One of my fantasies about being self-employed was living in less chaos – and I’m happy to say for the most part that wish has been realized. If I had children, that might not be the case. But as it is, it’s just me and my low-maintenance husband and dog living in a reasonably-sized house (equipped w/various appliances of convenience) and I have the flexibility to tuck most chores in between other work fairly easily. It suits my attention span for the tasks and it’s good for me! Vacuuming is a great way to take a break from desk work. Throwing in a load of wash is an excellent way to step away from the computer and give my arms a rest. I’m all for pushing maintenance into the background and doing little bits here and there has been – for me – a good way to achieve that.

And for all the tracking I do, I have no idea what my average number of hours worked actually is. The longer I am self-employed, the more I move away from a direct trade of time for money, the less I think about this. All I care about is getting done what needs getting done – professional or domestic – without that taking all my energy and waking hours. And protecting my weekends for play has helped me to be focused and very choosy about what actually needs to get done (and how). Which has been challenging, but thinking through my priorities and efficiency from that perspective also has been very useful.

I might not even separate my time into a traditional workweek and weekend except my husband has a traditional job, so if I’m ever going to see him… Plus I like having long stretches to devote to one kind of activity at a time – I don’t move quickly and easily between different mindsets – so those are divisions that work for me. (In truth, it takes me one day out of the two to actually unplug – so I kinda need two in a row to get the full restorative effect.)

I guess my counter point is simply that these posts on unplugging are an exploration of what works for me and my family and my lifestyle. They are certainly not offered as a prescription for what everyone should do. I grew up in a household that often devoted Saturday mornings to cleaning – which is a fine way to go. Mix it up however you like. Everyone’s got their own rhythm. Me, it’s all about sneaking in the domestic chores during the week. Maybe for you and others, it’s about sprinkling leisure activities throughout your week. I only offer my example as a way to encourage folks to get that play time one way or another – even if you enjoy your job – because we do live in a workaholic culture and all work and no play is turning us all into dull (and cranky, stressed out, unhappy) boys and girls.

-Cairene

That “must do more” feeling is mostly fostered by our culture. Busyness is a badge of honor in these parts. And we have no idea how much is enough for ourselves. Somehow we’ve come to equate a full schedule with fulfillment. So the question isn’t just how much is enough, but how much of what leaves us feeling satisfied? -C

this summer I have been learning a lot about my patterns & how I approach having lots of free time (which I have little of when I work on a movie). once i get over the shock of it all, then comes the tricky part. what does a day look like when you have no one telling you what to do or just what has to get done. Interesting.

so what have I learned so far? my energy is boundless when I *like* the task but not so much when i am not crazy about it. I like rewards. my day needs some kind of self-structure (otherwise I just tend to flounder around). i work best when i spend the night before taking time to give props for the good things & plan the next day AHEAD of time.

Not really what you asked so i will get back to it. I like to enter my weekend with a sense of being free to play. That I don’t have to jump back on the computer to twitter, email, or do that one last thing I didn’t finish. that I could go “off the grid” for the 48 hours. enjoying life.

Sometimes, that is very possible & others it seems like I am tied to productivity. like oh my gosh, I didn’t do enough, must…do…more….

where does that feeling come from, Cairene? the fact it is no longer acceptable to have a couple priorities & finish them brilliantly we have to pack it all in. Just something I have been thinking about in my own life.
I think this manic drive keeps me from staying the course at times.

When I was employed, I used to work 80% of a job. That’s enough of a job that you can get a lot done. But it also allows enough weekend to manage the errands and chores as well as the relaxing. In fact, I kept my little one in full-time day care so that if I wanted to use that extra day for domestic stuff, I could, thus freeing the weekend to just hang out and do fun stuff together as a family.

We live in a workaholic culture. One that really doesn’t recognize the domestic maintenance that goes on behind the scenes. And our ideas of a “normal” workweek and “normal” weekend are based on the ideal working man with a wife at home to deal with all of this.

When we try to move out of that division of labour, one thing we need to recognize is that the ideal — 40 hour workweek and weekend that is solely for leisure — maybe unreasonable.