Anybody else struggle with working from home?

[staranise]

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...

I do all my contact via email, which makes things much easier. Can't quite manage to convince HMRC to do all theirs via email though sadly.

Becky, what area of publishing do you work in? I mostly do academic journals stuff but occasionally my publishers have more mainstream books and they don't quite know what to do with them which is where I come in.

Sorry to say it, but can't authors be a great big pain in the arse at times, lord love em??

Typical that it was a 'HE' twofalls!

I work in academic reference and other non-lexical academic books including politics, higher education, law and medicine.

Authors are a law unto themselves. I had one who used to go off in his caravan whenever things got too much and when he did that I couldn't get hold of him. Another one used to invite me for lunch and sherry every so often, because she thought that was the publishing life (like I had time for long lunches and sherry!). My favourite one was the one who said he would allow the publishers to use the design they'd chosen for his book's jacket 'over his dead body' and he ranted and raved to me down the phone for half an hour about how obscene it was (the design - it was an art book and had a nude on it). Drama queens the lot of them! Ooooh I could go on all night!

I'm working right now. Might put Big Brother on in the background though in a min.

hope twofalls and beckyBL (and any others of you in publishing/editing etc.) have found the pedants' corner thread on Giles Coren here - the ultimate in pissy authors!

Please someone convince me that I am not about to be nominated for the Bad Mummy Awards for spending far too much time trying to do work while the poor DSs amuse themselves like poor Romanian orphans. I'm worried they are going to start swaying from side to side and moaning. School holidays and work do not mix...

ah no, I'm sure I'm ahead of you in the Bad Mummy stakes, I spend far too much time on MN, leaving my poor DS plucking plaintively at my arm to attract my attention (he's not even 8mo, bless him, how bad am I?).

At least you are doing paid work to keep your orphans DSs fed and warm! My last 2 clients failed to turn up - but today's one at least is a mate and I think we had crossed wires as she had booked theatre tickets for her and her DS some time ago. Last Saturday's was just outrageous - she texted me the night before to check appt time and my address and then never bloody showed up! And wouldn't answer her phone either!!

Oooh that's another tricky subject: doing 'favours' for friends or family when normally you'd get paid. I'm helping my niece's aunt write a book by checking and editing the text and advising her and I'm not charging her for my time spent. It's hard. She keeps saying that she'll pay me when her book is published and she's famous but hmmmm, I'm not holding my breath! She's self-publishing it so I doubt it'll be a top 10 seller!

My DSs are watching Teletubbies right now and I'm sitting with them with my laptop. I think they think I am physically attached to my laptop. At least I've never taken it to the swings, yet!

If I take my laptop anywhere near DD these days she says "nooooo mummy working on her 'putor, mummy play with Grace" whilst looking at me rather sadly. Oh the guilt!

Luckily I don't often get asked to do things for friends although DH seems to think I am his own personal marketing manager/assistant/slave. He is a guitar teacher though and finds it so hard to teach friends, especially when they mess you around like yours thumbwitch, it makes things really, really difficult.

becky - I agree, certainly wouldn't hold her breath for an early retirement!

ooh why haven't i found thsi thread before!?
i have just spent 4 hours on MN instead of finishing some work for a client.
now packed dd of to a friend she doesn't even like so I can do it! Hmm bad mummy

what do you all do? I mainly write web conent/write training packs/ sometimes go out to clients to advise how to do their jobs better

would like a 'real' job (i get lonely!)but been out of it so long can never get an interview

I agree with you about not doing favours for mates - and I don't, they do still pay me but at a slightly reduced rate. I only do freebies VERY occasionally (and for my dad) and most of my friends fully understand and accept that.

tbh, this mate is normally quite good but she is one of those people whose life is soooo manic that mistakes like yesterday's are inevitable once in a while. As she said, she must have not had her diary on her the time she made that appt. If she lost her diary her life would be chaos!! I used ot be a bit jealous of her social life and the number of friends she has but as I've got older I thank heaven that I am NOT her as I just couldn't cope with that level of manicness!

