Your Office Isn’t a Day Care Center—Or Maybe It Is
Thursday, January 14th, 2010I am always thinking, “It’s my office and I want to be close to my kids.” I have a young child that I need to watch, love my kids more by giving them their own space. Mothers have told me that generally, children should be 6 years or older to be in another room without your keeping an eye on them. Whether having them do their drawings and school work next to you will work or not depends on the kid. If your child it is constantly distracting you from your work, see if you can set up a separate space as her own “office.” Everything in this book is about individuals, so do what works for you. Rixzel is a home-based worker and she says “My son is unobtrusive and can work at the same desk as I do. He is home-schooled and does his lessons next to me. He understands my needs for work and actually raises his hand when he needs to ask me a question.” I have been asked to help many people with home offices and commonly see kid’s toys, clothes, or even dishes cluttering up the area. One woman I worked with had a nice computer desk and a great ergonomic chair but couldn’t use it, because it held a laundry basket, two Tonka trucks, and a pile of clothes that covered the file folders on the bottom of the chair. There was so much child debris around that her fax machine was stuffed over on the kitchen counter. We’ll talk about how we got her chair back in a little while. Right now, we are concentrating on the kid challenge. 
All other woman had a child’s desk next to hers, which was cluttered with crayons, paints, and cut-out animals her daughter was working on. Here’s what she told me. “I’m a single mom and I’ve worked at home as a technical writer for five years. I really like not commuting, or being around people I don’t like. At first, I was wildly successful, with more jobs than I could handle. I took on every one because I was afraid there might not be anymore. To complete them, I had to work 14 hours a day. This didn’t seem to fit into my life-plan of having more time with my daughter, Samantha, so I ‘solved’ the problem by putting her desk next to mine, so we could be close. At first, it worked well, and I appreciated the time we had together. But, when I have a deadline to meet, her frequent interruptions get on my nerves. ‘Mommy, look at the frog I just drew.’ That’s nice, dear, I would say, barely glancing at the picture. She could sense I wasn’t really paying attention, so she’d follow up with, ‘Why are frogs green? What’s the difference between a frog and a toad?’ I realized that giving her half my attention wasn’t going to save any time. When I moved her table into her room, she got angry. ‘You don’t love me anymore! You’re sending me to the dungeon.’ What can I do?”
All other woman had a child’s desk next to hers, which was cluttered with crayons, paints, and cut-out animals her daughter was working on. Here’s what she told me. “I’m a single mom and I’ve worked at home as a technical writer for five years. I really like not commuting, or being around people I don’t like. At first, I was wildly successful, with more jobs than I could handle. I took on every one because I was afraid there might not be anymore. To complete them, I had to work 14 hours a day. This didn’t seem to fit into my life-plan of having more time with my daughter, Samantha, so I ‘solved’ the problem by putting her desk next to mine, so we could be close. At first, it worked well, and I appreciated the time we had together. But, when I have a deadline to meet, her frequent interruptions get on my nerves. ‘Mommy, look at the frog I just drew.’ That’s nice, dear, I would say, barely glancing at the picture. She could sense I wasn’t really paying attention, so she’d follow up with, ‘Why are frogs green? What’s the difference between a frog and a toad?’ I realized that giving her half my attention wasn’t going to save any time. When I moved her table into her room, she got angry. ‘You don’t love me anymore! You’re sending me to the dungeon.’ What can I do?”