(Illustration photo - not me!)

One of the great things about working from home is that you can work in your pajamas, right?

Well, not quite.

For the past month I’ve had a huge work-load to get done. I did a lot of traveling in May which meant I had graphic design projects to catch up on, the Sivan issue to design (yes…it really is coming soon! Hopefully in a week or so!) and… the camp I work at, the Jewish Girls Retreat, is just around the corner! I’ve spent this month creating detailed schedules for the whole month of camp, editing the 100 page curriculum, sending information to parents, booking trips, ordering the camp t-shirts, and more. I knew that with the first day of camp coming closer and closer (just one week left!), I needed to be super productive this month.

The first thing I realized is that I can’t actually work from home. When I’m home, Chaya (now a 14-month old who knows what she wants – NOW) sees me around and just wants me to play. I try to work at my computer, while I’m being interrupted every few minutes. In fact, I tried to keep a detailed record of my daily schedule for a few days, and I couldn’t because I kept switching back and forth between tasks every three minutes!

So, I found a new place to work – the local library! The only problem is that the library doesn’t open until noon. That means I get to have a nice morning eating breakfast with Chaya, reading her some books, and I even have time to throw in a load of laundry and check my email. Then, around 11:30 I eat lunch and aim to arrive at the library when it opens. I usually work there for 4-5 hours, and it’s amazing how much I can get done without interruptions! When I come home I feel relaxed and proud of what I’ve accomplished that day, and ready to have real quality time with Chaya and maybe even take her out to the park. (Of course, this plan only works because of my wonderful husband who can stay home with Chaya, and does actually get work done at home, too!)

Maybe 4-5 hours a day doesn’t sound like I’m getting that much done. If I’m lucky and Chaya goes to bed early, I can still catch a few more hours at night (like now). But I’m sure that even when I felt like I was working from morning until night at home, I didn’t get a solid five hours of work done.

So yeah, working from home isn’t exactly sitting in bed on my laptop with a bowl of ice cream. I still have to get dressed for work and get to the “office” at a certain time. But, I love that I have my flexibility, and if there’s a day where that doesn’t work, or I need to switch around my hours, I have that option too.

Where have you found the best place to focus? When you have to study for a big test, where do you head to?