I’ve been asked a lot recently, “When do you work?” Most of the time this question comes from other moms who know I stay at home with Ally AND run a small business. Most are usually surprised when I respond “almost every day”, so I thought I’d add another post to the Photog Q&A series and maybe enlighten some of those other moms who are in the same boat as me.

Here’s a typical week for me…

Monday thru Friday, my goal is to get at least five hours of work done every day. I do about two hours of work in the morning and about three hours of work in the afternoon. But this is all very dependent on Ally’s sleeping and napping. Currently, she sleeps until about 8:30am. I get up before 8am (if I’m super busy, I’ll get up before 7am), start my work, get Ally some breakfast and continue to work while she enjoys her Dora yogurt and morning Sprout shows.

After our morning routine, Ally and I get ready and head out until lunch. Whether we go to the post office, grocery store, local park, the mall, Target, a play date, MOPS, or just on a buggy run around the neighborhood, WE GET OUT! I’ve found that leaving not only the computer, but also the house really helps to keep my sanity and pleasantry during the day. Getting out also allows me to run my errands and for us to get out and see friends.

Then, Ally and I have lunch, hang out a bit and she goes down for a nap. My afternoon “shift” is so very dependent on this nap. If Ally doesn’t nap and doesn’t have any downtime in her room, I get very little done for JFP. And now that she’s older, No Nap Nancy makes an appearance a lot more often than I’d prefer. But Ally still takes more naps than not, so on average, I’m able to get about three hours of work done in the afternoons. When Ally gets up, that’s it. I’m done. If I can stand it (and am not super swamped), no more work until the next morning.

BUT sometimes my work isn’t done. Sometimes I have meetings or sessions in the evenings. On those days, I work about seven hours total. But I try to keep those instances to a minimum, especially during wedding season. On a wedding day, I may work anywhere from eight to twelve hours, and sometimes I need to spend a night or two away from home, so keeping the weekday work down as much as possible during those weeks is key to good balance.

So, when do I work? During an average week in busy season, I work about 32-40 hours (if it’s not busy season, maybe only 25 hours), both inside and outside the home, and almost every day…all while being a stay at home mom. I’m not at all trying to pat myself on the back or call myself Superwoman. But for anyone that was ever curious about when I work and how I’m able to do it from home with a toddler, now you know. 🙂 And for anyone that’s currently in the same situation or trying to figure out whether or not to put themselves in this situation, maybe my work schedule will motivate or encourage…because it’s definitely possible to make it happen and be successful!

And because this post needs some pictures, here’s a look into how I’m hoping to decorate my new home office in the new house!

Gotta fill the walls with LARGE canvases!

I’d love to have at least one colorful, fabricated chair.

And because I probably won’t be able to afford a bunch of beautiful pieces at first, maybe some colorful folding chairs can hold me over?

I think a yellow and white polka dotted wall would be so fun…and so fitting! But not with big white dots. I’m visioning much smaller white dots so my office doesn’t scream “obnoxious!” 🙂

And I definitely want at least one piece of furniture that serves as a pop of color. Yellow, pink or blue would be nice!