MentorWords

Professionals who spend some or all their time working from home have a challenge unique to their office setting – their families. No matter how often you say, “Not right now honey, I’m busy,” or “ask your dad if he can do that,” or “I wish I could go out with you but I’m working right now,” the interruptions are constant and endless. Being home means being available, and available is something most people – particularly those with needs – can’t seem to resist.

I discovered this when I left corporate life and re-established my consulting firm nearly two years ago. I split my time between a Chicago office and a home office. I noticed that on the days when I commuted back and forth to the city I got to bed earlier than the days I worked at home. Upon evaluation I realized that my work-at-home days were just that. I made breakfasts or lunches or snacks, fixed smoke detectors, ran to answer the door when the UPS man arrived, let the dog out four times, and was interrupted at least three times each hour for chatty little drive-bys. No one person was responsible for all the interruptions, but with a spouse and three kids running in and out all day, the opportunities for distraction were endless.

My initial solution was to mention the problem to the family during dinner. They felt terrible and promised to interrupt less in the future. That lasted about two days and we were back to our old routine. Next, I had my brother-in-law hang a door on the office. My family was polite about opening and closing the door gently, but the interruptions didn’t subside. I resorted to kvetching, which didn’t make any of us happy.

Finally I came across a solution that was so low tech and successful that I share it with all my clients who work at home.

It’s called a white board.

I have long been in the habit of writing my to-do list for tomorrow at the end of each day. My particular approach to to-do lists includes an open box at the beginning of each desired achievement, a bullet that I can put a satisfying check mark in as I complete each task. Yes, yes, I am technically adept and use MS Outlook, etc., but there is something so focusing, tangible, and immediate about a written checklist. Plus, you can take it anywhere and refer to it any time within 2 seconds regardless of battery level.

I bought a white board and hung it next to my desk, where I calculated no one could miss it. Then I wrote my to-do list for that day on the white board and proceeded to check off each task as completed. My family stepped in line. Something about that whiteboard claiming that I was A) busy, and B) productive, caused all of them to stop interrupting me and become my cheerleaders in task completion (though it is annoying to have my 17-year-old son ask me if I really think I should be stopping now). They run to answer the door, let the dog out, and fix their own snacks. Sometimes, I actually miss them.

Not sure whether this success was isolated to my family dynamic or transferrable, I suggested it to a few colleagues who expressed similar frustrations, and it worked for them. I now recommend it regularly to clients who are trying to achieve more work/life balance by working at home, only to find their work-at-home days are completely unbalanced. One client notes the anticipated time to complete each task on the whiteboard, because she said her husband is incapable of understanding how long it takes to do anything.

I still produce my paper to-do list – the whiteboard doesn’t travel well – but in addition to the peace and order it gives me, I find the whiteboard to be an effective attendant on my work-at-home days. After all, if a small check on a paper list provides such tremendous gratification, it’s that much better to make a 1” checkmark with a bold purple marker.

© 2009. Andrea M. Hill