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On occasion I may get up earlier than my daughter does in the morning. I am really not a morning person and usually she is the one that gets me up. I have found those early mornings, when it is still a bit dark out and the house is quiet; can be a great time to get a bunch of work done.

Working around your child’s schedule may mean you have to be creative about when you get work done. I find for myself I get more work done in a one hour block that I can devote completely to work, rather than 5 minutes here and 10 minutes there snatched from when my daughter will play by herself. Most of my work gets done during naptime and after her bedtime.

I also get some work done during the time she is awake, but most of it is prep work for when she is sleeping. It helps with efficiency. For instance I will try to answer emails throughout the day or get in small amounts of research. That way when I sit down at night to work, I don’t have 20 emails to answer and I can already have everything I need to write three articles.

It helps too, to keep distractions down to a minimum. I could easily spend an hour or two everyday perusing threads on a parenting message board, playing a computer game, or chatting with friends. I try to get all of my work tasks for the day done first. It helps keep me motivated to finish my work and get it done faster.

Even though I am not a morning person I will sometimes plan on getting up early one or two days a week, just to get work done. I will put on a pot of coffee, play some soft music, and get to work. There is something about that early morning atmosphere that really motivates me. Mind you, it isn’t enough to wake up early every day ;)

How about for you? Are you a morning or evening person? Do you ever get up early or stay up late in order to get work done? I would love to know what works for you.

Warmly,
Mia