Tag Archives: work at home dad

A New Time Challenge for Me

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Home School DadI’ve always admired those parents who choose to home school their children. But my wife and I decided that public school was a good route for us to take. When my daughter first started school I was still working contracts in the GTA and my wife was just starting her business.

But things change.

My son (who is in Grade 2) has never been comfortable in school. He does well with the school work and has fun with his friends most of the time. But something about it stresses him out.

Part of the problem may be his low vision which makes it difficult for him to keep up with his friends in the playground or play games involving a ball smaller than a soccer ball.

He’s also a perfectionist and worries about not doing well, or getting in trouble for some little infraction.

The stress is leading to health issues, like tension headaches and upset stomachs. For the past 3 months he’s been asking us if we could home school him at least 3 times a week.

So we’ve pulled the trigger and I’ll begin home schooling him on Monday with mom helping out, especially with the French.

I’m very lucky that I have the flexibility to do this. It means more hours a day that I can’t work which will be a big challenge. But it also means that I’ll be able to provide an academic environment for my son that will challenge him in a way that the public system can’t provide.

My daughter will remain at school (she’s in Grade 7) as there are many extra-curricular activities that she loves, not to mention tons of friends. She has asked to have some extra “home work” since she needs more challenge in her academic life.

That means I’ll still be driving her to and from school. I guess you could call this split schooling.

I’m not sure how this will impact my time management yet. I know it will be big, but I’m not sure exactly where. The work that I do will have to be rearranged quite a bit. I’ll have to cut back. I might be able to work bits and pieces of writing or whatnot during the school hours when he’s reading or working on a project. I’ll have to see how that goes.

So now, in addition to Mother Bill, I’m Mr. Bill. Don’t be late for class!

Image by julosstock at stock.xchg

Proud to be a Work at Home Dad

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Is Time Money?I am a work at home dad (aka WAHD) — and proud of it.

Before we get too far in to this discussion, I think it is important that you realize exactly what I mean by “work at home dad”.

I don’t mean simply that I’m a dad who has an office (or workshop) in the home. Rather, I’m talking about a philosophy. So here is the core of what I’m talking about.

A work at home dad is a father who has made the choice to fit his work into the life of the family, rather than the other way around.

It really doesn’t matter where the work is done. It may be in an office or workshop in (or close to) the home. It may be done at customer sites or even in an office somewhere. The crux of the matter is that the family is priority #1.

While there are always going to be elements of the career that require a fixed time, as much as possible the family needs will be scheduled first.

Mother Bill

I drive my kids to school most of the time. And I pick them up. When it comes to the extra curricular activities, I will do most of the running around. In fact, some of our friends call me “Mother Bill.”

I will often be the one doing the shopping. And sometimes the cooking. I try to avoid the cleaning, but sometimes I get roped into that too 8=)

Doing this helps my wife have the flexibility to run her business. Her work schedule is more regimented since she is a paralegal and has to arrange her schedule around the court (not much flexibility there).

I am glad that I’m able to do all of this for my kids and my wife.

But it does put a tremendous amount of pressure on my work time. I have specific times that are dedicated to the family that are usually reserved for work time in a 9 to 5 job. Time is more fragmented, which makes keeping focused more difficult.

I also help my wife with aspects of her business, and that impacts the time I have left for my own projects.

Sometimes I’ve found myself resenting the intrusions (usually when I’m under pressure to get something done). But I have to remind myself that this is what I signed on for. The benefits of this lifestyle definitely outweigh the costs.

So I’ve had to learn how to better manage my time. Time management is not a skill I naturally have. And I can’t say that I’m an expert at this point either. But I’m getting better.

This site is dedicated to sharing the things that I’ve learned (and continue to learn) with respect to time management. While it is coming from the perspective of a work at home dad, most of the principles can be applied to anyone who wants to make better use of their time, whether you’re a work at home parent or not.

The most important thing that I’ve learned is that time is not money… it is far more valuable!

Join me!