Well, it’s a snowy, snowy, snowy day here in Denver. I’m working from home writing grants and post-tenure-review letters and listening to my gleeful children run around the house like maniacs. Snow days are great, aren’t they? Especially when you’re a kid and free to good off all day instead of going to school. They’re great, of course, if you’re a kid- somewhat less great if you’re a parent trying to work from home on such a day and actually finish tasks that you need to get done.

The last thing I or any parent wants to do is rain (or snow) on the kid utopia that is a snow-day. Demanding that they be quiet as mice so I can work is not fair, and although they are respectfully trying to keep it down to a dull roar, it’s not enough to give me the headspace I need to get all the stuff done I need to. How to resolve this conflict without stressing my whole family out? Here are some solutions. They’ve helped us have many a great and productive snow day and not stress out so much that the memories of those days, like today, are unpleasant ones.

1. Set a few simple groundrules. My kids know that after breakfast, I am up working in my office and they are on their own, barring disasters, until lunchtime. This works because my kids are old enough to entertain themselves and know not to start fires. This buys me a good block of time in which I can get some serious work done without interruption. They know, of course, that if someone is hurt or sick, they can come get me. What they do not bother me with is sibling bickering and grousing.

2. Create a sound barrier. This is not a problem for everyone, but I really have a hard time concentrating and getting work done if there is a lot of changing ambient noise, such as kids and dogs playing together, even pretty quietly. As such, I use internet radio and a good set of noise-cancelling headphones to ensconce myself sufficiently to get my work done, yet I am still easily interrupted for emergencies. One great internet radio service is 365Live.com, which offers TONS of selections of different types of music for free. For a few bucks, you can pay to skip the commercials. It is really quite wonderful for background working music if you like that. Here’s what I’m listening to now:

3. Make time for a little fun. It’s hardly fair for Mom to spend her whole day with her nose to the grindstone when the kids are having a blast in the snow. I make plans to take a couple of breaks during the day, one to make and have lunch with my kids, usually watching a movie, and another at some point to just hang out with them for an hour or so. Not only do these breaks give me some fun “snow-day” memories, but they help me be more effective in my work. The cognitive break from work always puts me back at my desk rejuvenated and able to work more efficiently.

I hope these tips are helpful. Stay warm and have a great, productive, and memorable snow day!!

Tags: live365 internet radio, snow day

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 28th, 2009 at 9:50 am and is filed under family, parenting, stress, work/life balance. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.