Our first Review -- Thank you Amber

Thank you so much to Amber at WAHM Connect for the wonderful review of the Dino and T-Rex Kid kit.  You can read the full review at her blog.  If you are a Work at Home Mom (or Dad), check out her websites.  She is a wonderful resource for all of us.

I appreciate the review both from a business perspective but also from a personal one.  Bill and I are plannig to homeschool our daughter and this review shows me in concrete fashion what can be done outside of a formal "store-bought" curriculum.  I already knew that Usborne had some great resources but to see them in action with someone I admire is priceless.

Want to know more about the kid kits ?  Check them out now.

My Top 2 Work At Home Challenges

Working from home has been a wonderful challenge in and of itself.  Have I overcome the challenges of family, friends, my own innate procrastination and other distractions?    Uhmmmmmmm not even close and if you are at all like me, neither have you!

I recently read  "How I Mastered the Challenge of Working From Home" by Alyssa Gregory.  I feel her pain and her triumph.  For her, the three biggest challenges are Kids, Isolation and Unplugging.   I can agree with all of these in some fashion.  She ends her post with two questions that I have pondered

• What are your biggest challenges of working from home?
• What solutions have helped you?

So without further rambling, here are my top  two challenges and how I attempt to over them (and yes I do mean ATTEMPT LOL!)

#1: Procrastination

I am a master procrastinator.  I think it is a personality trait of mine and not a particularly good one.  I can always find something else to do that could wait!  The end result of this is that I play catchup as deadlines loom.  The further away a deadline is, the less getting done today for that deadline. 

My solution is to set shorter deadlines. 

At the beginning of each week, I take my work calendar (MS Outlook) and create tasks that must be completed that week.  Each task to be completed has a due date and may have dependencies as well.  Since Outlook automatically turns a task red when the due date is missed, I have a visual reference for how I am doing that week.   I can also use the status and percent complete to keep track of progress.

Typically, I put 3 tasks per day to complete.  Each task should take no longer than 2 hours.  I give myself at least two hours of  "free time" in my work day.

#2: What are my office hours?

Even after 10 years of working from home, I still find family and friends to be forgetful that just because i am in my sweats or pjs, I am still at work.   I also find that I have to remind myself, I am still at work!  It's a two way street.  

When I first starting working from home, wireless networks were in their infancy.  Wi-fi hotspots, aircards and smart-phones were things of the future!  Heck in the first year as a consultant, I was still using dial up when at my house!   This made it easier to be tethered to a desk!  Therefore office hours were accomodating to client timezones but all were done in an office.  Today with my smart-phone, my aircard, or wi-fi, I can pretty much work anywhere.  What are my office hours?

My solution:

• Set up time each day I spend tethered to my desk in a dedicated office.
• Jea knows that a closed door means Mommy cannot be disturbed.
• Sharing with Bill and Jea when those hours will be each day.
• Is determined by both my work schedule of calls and family activities/errands.
• Use my aircard, my smartphone or wi-fi hotspots when I want to take Jea to the playground or run errands/take a trip or take Jea to dance class
• Not opening my laptop for two hours each evening.  Those are reserved for dinner and family time.  While the actual timeframe may change to accomodate client priorities/timezones, the number of hours does not!   (This is the one that is the hardest for me to follow! I love to play and chat on the computer; just ask my friends and colleagues who find me online at 2 am some nights!)  I previously posted about why I want to shut down the computer: SimplyFun Article Got me to Thinking!

What challenges are you attempting to overcome?

Other resources: 

• 5 Tips for WAHMs
• Work at Home Challenges: Establishing Rules and Boundaries
• Work From Home Challenges
• Pros and Cons of Working from Home

Why Usborne Books & More?

Today I would like to explain why we joined Usborne Books and More as direct sales consultants.  We get asked this question a lot!  So here is the answer in a nutshell:

•  Quality Products – Beautiful illustrations and photographs on acid free paper. Most titles have both glued and stitched bindings.
• Reasonable Prices – Majority of titles are under $15.
• Selection – Over 1900 titles for infants to teens to cover every child's interests and ability from bath and board books to internet linked reference books.
• Guaranteed – in 2 ways!
• Satisfaction – within 30 days from purchase, Usborne Books and More will replace, exchange or refund any title if you’re not completely satisfied.
• Replacement – regardless of age or condition, get the newest version for ½ of  retail price.
• Award Winning – Accolades from educational and parenting organizations around the world.  Current award winners can be found here.
• Accelerated Reader Titles – Lists and ratings of titles included in the AR reading management program used in thousands of school systems.
• Commercial Free – Not based on Cartoon, TV or Movie characters. No marketing extra’s like action figures, toys, games, etc. to purchase.
• Home School – Materials used as a part of or a supplement to numerous curriculums (Sonlight, The Well Trained Mind, etc.) and tutoring organizations (Sylvan Learning Centers).
• Internet Linked – Stand-alone titles with expanded data available through Usborne Quicklinks which are to updated relevant vetted sites.  There is no searching through 100 plus sites for age-appropriate information you want on the subject.

Since we joined Usborne Books and More, we have found many, many more reasons for joining.  Our daughter being a primary source for continued interest in this company.   Almost all of her favorite storytime books come from titles we have acquired as consultants. 

 
Today's post brought to you by Day 2 of my Blogging Challenge committment.