working from home
[email protected]
In a message dated 4/16/2002 5:33:36 AM Pacific Daylight Time,
zintz@... writes:
almost always seemed to have a HUGE deadline, requiring me to focus hours and
hours per day for a week or so, RIGHT when one of the kids seemed to be
having a special need for a lot of my time. They seemed to "entertain"
themselves (which my mother constantly reminds me is only because I made sure
they had an environment around them that allowed that) so much of the time,
that it seemed like I ought to be able to work. But I found myself constantly
frustrated and fatigued from the stress. I phased it out and stuck to more
working outside the home, evenings, and just a little at home - grading
papers, etc., and that has been better for me.
So - my problem was the deadlines - and the rush work. I didn't have control
over WHEN I did my work - it was sort of all or nothing style. I'd get a
consulting job and they'd need 100 hours of work done in a week.
I guess the point would be that it is CERTAINLY possible to work-- the kids
don't need us hovering over them. But we need a lot of flexibility in the
work - can it be put off until evening? Done early in the morning? Put off
until another day if a kid needs a lot of your time that day? Those are the
kinds of questions I'd ponder.
--pamS
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
zintz@... writes:
> There's so much stuff to read around that I feel I'm probably missingI worked from home, doing statistical consulting, for years. It was hard. I
> worthwhile posts 'cause I just can't read them all. A smaller volume of
> more helpful posts would be wonderful.
>
> By the way, what would be REALLY helpful to me would be to hear from anyone
>
> who works from home and is unschooling and what that looks like in your
> home. That is the nut I am trying to crack.
almost always seemed to have a HUGE deadline, requiring me to focus hours and
hours per day for a week or so, RIGHT when one of the kids seemed to be
having a special need for a lot of my time. They seemed to "entertain"
themselves (which my mother constantly reminds me is only because I made sure
they had an environment around them that allowed that) so much of the time,
that it seemed like I ought to be able to work. But I found myself constantly
frustrated and fatigued from the stress. I phased it out and stuck to more
working outside the home, evenings, and just a little at home - grading
papers, etc., and that has been better for me.
So - my problem was the deadlines - and the rush work. I didn't have control
over WHEN I did my work - it was sort of all or nothing style. I'd get a
consulting job and they'd need 100 hours of work done in a week.
I guess the point would be that it is CERTAINLY possible to work-- the kids
don't need us hovering over them. But we need a lot of flexibility in the
work - can it be put off until evening? Done early in the morning? Put off
until another day if a kid needs a lot of your time that day? Those are the
kinds of questions I'd ponder.
--pamS
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
gruvystarchild
--- In Unschooling-dotcom@y..., PSoroosh@a... wrote:
business a large portion of the actual work (building anyway) is done
outside our home.
I answer the phone and do customer service calls...follow up with
customers and quotes and what not.
I also work outside the home 2-3 nights per week when dh is here with
the children.
Since the work at home part for me is sporadic and mostly just some
phone calling, it's fairly easy to balance with the unschooling
lifestyle.
In fact, my kids have learned a great deal about the realities of a
home business and the struggle to get something like this up and
running.
The part that is difficult is having no office space in our small
house.
The desk is right in the living room basically....which is a
challenge when trying to sound professional (baby cooing in
background, kids screaming etc...). The kids are very well trained to
freeze when the business phone rings and pause any activity until I'm
done.
The baby is another matter....Trevor will usually grab him and
entertain him breifly. Or I grab the phone and head out the door
while answering!!
Sitting on the porch is a great place for chatting with a customer.
And I have the added benefit of getting a 'lil sunshine!!
I'm sure some of the customers wonder why there are such loud bird
and airplane noises in the background.....LOL
What type of home business are you doing? Or are you just in the
planning stages?
It has been both a very stressful and very rewarding career choice
for our family!
I'm glad we struck out and did our own thing, but some days I'd love
to have some company medical insurance or retirement plan.
You give up certain securities in exchange for certain freedoms that
running your own business allows.
