WAHM & Dads - Itching to play hookey?

Summer is here. The kids are out of school and activities have begun - and my husband's car decided to take a vacation of its own. What craziness! I really think summer is the hardest time of year to work from home. There is no schedule to the family's day, the activities are all over the map, and I just want to go play!

One of my simple solutions to all this mess is . . . leave! I leave the house to work and spend time at the local Panera Bread, library or coffee shop. Actually, this solution works pretty well as far as removing me from their chaos. But it doesn't solve the "Summer Syndrome".

You know about the Summer Syndrome, the sun is shining, the beach is calling you and you can't make your mind stay on your work no matter how hard you try. In fact, it feels a lot like the final days of school when you were a kid.

I've found a few things that help, try them out and see if they work for you (and let me know what you do to stay on track and excited about work in the summer):

1. Reduce expectations. I actually reduce my workload for summer and give myself extra time off to go play and just be with my family.

2. Use a to do list. Each day I have a short list of the vital things that absolutely must get done - and I do those first.

3. Create solitude. I do work out of my house more in the summer. (Get a sitter if you must, trade kid care or coordinate with spouse) I also create blocks of time to have the house to myself (coordinate activities or play dates, let kids visit family).

4. Start a fun project in your work. I like to have a project I'm really excited about to work on in the summer. Having something fun to do gets me interested in starting the work and, once I start, I get absorbed.

5. Buddy up. Get an accountability buddy. Have someone you respect who you can tell your goals and do a check in. It's lot harder to blow off work if you have to face someone and say, "Hey I chose not to do this".

6. Get up early and dive right in. I like to get up early and do work when the house is quiet. This also gives me a leg up and keeps me motivated. When I can stop for breakfast with my family and already have 3 good hours of work done it makes a huge difference in my mindset. (This is where I break the important stuff first rule. I usually do my "thinking" stuff in the wee hourse and leave the more mundane stuff for after everyone wakes up.)

Summer is great and wonderful, and we only get 18 with each kid. Do a little planning and pull out your store of self-discipline. But more importantly, just know that less will get done in work because more will get done for your kids and let yourself enjoy that time. Happy summer!