Yes, It’s a Real, Paying Job and I Don’t Leave My House

I read it every day. It’s the same story about how someone is working from home, but all of their friends think they sit around and drink coffee and watch television instead. “It’s not a real job.”

“You don’t even have to leave your house. You can’t really be getting paid to do that.” “Since you don’t work can you babysit my kids, go pick up my mom from the airport, or (insert any other random task here).”

I’m even a victim of it. I can’t tell you how many times I have had people call me in the middle of the day and expect me to just drop what I’m doing to go do something else. Could you really do that to someone else that was at a “normal” job? Just waltz into their office, say hey let’s go get coffee, and expect them to walk out without a second thought. Of course not, and you can’t do it to someone who takes their work at home job seriously either.

No, I’m Not Eating Bon Bon’s All Day

So, to help you better understand what a typical day looks like for me as a project manager, writer, and editor, here’s a sneak peek into my very real, full-time job, schedule:

6:30-7:00 a.m. – My alarm goes off and although I really shouldn’t do this, I roll over and take a quick peek at my email to see how many have come in overnight. Some of my clients are not in the same time zone as me, so it’s not uncommon to get several during the middle of the night. Next, I drag myself out of bed, get myself put together, make the bed, and head to the kitchen.

7:00-7:30 a.m. – I make sure my boys are up and moving and getting ready for school, except my youngest who homeschools. I fix myself a cup of coffee and use this time to do a little bit of devotion and Bible time.

7:30-8:00 a.m. – I take my middle son to school (my oldest is in college and doesn’t live at home during the school year) and get back to the house and get ready for work.

8:00-8:30 a.m. – This is where I should exercise, but if I’m being honest, some days it results in me grabbing another cup of coffee and getting to work instead. I really need to make exercising daily a better habit.

8:30-9:30 a.m. – This is where I really dig into those emails that I got a sneak peek at earlier. Because email management is something that I do for several of my clients, I have multiple email addresses I have to sort through.

9:30-10:00 a.m. – By this time, my youngest son is up and ready to start his classes. He’s in 8th grade and he does an online curriculum so I don’t technically teach him, but I spend this time making sure he knows what he needs to be doing during the day. He has assignment deadlines too that he must meet.

10:00-12:00 p.m. – I finish up emails and responding to them, as well as any other project management tasks I may need to do for clients. This may include working on their calendars, sending reminders of what is pending, scheduling social media posts, and many other tasks that my clients throw at me. Part of why I love my job is that each client is different and so are the tasks they ask me to do. Variety is the spice of life.

12-12:30 p.m. – I take a break from the computer screen and have lunch. I’m lucky that my son knows how to cook and actually likes doing it, so he has often thrown together something for both of us.

12:30-3:00 p.m. – This is the time I use to work on my writing and editing projects. I feel most creative in the afternoon, so this is the best time for me to tackle this work.

3:00-4:00 p.m. – I go pick up my son from school and head back home to start on my mom tasks.

4:00-7:00 p.m. – This is the time I use to clean up around the house, fix dinner for our family, and spend hanging out with my boys. My family is very important to me, and since they have given me the opportunity to work at home uninterrupted, this is the time they get my undivided attention.

7:00-9:00 p.m. – Sometimes I still use this time to spend with my family, but if I have tasks still pending from the day, I go wrap those up before calling it a day. No matter what this time is spent doing, I always wrap up my day by boxing out my time in my planner for the next day and making a list of important tasks that have to be completed. That way, when my brain is still in a fog the next morning and my coffee hasn’t kicked in, I still know what I need to be doing.

9:00-10:30 p.m. – I take my shower at night because it is a signal to the end of my day. I spend the rest of this time reading and catching up with my hubby about what all has went on that day. Lights are always out at 10:30 p.m. and then if I’m lucky, my brain turns off with the lights so I can get some rest and start the whole thing over again the next morning.

I May Not Leave the House, But It Is a Real Job

As you can see, I put in just as many hours as a regular, full-time job person does, and because my work is at home, it is often hard to have that home and work separation that having a “normal” job can offer. It is a real challenge for me and my family, but I think we’ve got it down finally after all these years. I work Monday through Friday, and often find myself sneaking into my office a few times during the weekend, but one of my boys almost always pulls me back out and says, “Mom, you can’t work all the time.” Very true son, very true, but I love what I do.