Free Boobin’: Housework and Freelancing

My little sister moved in with me for the summer while college is out. Having her around has been great; every night is filled with lots of laughs. One of the jokes we have is that we both let our laundry pile up too much – and when we literally have nothing more to wear, we say that we have to start the washer or we’ll be “free boobin’ it” the next day – i.e., we don’t even have any clean bras left!

Image: sxc.hu

As a freelancer, housework can be a problem for a number of reasons. First, it is easy for an unmotivated writer to stop working to do the dishes or sweep the floor. Because it has to be done, right? For other freelancers, housework piles up. I usually fall into that group – but I’m working…I just had no time to mow my lawn…

Freelancing is all about scheduling. Sometimes, we have to remind ourself that there are times to work and times to do things around the house. What has worked for me is to have an hour a day where  I don’t allow myself to do freelancing work. If I have a deadline, too bad. If I’m on a roll, too bad. At least, in theory. Some days, I have to bend the rules a little. The point is, that’s the time I specifically set apart for housework. If I don’t have any (which is rare), I’m still not allowed to work – I have free time.

Making that rule for myself has helped me keep the housework under control, and once you’re used to that hour of downtime, you’ll find that scheduling around it is pretty easy.

Now, if you belong to the other group – freelancers who use housework as an excuse to procrastinate, I recommend doing the opposite – scheduling your day so that between certain hours you aren’t allowed to do housework. Again, you may have to bend the rules from time to time, but if you stick to that rule, it will be easier to avoid procrastination.

And hey, when all else fails…you can always free boob it. After all, that’s one of the perks of working at home! :)