work / life balance Archives - A Baby on Board blog

Everything I’d rather do than my tax return

Gillian — Wed, 13 Jan 2016 12:48:08 +0000

One of the best decisions I made after having a baby – in fact, ever, I think – was to go freelance instead of returning to my pre-baby, 9-5 (8.30-7) job. It’s made my post-baby work / life balance better in ways I could never have imagined, and has allowed me to do things I love as well as branch out into new and different areas. But the small downside to all this is having to do your own tax return. I have to admit that it sounds terrifying, but isn’t, actually, that taxing – just very admin-heavy – but the deadline is fast approaching, and guess what? I’m procrastinating. I know, I know, you can pay people to do it for you, and I know I could have done it at any point over the past nine months, and I know it’s very last minute, and arhhh. In my – very poor – defence, I started it weeks ago, and have basically sorted all the sums out – I just need to double check and do it, especially as today is one of my rare childcare days. But I’m not. What are all the things I’d rather do instead? Make ten cups of tea and eat half the tin of biscuits Paint my toenails Unload the dishwasher Load the dishwasher Washing, again Contemplate overhauling my skincare regime and wondering if buying some expensive skincare means I really will double cleanse every day Start tidying out the loft, aka our version of Monica’s messy closet, ahead of our loft conversion Take ridiculous photos for Instagram Anything involving Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc etc. Contemplate what to have for lunch Contemplate what we’re having for dinner Contemplate emptying out the rain-filled paddling pool of doom More tea Wonder about 50 x times what the children are doing Write a blog post about not doing my tax return, in lieu of not writing any other blog posts this week because I shouldn’t until I’ve actually done the thing, to explain why I’ve not written any posts this week Remember to tell my children to do things as soon as possible, instead of putting them off to the last minute Anything. The thing is, it’s not that bad and once it’s done I’ll be so relieved, and smug. so why am I not? Right, I’m going in. But first…I could totally make a tax-themed playlist on Spotify couldn’t I? More posts, if you’re also putting off doing something important…things they don’t tell you in NCT classes but TOTALLY should, inspiring ideas over on TalkMum, and things to do during naptime.

The post Everything I’d rather do than my tax return appeared first on A Baby on Board blog.

The problems with being a work-from-home parent

Gillian — Fri, 28 Mar 2014 07:11:55 +0000

For well over a year now, ever since I decided not to go back to my pre-baby job, I‘ve been working as a freelancer. It has been, for the most part, brilliant. I have work-life balance for the first time in my career, get to be my own boss, love what I do and spend lots of time with my daughter. With occasional forays into an office, I mainly work from home on the two days that Eliza goes to nursery. It works for us and everyone’s happy. However, working from home is not without its challenges and obstacles, I’ve noticed, And it seems to present an particular set of problems when you’re a parent… Everything I read about working from home mentions the brilliance of being able stay in your pyjamas. However; need to drop your child off at nursery first? You’ll definitely have to put some proper clothes on. And it’s pointless changing back into them when you’ll need to go out to get them a few hours later. You don’t work in an office, but everyone else in your entire street does. And they ALL have an obsessive online shopping habit. Which means that several times a day, a delivery man will ring your door – “Ooh, delivery for me!” you think – and then you’re faced with someone sheepishly asking if you mind taking something in for next door (“…oh….Again?”) The hallway is lined with parcels, none of them for you This also means that no-one else is around when you go to do the nursery run, which is the only time of day your own parcels seem to arrive However, going from working in a busy office to being solo at home can be quite, well, quiet. So you’re secretly glad to see the delivery man for a chat, and the builder knows your entire life story, why you’re eating cake for breakfast, and your long and rambling theories on recent news events. To be fair, you now also know all about his evening, children, what he thinks of the news, and how to construct downstairs cloakrooms in cupboards It’s hard to pick a parenting label. I’m a working mum, but part time. I stay at home, but I’m not a stay-at-home mum (for some of the week) Where do I fit? There’s no Christmas party when you freelance…but on the other hand there’s no 6am cold, prickly grip of fear, shame and hungover regret. That’s your festive bonus, right there Making your own lunch is never as nice as going out for a burger, burrito or fancy-pants sandwich. Especially when the only things in the fridge are Babybels and Thomas the Tank Engine yoghurts As my desk is the kitchen table, I often find crayoning in my work notebook, glitter on the laptop, and an assortment of plastic play figures in my paperwork. OK, so I jest (slightly). In all seriousness, not going back to my old job is the best decision I ever made. Are you thinking about it? Do it!

The post The problems with being a work-from-home parent appeared first on A Baby on Board blog.

A bit of a blogging mini-break

Gillian — Wed, 10 Jul 2013 20:32:28 +0000

So I seem to have taken a bit of an unintentional blogging mini break. It’s due to, among other things, still waking up at 5/5.30am every day, finally making moving decisions and as a result, fielding armfuls of over-friendly estate agents, work, home, all the general stuff that goes on – all of which I want to blog about, and usually I find the time somewhere, but overwhelmingly I’ve just not really felt like it. It’s an odd sensation, especially when I’ve usually got so much to say. Just ask my poor husband. I will say it though, and hopefully soon. It’s the longest I’ve not written a proper post since the crazy early baby months (when I couldn’t even remember which way round to put my wedding rings on, or even my own name most of the time). And I realise I’m blogging about not blogging, which means everything will soon implode on itself like a black hole. But in the meantime, here’s some pictures of parks, trikes and climbing frames. Hasn’t the weather been amazing? Finally…

The post A bit of a blogging mini-break appeared first on A Baby on Board blog.

Talking TalkMum

Gillian — Wed, 08 May 2013 16:12:27 +0000

I’ve been meaning to write for a while about what I’m now doing work-wise, and for various teeth and sleep related reasons I’ve not quite got round to it just yet. I will soon, but in a nutshell I officially finished maternity leave at the start of the year and have been freelancing part-time since January. One of the things I’m working on at the moment that I absolutely love is a community management role editing TalkMum.com. TalkMum is a collaborative blog set up by the people behind the Pregnacare range of vitamins, designed to talk all about issues around trying for a baby, pregnancy, and being a new mum (so, pretty much right up my street then…) It involves working with some fantastic writers, including Fran, Rachel, Kiran, Eleanor, Nat, Marissa, Fozia, Anna and Cath. The new theme for May launched today – it’s birthdays, milestones and memories, and you can read lots more from previous months in the February, March and April round-up posts. (And if you’re reading this and would like to know more about getting involved with writing, or want to write a guest post, just drop me a line). On the nursery side, thank you for all the lovely helpful comments about Eliza settling in, it seems like so long ago! She now absolutely loves it and will even bring me her shoes and bag on the morning of her nursery days. The best part of any working day though is always the really long hug when I pick her up, and seeing how animated she is, with crazy hair, covered in food, and babbling away on the journey home. Photos: big thanks to the TalkMum bloggers in March.

The post Talking TalkMum appeared first on A Baby on Board blog.