It sure fits in with my unschooling philosophies though.
Ren
> In a message dated 4/16/2002 5:33:36 AM Pacific Daylight Time,.
> zintz@w... writes:
>
>
> >from anyone
> > By the way, what would be REALLY helpful to me would be to hear
> >in your
> > who works from home and is unschooling and what that looks like
> > home. That is the nut I am trying to crack.We also run a home based business. But since it's a contracting
>
>
business a large portion of the actual work (building anyway) is done
outside our home.
I answer the phone and do customer service calls...follow up with
customers and quotes and what not.
I also work outside the home 2-3 nights per week when dh is here with
the children.
Since the work at home part for me is sporadic and mostly just some
phone calling, it's fairly easy to balance with the unschooling
lifestyle.
In fact, my kids have learned a great deal about the realities of a
home business and the struggle to get something like this up and
running.
The part that is difficult is having no office space in our small
house.
The desk is right in the living room basically....which is a
challenge when trying to sound professional (baby cooing in
background, kids screaming etc...). The kids are very well trained to
freeze when the business phone rings and pause any activity until I'm
done.
The baby is another matter....Trevor will usually grab him and
entertain him breifly. Or I grab the phone and head out the door
while answering!!
Sitting on the porch is a great place for chatting with a customer.
And I have the added benefit of getting a 'lil sunshine!!
I'm sure some of the customers wonder why there are such loud bird
and airplane noises in the background.....LOL
What type of home business are you doing? Or are you just in the
planning stages?
It has been both a very stressful and very rewarding career choice
for our family!
I'm glad we struck out and did our own thing, but some days I'd love
to have some company medical insurance or retirement plan.
You give up certain securities in exchange for certain freedoms that
running your own business allows.
It sure fits in with my unschooling philosophies though.
Ren
marji
At 20:52 4/16/02 +0000, Ren wrote:
because we (DH and I) knew that I was not going to go back to full-time,
outside-the-house work and stick Liam in some kind of daycare scene. We're
both musicians but in order to make a real good living we would have to be
traveling a lot and away from home a lot and neither of us wanted to do
that while Liam was really young. So, DH teaches privately and works at a
local college and I sit at home and type.
What makes this so challenging is that medical transcription requires my
full attention while I'm doing it. I can look off out the window to see a
bird or something like that for a moment, but my ears, my brain, and my
body are committed while I'm working. And, because I am paid by
production, it behooves me to get my work done without interruption,
whenever I can.
I try to do most of my work before Liam gets up in the morning, so I'll get
up around 2 or 3 in the morning and type like a maniac, but sometimes I'm
just too tired or there is no work available at that time. There are lots
of times when I have to work while he's awake, and then it's just breaks my
heart.
We only just got a television set when we took him out of school (we never
had one before), and while we don't get cable and there's no reception, we
borrow video tapes from the library. He loves things like Power Rangers
and Star Wars, and Scooby Doo is his favorite. He has to watch these by
himself, though, and it makes me sad.
He's very understanding about my work, but it still feels challenging to
me. This is all very new to us, and all he wants to do is play. There are
not a lot of kids around (well, none, really) during the day during school
hours, and playing with other kids is what he craves. So, he plays with
his Legos and makes up interesting dramas with his toys and he uses his
computer quite a bit.
Interestingly, Liam has lost none of his baby teeth yet, although he's
approaching 7-1/2 years of age. I often wonder about the correlation
between that and his readiness for more "academic" learning. He's totally
not into it. He knows that I'm not going to push him in any way, and he
feels safe at home (which makes me so glad!). I wonder if anyone else has
had experiences with this type of thing.
Thanks for all the answers!
Love,
Marji
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>What type of home business are you doing?I do medical transcription. I learned how to do it while Liam was in-arms
because we (DH and I) knew that I was not going to go back to full-time,
outside-the-house work and stick Liam in some kind of daycare scene. We're
both musicians but in order to make a real good living we would have to be
traveling a lot and away from home a lot and neither of us wanted to do
that while Liam was really young. So, DH teaches privately and works at a
local college and I sit at home and type.
