

very good advice potpourri thank you very much - am gonna really try and do these thing, have a definite end to the work day.

you made me laugh cp3!!

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