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Original poster

Anybody else struggle with working from home?

361 replies

staranise · 16/06/2008 16:45

As in, I'm meant to be working right now and am paying a fortune in childcare to enable me to do so but just can't get motivated, especially when I work sitting on my bed plus keep jumping up and down to put another load of washing on, tidy up some toys etc etc.

I normaly ban MN on work days but feeling weak today...

Wouldlove some colleagues to keep me focussed...

OP posts:
BeckyBendyLegs · 17/07/2008 15:54

I was on parent rota at DS1's preschool this morning, my last one ever sob sob! No more making drinks for the staff, washing up all the snack cups, no more playing with train tracks! I've done some work this afternoon and now the DSs are watching TV so I might go and join them.

PortBlacksandResident · 17/07/2008 16:39

Does he start school in September? Or is it that you're moving?

I'm off in the caravan on Sat morn and can't concentrate at all. Too excited! We cancelled this hol last year as my grandma died so we shall be thinking of her and making up for it!!

TracyK · 17/07/2008 19:02

office based again today - so a bit more work again. dh has taken ds to the beach - but only for half hour before bed- so not worth starting anything!!
Prob work over the weekend - ds wants to see Wall E - so that will give me a bit more time to get my teeth into some work.
Holiday on Monday - so ds not at nursery - so no chance of work then.

TantieTowie · 17/07/2008 19:38

So my experiment of not working during the naps, after DS in bed has obviously failed - because here I am catching up on the stuff I failed to do through faffing on Wednesday afternoon
However now more motivated to get through some stuff - and then have a nice glass of wine with dinner in an hour or so - so I'm off now!

thumbwitch · 17/07/2008 22:30

no work for me today; and tomorrow we're off to Devon for the weekend so no work until next Tuesday - hurrah!
Have a good weekend ladies - don't work too hard

BeckyBendyLegs · 18/07/2008 11:13

Sounds lovely thumbwitch. I'm writing a copyediting brief for a book I am project managing through production with the TV on in the background! Today is the last day I will be without children until after the summer. The summer hols are going to be tough work-wise.

TracyK · 18/07/2008 16:27

Nothing done today so far and feel too knackered to do anything tonight. Raced 40 mins to the gym this morning - saw on their web site that they had an onsite creche/play area for ds. Only to find - no spaces in the creche available. So ended up going to Asda/MacDonalds/Library. And are now stuck in the house with it peeing down with rain outside.
Hopefully dh will take ds to the movies tomorrow and I can either get some work done or get to the gym. Sleep over at friends house tomorrow and Sex and the City - so prob no work getting done over the weekend either.

TantieTowie · 21/07/2008 10:49

Just popping in - not here really - I have a very strict workplan for the next three days ahead of childminder's holiday - and it doesn't involve MN. No, it doesn't. Ho hum, back to it - glad to see everyone's hard at it - or are you all out in the sun I can see through my window.

BeckyBendyLegs · 21/07/2008 16:08

Cleaning the house this afternoon...it's only been two weeks since I last did it. And bear in my my idea of 'cleaning the house' is showing it the hoover and duster and that's about it! I've also applied for a new driving license as my old one claims I live with my mum in the house I last lived in 18 years ago. That is bad. I'm sure I should go to prison or something for that. I'm also trying to find a childminder in Shrewsbury where we are moving to. They are all out today for some reason. They are avoiding me!

TracyK · 21/07/2008 20:53

Did an hour this morning at 7am. Too tired tonight - got 3 full days of office work ahead of me and prob nights trying to do wages/accounts for client in Bedford for month end.

bettythebuilder · 21/07/2008 21:12

not got a huge amount done today (understatement )so I'm going to do an hour or so this evening...make up some cards and answer some emails.

thumbwitch · 22/07/2008 01:18

I think I have scored myself another 2 half days work a week - the friends I was staying with in Devon have their own business and the husband is suffering from overwork-induced stress, so as I am going to be doing fewer hours with my old job, I said to him that I might be able to help out. He was v. keen and we will be discussing it in a couple of weeks! Hurrah! Another job that I will be ignoring while on MN working hard at

TantieTowie · 22/07/2008 10:55

So today got off to a very bad start with DS waking at 4am and then going back to sleep at 7am in a very uncharacteristic way. Obviously I went back to sleep too and we woke at 9am, late for CM, late for everything really.
But I did have a good day yesterday and got loads done. So I need to make myself get back into it now. After all, haven't got much time to do lots of work this week.