What makes this so challenging is that medical transcription requires my
full attention while I'm doing it. I can look off out the window to see a
bird or something like that for a moment, but my ears, my brain, and my
body are committed while I'm working. And, because I am paid by
production, it behooves me to get my work done without interruption,
whenever I can.
I try to do most of my work before Liam gets up in the morning, so I'll get
up around 2 or 3 in the morning and type like a maniac, but sometimes I'm
just too tired or there is no work available at that time. There are lots
of times when I have to work while he's awake, and then it's just breaks my
heart.
We only just got a television set when we took him out of school (we never
had one before), and while we don't get cable and there's no reception, we
borrow video tapes from the library. He loves things like Power Rangers
and Star Wars, and Scooby Doo is his favorite. He has to watch these by
himself, though, and it makes me sad.
He's very understanding about my work, but it still feels challenging to
me. This is all very new to us, and all he wants to do is play. There are
not a lot of kids around (well, none, really) during the day during school
hours, and playing with other kids is what he craves. So, he plays with
his Legos and makes up interesting dramas with his toys and he uses his
computer quite a bit.
Interestingly, Liam has lost none of his baby teeth yet, although he's
approaching 7-1/2 years of age. I often wonder about the correlation
between that and his readiness for more "academic" learning. He's totally
not into it. He knows that I'm not going to push him in any way, and he
feels safe at home (which makes me so glad!). I wonder if anyone else has
had experiences with this type of thing.
Thanks for all the answers!
Love,
Marji
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
[email protected]
In a message dated 4/17/02 1:13:32 AM Pacific Daylight Time,
starsuncloud@... writes:
<< The desk is right in the living room basically....which is a
challenge when trying to sound professional (baby cooing in
background, kids screaming etc...). >>>>>
We also own a construction business and most of the people I
talk to (especially the women) always say something sweet about
the kid/baby noises in the background. I have an office, but it is
open to the house and the kids often play in here with me, as they
are doing right now. They are playing some addition game seeing
who can answer 6 + 6 the fastest (giving the littlest a turn even if
he isn't the fastest).
<<The kids are very well trained to
freeze when the business phone rings and pause any activity until I'm
done.>>>
How in the heck did you do that? No matter what, the phone rings,
I holler QUIET and they "usually" simmer down. Dh often takes his
calls outside too LOL. And my youngest, just doesn't get it when
I am on the phone, will come up to me with a request, used to be
full volume, now he just whispers loudly LOL.
<< I'm glad we struck out and did our own thing, but some days I'd love
to have some company medical insurance or retirement plan.>>
There are some alternatives available in terms of medical coverage. For
instance in CA we have Blue Cross which offers a major medical
plan. So if you go to the hospital or urgent care you are covered
80/20 like many plans with a deductible of your choice ($1000 for
us). You only pay that deductible the first year if you are
diagnosed with an illness that needs repeated treatment. Office
visits you pay for which can be a concern as many things are
going to outpatient visits. Since we do everything alternative,
homebirth, naturopath, chiro & homeopathy, that stuff is seldom
covered or if it is you still have to pay 50% anyhow so why
increase your premiums to $400 a month to cover a $50 or $75
visit once a year? You can also invest in an IRA for yourself and
your husband. We incorporated and have reaped many tax
benefits, we can also now offer ourselves retirement plans
(being an employee of the corporation we offer it to all our
employees, including ourselves) and other health insurance
options. Actually, we are investing in real estate as our retirement
plan. But thats a whole 'nother story (and business) <g>.
And to answer the other mom regarding how we unschool with
a business, I would say it flows really nicely here. I have three
kids who play together all the time. I work on Mondays and
several years ago I started hiring office help. I don't want to
do a lot of that stuff anymore and have other business projects
in the works. Doing the repetitive is too time consuming for me now
a days. But I still talk to customers and collect money (gotta
have my finger in that pie <g>) and the customers like me
and dh. I think they often hire us because we are a nice family
working together. The kids go on our errands, many customers
have watched our kids grow. As they get older they will have
the opportunity to do more and learn more if they so choose.