JUST BECAUSE IT'S THE SUMMER HOLIDAYS IT DOESN'T MEAN I DON'T STILL HAVE TO DO SOME WORK I HAVE BEEN PLAYING WITH YOU ALL MORNING NOW BUGGER OFF AND LET ME CALL THE BANK

Ahem - Sorry, i think i'm addressing the wrong people here.

My DS1 is 'playing work' at the moment and he has just said to me, I quote and I am not joking: 'mummy can you be quiet I have to make a phone call'.

Says it all!

Laughing out loud - my poor girls play "working" as well.

Sadly it seems to just involve running in and out of the room grabbing things and saying "we're running late, hurry up"

They do however wave goodbye, disappear off on their bikes for a minute and then come back saying "finished working, made lots of money" so we must be making it look very quick and easy!

PMSL - things to look forward to when DS is a bit older!! just shows how much they absorb of what we do and say, doesn't it.

Well, I did a huge pile of work today - went into an office. Very pleased with myself. gp took ds and cousins to the zoo for the day and then us all for a nice curry. So I am sitting here with curry breath!
ds had got up at 5am though, back to sleep at 6.15 and didn't wake till 8.30am - so making us all late! I however didn't get anymore sleep and am off to bed in a mo as I am v. tired. dh at football match with brokers - so home late and drunk prob.
Am going to try and cajole ds into nursery tomorrow to get some more work done. Tis July month end tomorrow and I haven't quite finished June month end yet!

I am cursing myself for writing half an article really fast, then celebrating by turning on MN. Where does the time go?

MN time - disappears into a vast vacuum somewhere...

I sent in my resignation letter to my job today as requested by my boss - now I just have to hope that she honours our freelance agreement for the next 5 months and doesn't shaft me. [worried emoticon]. Especially as I had to send off my half year tax cheque yesterday as well - need something to pay it with!!

Just popped back home between hols to do two days work...yesterday got LOADS done (but wasn't on MN!!).

Today I have to finish off a bid for my SIL and then start a business plan which is meant to be submitted in draft form for approval today.

Off to Pembrokeshire tomorrow for a week and really do't want to take the laptop....have even set up a bounce back for emails which is unheard of!

Anyone else faffing today??

No way!! No faffin here! Worked like a wee trojan this morning - got 6 billable hours done before lunch and have to do month end tonight - so another 2 hours or so.

Loads of faffing this afternoon though. Peeing down with rain and tv on for ds. Won't be long before he appears at the computer though!

Well, a bit of faffin here but couldn't get on MN because of dodgy internet connection so sat down and read a couple of my chapters of my book. I felt very, very guilty.

I have now sent a white paper I have been working on for comment to my sponsors and sent out a PR for a book I am working on which is getting some interest. Hurrah, my client is very pleased with me. Also raised a couple of invoices. Double hurrah!

Thumbwitch, try not to worry - I had the same thing when I decided to go freelance, I didn't actually believe that all the people who said they would give me work would. And they did.

Well done TracyK and Laundrylover.

Laugs - I do that sort of thing all the time!

Just been capping my gas and electricty online - extra slow as their server is inundated with folk trying to cap.

Finished and realised ds had emptied the WHOLE bottle of loose coins all over the top landing. Its just taken us 10 minutes to put all the coins back into the 3 litre bottle! hands are stinking of coins now yuk!

We've had a lazy day due to rain and having to stay in waiting for DH's new server. We're BORED. I've done dribs and drabs during the day.

Done month end - another 2 hours chargeable work.
Hoping for good weather tomorrow - huuuuuge pile of washing to be done. If not - will have to go and buy some new clothes for ds as he has no clean ones!

thanks twofalls - had an email from boss today saying that she wants to meet next week to timetable the work she wants me to do so sounds ok for now.

tbh, I'm not worried immediately, more in the next 3 months or so. the credit crunch really hits things like private training/degree courses and my pay depends on student numbers...

At least I'm not planning on getting pg again soon - no maternity pay now! Although the maternity allowance isn't a lot less, is it?