Got the boyfriend.
Got a rented house.
Got the new job as a housewife?

Well, I’m not married yet, but I don’t know what else to call it when you inherit a second house-duties job because you’re the one that works at home. Have any of you ever suddenly got the job of errand girl, or fix-it guy, because you “worked at home?” I was on the biggest deadline yesterday and because we have company coming to today, we thought we’d get that gas smell looked at. So, the guy comes over, because I’m home, and he’s here for 2+ hours. And I can’t get focused because every few minutes he’s asking me to look at something, or explain something, etc. And then once he figures it out, he leaves and I have to book someone to come today to look at it. And, And, And.

Since I’m new to this relationship, higher level of writing responsibility thing, tell me what comes next. What am I instore for?

My guy is a gem. I’m certainly not complaining about him at all. In fact, I was going to get the guests at the airport today, but I just flat out said that wasn’t going to happen in the middle of the afternoon when now today is my big deadline day. And I forgot to mention that now another fix it guy is coming this morning.

All of you office workers can gloat, just for a second, about being at work and being able to work. When normally we’d be rubbing in all our stories of taking three hour “networking” lunches, or going out all afternoon, four day weekends with no one to check in with etc. Nah, I want to hear the office workers brag right about now.

I don’t know, it’s Tuesday, but feels like Thursday. It’s April, but it feels like May and I can’t even remember March.

Feel free to use this comment section to vent about the extra duties that you’ve suddenly been faced with from working at home. Or whatever. Today is vent day. Anything and everything. Because we can. I like my projects, I’m excited about the LA Times Bookfest, but I can’t believe I lost another day yesterday when I wasn’t expecting it. I like to be in control of all the times I play hookie. 🙂

12 comments

  1. I can relate to this post. Working at home is great – no traffic to contend with, laundry can be wishing/washing while I’m on the computer, makeup is unnecessary just for me. I can write that best seller – even Dan Brown will be left behind in the ratings, BUT…

    And here’s the catch. I can also schedule repair people to come any time. I’m home, after all! Doctor/dental/eye appointments are no problem. Entertaining is a cynch! Except I still have these work responsibilities and little time to do them because I’m home, and have all this time to do everything. Result – no time, at least not consecutive time to get into, focus and concentrate.

    Can it be done?

    Of course – discipline, organization and when there’s an especially huge deadline, tightened schedule.

    Good luck!

  2. OK, I’ve vent (somewhat). The guy who owns the house I’m living in has been in the hospital/rehab center for 18 months, and I’ve been taking care of all his finances, his living will, his legal matters, and maintaining a house constructed 1886 with all the problems and headachels involved.

    My ceiling is falling in from all the rain this winter. I haven’t been laid in god knows how long. My books don’t sell and it looks like Moon is giving up on all Asia/Pacific titles.

    Besides that, next question?

  3. Well, I’ve done the office/commute thing and the work at home thing and have to say it’s a wash on the extra duties. When I worked in an office there were all the requests of “Can you just pick up something on the way home for me?” And the errands of “Since you’re out that way anyway…”

    The fact that someone can come and do repairs at any time is a godsend for me. Otherwise one of us would be taking off work to be sitting around for hours waiting for them. At least now I can get work done if they’re two hours late. Plus there’s always the evening to make up for it. Then you can even drink on the job!

  4. Venting time, hurrah!
    I would be delighted for a maintenance break over bleak grey cubicles and people bitching at me cause their blah-blah-blah on their flight didnt go well. Work for an airline right now, but want to be on a bleepity bleep plane instead!
    Truth? I will be (finally!) next week, but to leave I am leaving my job because (here’s the real gripe) most jobs in the US dont give enough vacation time to really dig into a foreign place.
    Oh well, am lucky I keep finding temp work, but would love to axe the day job altogether. Grass is always greener.

  5. I was blogging about this today. I work both at home and outside. Two jobs, plus two kids means I have to basically become a different person every hour. OK, sometimes I have to be a different person every twenty minutes, but I am used to it now.

    I work 40 hors a week, but it takes 60 to 70 hours to get it done and that means late nights and early mornings with constant interruptions in between. Luckily, I am usually only 4 seconds from my office.

  6. Thanks Everyone for sharing your thoughts. It’s fascinating to hear how other people work their writing into their busy lives, or in some cases, how we fit our lives around our writing.

    Now that I’m in the new house, I’m loving getting into routines. We have guests right now that stir things up a bit, but it only makes things more clear how space is important. For example, I like blogging in the mornings from our dining room that faces East. It gets lots of light and is full of windows. It’s a bright room. A happy space.

    Then, when I need serious focus, I got to my desk that’s in the back of the house on the other side of the kitchen. I’m facing a wall, and have a wall to my right. The lack of windows (just one behind me) helps me concentrate on the task in front of me.
    I just turn off the email, and I can get more done.

  7. Just wait till you have kids–then you’ll laugh at the idea that you are busy now. When it’s just you and your sweetie, you have the illusion of being busy, but when small ones are squawking at you, it takes you out of flatland busy into 3-D busy.

  8. What gets me is that when I was a full-time student, working full as a reporter too, and raising four kids, my family pitched in and did all sorts of housework and laundry and such, at least until I landed my dream job of freelancing from home. After three years of me being at home, it seems they have forgotten how to do anything, hubby included. Thankfully, I now have a part-time job away from home, am my crew has begun to relearn difficult tasks, such as loading the dishwasher.

  9. Yeah, James. That’s what I’m afraid of. Believe me, I’m treasuring every bit of my alone time and as much of my freedom as I can while I have it.

  10. Welcome to my world!!!
    Echoing James at the top of my lungs. Fortunately, babies also have a way of focusing your energies, what with their one hour naps. If you waste those precious sixty minutes noodling around the internet (like I am now) you have no one but yourself to blame. Not that children don’t make convenient writerly scapegoats. And they do provide material aplenty.

    Hell, I spend a lot of time day dreaming about how great my life would be if I had a washer and dryer in the apartment.

  11. Jen, you have opened my eyes to my oppression. My wife runs her own business out of the house. I run mine inside the house. She comes home exhausted and asks what’s for dinner. I cook all the meals and do all the dishes. I shop for all the food. I do half the laundry she needs for work. And here’s the thing: I volunteer to do it. All because I work at home. It’s like the old patriarchy has been inverted and I’m scurrying around trying to be a good househusband. I’ve completely internalized the breadwinner/homemaker dynamic. Why? Because it’s EXPECTED of me. What kind of wuss am I?
    The kind that doesn’t have to commute. The kind that gets time to go to the gym. The kind wearing sweatpants while he works.
    Heck, I’ll wash a few dishes for that.

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