Tuesday, January 5, 2016

How to Balance Work and Housework When You Work From Home

I am not perfect at this, and I don't even pretend to be. But I have been writing for a long time, and taking care of a house for even longer, and I've learned a few things. Here are few facts that are surprisingly compatible:
1. You are more efficient in a tidy space.
2. You are able to be more productive for a longer period of time if you occasionally move about. More about this here:Seven Tricks for Clearing Out Brain Fuzz

What follows is how I--a writer--balance writing with housework. I basically write, promote, and do businessy type things in hour long sprints with ten to fifteen minute interruptions throughout my day. I use the interruptions to do:
Laundry--Monday. I'll run several loads of laundry. At the end of the day, I'll fold laundry while I watch my favorite show of the moment. (Currently, that show is Jane the Virgin. Although I like to watch the live episodes, I also love binge watching the show, catching what I've missed. My next show will be Doc Martin.)

Bathrooms--Tuesday. There's no pretty way to do this, but by doing it in 10 to 15 minute chunks of time, it's not so bad. I turn on music and splash bleach over the porcelain. Nothing makes me more anxious to return to my story than spending some one on one time with a toilet bowl.

Vacuuming and dusting--Wednesday. This is pretty self explanatory, and it's easy to do one room in about ten minutes.

Trash and fridge--Thursday. Since Friday is our garbage day, I collect trash from every room and clean out the fridge on Thursdays.

Yard Work--Fridays. During my typical work week, I exercise every morning from 8-9 a.m., but I take a yoga class on Fridays at 9. I use that spare morning hour to work in my yard (I have small yard.)

Because I cook dinner every night, the kitchen is cleaned on a daily basis. I'll do project-type chores as well as grocery shopping on Saturdays.

I find breaking things up into bite-size chunks of time keeps my house tidy, my drawers full of clean undies, and my word count on the rise.

How about you? How do you balance your housework and world work?

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