Working full time and getting it all done?

[Here2talk]

Is it possible.

really unhappy in my current job but it’s 30 hours a week and allows for flexibility around my children’s school pick ups, etc.

Just been offered a full time role, it is flexible but I will have to sacrifice some of the school pick ups and afternoons with the kids. Is it possible to still get it all done? Tidy house, kids homework and work? Plus my own social life.

I don’t know if I just need to make the sacrifice right now or try it and see if I can make this work.

Do you have a partner?
the answer is yes it’s possible - loads of people have to do it and make it work
You also have to lower your standards and if you can accept winging it for a while
being in the trenches of young kids, school drops offs etc is hard but doesn’t last forever

If you can make use of online supermarket deliveries etc
if you can afford a cleaner then do it

We make it work with sharing school runs, sharing responsibilities so it’s not all on one person, online food shopping, and having a cleaner every fortnight.

I go out 2-3 nights a week for my own hobby or working out.

If your extra hours allows for a cleaner and childcare if needed - then yes. But if you add up the cost of that and make less money… then no.

Personally I find 30 hours is my sweet spot- yes FT would be better work-wise but when I do work FT hours my family-work life balance is out of whack and everything slides.

I think 30 hours a week is plenty already to be honest. I class 30 hours as full time (although most mumsnetters class 50 hours as full time)

Of course it’s possible. Most couples with children have two FT jobs.

Depends how many kids, if you’ve got a partner/if partner is any use(!), whether part of the flex is WFH etc.
We both do full time (40 hrs) with a combination of in office and WFH. No cleaner any more (got too expensive)we online food shop, use before/after school clubs when needed, washing gets done when WFH (first load was in at 7am this morning!) and cleaning is done across 3 evenings with everyone doing their bit. It is doable but you have to be very organised and all in it together IMO

I’m 30 hrs and classed as part time at work

It’s fine if you have a partner. We both do 40hrs, everything gets done. We don’t do any chores at the weekend and both go out of an evening during the week as and when required. It’s pretty stress free!

Yes it's possible, no it's not easy. You need to be very organised, split the workload, be prepared to let your standards slip and accept the things that need done in the house and garden will have to wait or you'll have to try and find tradespeople who are prepared to do the fiddly little jobs and will charge you handsomely for the privilege.

I do condensed hours (a 9 day fortnight) which does help, and I take an a/l day on one of my full weeks which means that I'm only doing one 5-day week a month. I've found this helps, but condensed hours only became possible because I'm no longer tied to after-school childcare hours. Is this type of flexible working an option for you?

It’s somewhat irrelevant whether it’s ‘plenty’ or not, the OP doesn’t like her job and the new one is full time.

I would struggle & be too stressed. It depends on the ages of your dc though as I think it's easier when they are younger. Mine have lots of extracurriculars so evenings are pretty busy and I have less time for myself

It depends I guess. I personally couldn’t.
I work FT (around 52hrs a week) but my kids are older now.
Outside of work, I prioritise the gym and getting healthy food into my weekly diet.
Housework gets done daily, and everything else can wait until my days off.

Throw money at what you can, and don’t put too much pressure on yourself to do it all.

I do 25 hours & that works well for me.

I still don't manage it all though some
weeks friends are prioritised, other weeks exercise, extended family, relationship etc.

Me and DH have worked full time since DD was 9 months old, it’s definitely easier now she’s nearly 11 yo and can make her own way home from school but it’s doable. You do need to set your expectations realistically and be organised though. A tidy house isn’t always possible but a clean house is. We had clean mopped floors and surfaces but sometimes there are toys out or stuff in a staging area waiting to be properly put away. We do things like setting the washing machine on a timer so it’s done by 5.30am then goes out in the line first thing while the kettles boiling, or mopping the floor while the sink is filling for the washing up, so using up the 2 min waits here and there to get something done.

also we have a set of uniform for every day so if no mid week wash is done it’s ok.

Depends if you’ve also got a DP to pick up and clean up after as well, because I’d rather be on my own doing it (which I was) than have another adult passenger in my life thinking that he’s god’s gift for washing a few breakfast bowls twice a week.

Yes! I earn loads more and I finally am properly paying into a pension after over a decade of pt working. I also get taken far more seriously at work which is bullshit but there you go.

I have a cleaner and do an online shop. My dh does the majority of pick ups and drop offs. He also deals with household admin like bills and renewing insurance. I do most of the endless school admin. If your partner won’t help with these things then you have a different problem.

The benefits I get and the family get from ft work massively outweigh me having a day at home to clean and do bits and bobs and pick up from school at 3.30pm.

I contracted for 28 but do 30-32 most weeks.

We live between school and work so the commute is a breeze but my kids do a lot of activities and I am customer facing so no working from home, or compressed hours.
We don't quite have enough to buy help but can cover the childcare and holiday care options pretty well.
The next lump sum I get I'm going to get some landscaping help.
If we could afford it I would rather work part time in an industry I love but at the moment the money really helps.

I work full time in a role that in reality is 60 hours a week.

I have 2 children ages 6 and 7.

things that make this work:-

1. a cleaner. If you can afford it, get one. 3 hours a week at £15 an hour is the best money I spend.
2. online food shop - same slot every week. I don’t have the time to go to shops!
3. meal plan - simple weekday meals
4. school dinners for the children as much as possible - saves having the pressure of cooking hot every night
5. washing on first thing every morning - at least one load a day
6. set days for set chores like changing beds, washing towels etc
7. diary everything on your phone calendar!
8. review the following week on a weds
9. use work outlook calendar to schedule personal things in too so you don’t clash!
10. accept sometimes you’ll have to wing it and everything is a phase