I should clarify, I don't just work on Mondays but that is the day
that I really focus and that my assistant comes in. I work on
and off every day of the week but only a few minutes or hours
here and there.
<<<You give up certain securities in exchange for certain freedoms that
running your own business allows.>>>
Not necessarily. There are no guarantees when working for someone
else that you will always have a job. But I know what you are saying
especially when the money isn't coming in (or 60-90 day pays) and its
slow season etc etc.
<<<It sure fits in with my unschooling philosophies though.
Ren
Kathy
starsuncloud@... writes:
<< The desk is right in the living room basically....which is a
challenge when trying to sound professional (baby cooing in
background, kids screaming etc...). >>>>>
We also own a construction business and most of the people I
talk to (especially the women) always say something sweet about
the kid/baby noises in the background. I have an office, but it is
open to the house and the kids often play in here with me, as they
are doing right now. They are playing some addition game seeing
who can answer 6 + 6 the fastest (giving the littlest a turn even if
he isn't the fastest).
<<The kids are very well trained to
freeze when the business phone rings and pause any activity until I'm
done.>>>
How in the heck did you do that? No matter what, the phone rings,
I holler QUIET and they "usually" simmer down. Dh often takes his
calls outside too LOL. And my youngest, just doesn't get it when
I am on the phone, will come up to me with a request, used to be
full volume, now he just whispers loudly LOL.
<< I'm glad we struck out and did our own thing, but some days I'd love
to have some company medical insurance or retirement plan.>>
There are some alternatives available in terms of medical coverage. For
instance in CA we have Blue Cross which offers a major medical
plan. So if you go to the hospital or urgent care you are covered
80/20 like many plans with a deductible of your choice ($1000 for
us). You only pay that deductible the first year if you are
diagnosed with an illness that needs repeated treatment. Office
visits you pay for which can be a concern as many things are
going to outpatient visits. Since we do everything alternative,
homebirth, naturopath, chiro & homeopathy, that stuff is seldom
covered or if it is you still have to pay 50% anyhow so why
increase your premiums to $400 a month to cover a $50 or $75
visit once a year? You can also invest in an IRA for yourself and
your husband. We incorporated and have reaped many tax
benefits, we can also now offer ourselves retirement plans
(being an employee of the corporation we offer it to all our
employees, including ourselves) and other health insurance
options. Actually, we are investing in real estate as our retirement
plan. But thats a whole 'nother story (and business) <g>.
And to answer the other mom regarding how we unschool with
a business, I would say it flows really nicely here. I have three
kids who play together all the time. I work on Mondays and
several years ago I started hiring office help. I don't want to
do a lot of that stuff anymore and have other business projects
in the works. Doing the repetitive is too time consuming for me now
a days. But I still talk to customers and collect money (gotta
have my finger in that pie <g>) and the customers like me
and dh. I think they often hire us because we are a nice family
working together. The kids go on our errands, many customers
have watched our kids grow. As they get older they will have
the opportunity to do more and learn more if they so choose.
I should clarify, I don't just work on Mondays but that is the day
that I really focus and that my assistant comes in. I work on
and off every day of the week but only a few minutes or hours
here and there.
<<<You give up certain securities in exchange for certain freedoms that
running your own business allows.>>>
Not necessarily. There are no guarantees when working for someone
else that you will always have a job. But I know what you are saying
especially when the money isn't coming in (or 60-90 day pays) and its
slow season etc etc.
<<<It sure fits in with my unschooling philosophies though.
Ren
>>ME TOO!! ; )
Kathy
Tia Leschke
>Sounds like our house. %^(
>The part that is difficult is having no office space in our small
>house.
>The desk is right in the living room basically....
Tia
No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.
Eleanor Roosevelt
*********************************************
Tia Leschke
leschke@...
On Vancouver Island