BeckyBendyLegs · 22/07/2008 10:57

Today is DS1's last day at his little preschool and I feel quite emotional. DS2 and I are at home waiting in for a washing machine, dishwasher, and a fridge/freezer. What fun. I've done a few bits and bobs but not much today. Not in the mood.

BeckyBendyLegs · 22/07/2008 11:04

Just remembered I'm going to be having a phone meeting this afternoon with two people in the US and one in Oxford. I will have both DSs with me. I was going to bribe them with TV and biscuits and hope they don't come up to me and say 'mummy I need a poo' or the like. Has anyone got any suggestions? It should only last about ten minutes. I'm really nervous though. I'll have to do this every Tuesday afternoon from now on. I have childcare in the morning but because America is asleep in the morning I couldn't schedule the phone meeting for the morning.

hattyyellow · 22/07/2008 12:47

Becky tv seems the way forward!

I'm ashamed to admit that I've shut the door and gone into the garden for emergency business calls before when the girls have suddenly started yelling about something! .

I can still see them through the window in case they get into difficulties but the noise is drowned out...

Toots · 22/07/2008 13:18

Becky have had EXACTLY this situation for a few months now and all I can say is TV sweet afterwards if they haven't interrupted and hope for the best. DD2 is nearly 4 but terrible for coming in and squawking nonsense when I'm speaking to New York. It's not as embarrassing now and the contract is due to end in a few weeks but it does peeve me. Good luck!

Toots · 22/07/2008 13:20

The other option is to try and re-schedule it for the evening.

I'm fortunate that I have a (male) colleague who does a 3-4 school run. On weekly conference calls, if we're running past 3 he says 'OK got to go'. So that helps a lot too.

BeckyBendyLegs · 22/07/2008 13:49

What is worse is that I am sooo not in the mood for important phone calls and the like. Just picked up DS1 from his last ever day at preschool and as soon as we left I was in floods! What a wimp I am! And DH is mad at me because we were supposed to stay in waiting for a delivery except for a quick pick up of DS1 but we left to pick up DS1 early because we wanted to see all his friends at preschool and loitered for ages afterwards and just my luck the men came while we were out.

BeckyBendyLegs · 22/07/2008 15:51

Well TV on, children watching, promise of biscuit made, wish me luck! Meeting is in 7 minutes.

thumbwitch · 22/07/2008 18:43

hey Becky, hope the meeting went ok!

TracyK · 22/07/2008 21:13

I cannot concentrate on phone calls if ds is in the house. Bloody TV is fine for 10 mins - but then the ads come on and he comes looking for me. He has just not got the gist of the fierce looking and shussing I am trying to do to him to get him to be quiet.
It usually involves his hanging on my arm - whining - cuuuudddlllleee....muuummmmmyyy....
So- yes I tend to take the phone into the garden too and hope he can't find me!

BeckyBendyLegs · 23/07/2008 09:49

Oh it makes me laugh (afterwards) when I do the 'shhhh' and miming 'I'm on the phone' as DS1 just goes 'what mummy?' and 'why are you shushhhing me mummy?'. The phone meeting went fine and they were ok for the 20 mins it lasted.

Today is the first day of the school hols for us (schools break up today but DS1 doesn't go to preschool on a Wednesday anyway) and I am trying to do bits and bobs around the DSs. It's hard work. DH is here today which helps but he's off to meet the PIL at the airport later today.

GColdtimer · 23/07/2008 11:24

I resorted to a curly-wurly once - it kept DD quiet for ages. So chewy

I have had a far few nightmare moments whilst looking after DD and trying to "work" - because I do some PR, there is no notion of "I only work 3 days a week". The worst was was when I had Newsnight, Channel 4 News and the Today programme all call me in the space of an hour to try to get one of my authors on their shows that evening/next morning. (something big had happened and he was an expert, its not why my life is normally like, believe me, normally happy to get a slot on the local radio ) and during that time, with phone cradled between ear and shoulder I cooked dd her tea, helped her spoon rice pudding into her mouth, changed a poo-y nappy and did a puzzle with her. Somehow we managed to get him on EVERYTHING but it was the most stressful couple of hours of my life. And do you know what he said to me - pity we didn't get to do BBC Breakfast.

BeckyBendyLegs · 23/07/2008 13:09

Sounds like you work in publishing like me! I haven't had anything quite that exciting happen since I went freelance but sometimes authors phone me up and expect me to just be available to chat about the finer points of the editing of their books just when I am dishing up tea or changing a nappy.

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