Since I work from home, people often ask how I manage it with the dogs. Working from home provides a number of challenges anyway – it’s sooo easy to get distracted with laundry, dishes, talking on the phone, checking Instagram, whatever – and the dogs just add another layer to that. I fielded this question multiple times at BarkWorld, and Mayzie’s mom and I had a good convo about the work-at-home-with-pets situation, so I thought I’d share with you guys a glimpse at what a usual, regular workday is like around here. (The pics aren’t great, I know. I used my phone all day, and as you can see, this house is insanely dark. Light just disappears.)
5:45 – Up and at ’em and out the door! We leave this early to beat the heat and to avoid all the loose dogs that get let out for the day at sun up.
6:30 – Home and catching our breath.
7:30 – Breakfast! Emmett’s favorite time of day! Well, tied with dinner…
7:32 – Breakfast is over. The boys settle in to do their “work” while I sit down to do my work.
10:00 – I leave for an eye doctor appointment and stop at the grocery store.
12:30 – Lunchtime poo (which I didn’t photograph… you’re welcome!) followed by a Cooper/Newt play session.
1:00 – Everyone settles back in to “work.”
3:30 – Epic meltdown. Every day. The boys get restless, and I can’t focus with their manic games of bitey-face, so we go outside (them), start some laundry (me), visit Newt, chew antlers (them), wash dishes (me). Well, except for Emmett. He starts his migration to the back door, inching forward bit-by-bit so that he can be on the doormat for that magical moment when John comes home.
5:00 – Back outside, then dinner. I forgot to snap a pic, but it’s exactly like the breakfast one above!
6:00 – John’s home! The next two hours are a blur of dog walks, dinner, and cleaning.
8:00 – Cat training. Still. Sigh. Then I do a little trick training with Cooper. If he can master this one, there will be video!
8:30 to 10 – Sadly, we usually go right back to work, me in the office, John at the kitchen table. Tonight, John took Coop upstairs to play with Newt while he typed away. I’m downstairs with Emmett and Lucas. Usually, Lucas and Coop wrestle a bit, or Coop will play upstairs with Newt, then they chew their antlers or lounge at our feet.
Until…
10:00 – Read and snuggle the pups! Then off to bed to do the same thing all over again tomorrow!
This wasn’t my goal, but now that I made the conscious effort to track our day beginning to end, I spot some places for improvement. Really, these guys get a lot more attention than many dogs simply because I’m lucky enough to work from home. We sprinkle outside play throughout the day, for instance. I think that makes up for us working every evening (or, at least, my guilty conscience wants to believe that’s the case).
So there you have it! A perfectly typical week day around here!
How does your day look? Are you an early riser? A night owl? What about your pups?
Thanks for sharing! I always wonder how I’d be able to concentrate and not cuddle Del all day, and how I’d keep him occupied. Great to see how someone else does it 🙂
It’s not always easy, and I’m not gonna lie… There are days when I snuggle up with Emmett on his dog bed for a nice little break!
Love it
You certainly stay busy! Thanks for sharing your routine. I often think that it would be so nice to work from home and get to be with the dogs all day, but your post has reminded me that a) the grass is always greener in someone else’s, er, life, and b) dogs are wonderful work companions but they can also be huge distractions! I get up earlier than I need to (about 6 am) so I can spend time with the dog(s), and I am able to come home for lunch to let them out and take care of them, which I look forward to every day.
That’s so nice that you get to go home for lunch!! I definitely think I’d have more productive days if they weren’t so fully integrated into my routine… or, at least, I would’ve have to keep/finish working every night because I’d get everything accomplished during business hours!
I’d like to think I could manage it. My bigger question is how to you get a job that lets you work from home? 😉
Honestly, Jodi, I created it myself! I decided to go full-time freelance in 2010 after I got laid off from a downsizing firm. It’s tough, there’s no question. But, I wouldn’t trade it for anything!
haha You go girl! You have a full-time job right there! Shew! Exhausted me so I guess I’ll take a nap at work now! 🙂 My hubs gets up during the week at 3 am, that means to bed by 730 pm. After training, Titan is now accustomed to 730 pm nite nite time. This is time for him to detox and get ready for bed. He’s usually in his bed or on mine by 8 pm and maybe a potty break around midnight. Mornings, I’m awake at 5 and get Titan up about 530 am for breakfast and pee breaks. I’m out the door by 730 which means Titan gets walked btwn 7 am and 730 am. Titan holds down the fort at home while the rest of us are bored at work. Come home and repeat.
Wow. That’s quite a schedule to train and stick to! It sounds like you have it all under control, though!!
Your day sounds so busy, and you do well to get back to work in the evening, something I can never do. I work at home just two days a week. I am lucky that my hubby gets up early for work and always lets the dogs out and feeds them, then they are ready to nap again for a while! I used to do better to just get up and going, get my work done, and then settle into doing things with the dogs or around the house. Now I tend to linger in bed for a while in the morning, drinking coffee, catching up on Facebook and email on my tablet, and snuggling with the dogs (the snuggling is how I justify it, as my time with them). But in the summer I need to get up and going earlier for the exercise part. I tend to work off and on like you do more, but once it gets past 5:00 I’m pretty much done with that!
Interesting. Sounds like a full day. I, too, work from home, but it’s part time pay. I really need to track my day, see how much disappears where. And here I am, Saturday night, working. Because reading dog blogs and commenting is work. I have the best job EVER.
Did I meet you at Bark World?