Dad Gets a Job
March 12th, 2008 . by 21st Century DadThe job search has ended. I interviewed for a graphic design position two weeks ago and I finally got the call. I am starting today.
One could see this as an admission of defeat, but I don’t. Work-at-home dad is the best job in the world. Why would I want to leave that? This experience will inspire me to write with more empathy for dads who have to go to the office. Time away from my desk devoted to infant potty training sure beats banal water-cooler chit-chat with co-workers. You take the good with the less-than-optimal. That’s life. This is an opportunity to increase my breadth and credibility as a daddy blogger.
I trade in a totally free-form schedule for one with more structure and less time. The blog will live on, and other ventures will continue to germinate. With this in mind, I started solidifying a time management strategy.
I came up with the “50-50-50″ plan. I break up my week into 50 hour chunks – 50 for sleeping, 50 for the job and commute, and 50 for everything else. Out of 168 hours in a week, that leaves me 18 hours of “flex” in my schedule. That’s 2.57 hours each day or a little over 10% margin for error. I can use that time to sleep more, work more, and address the inevitable snafus that occur in life (after 7 months, I finally got peed on my by my little baby on Monday).
Double-dipping is an effective time management strategy. It’s different from multi-tasking. Multitasking is a myth anyway. Since I will be using public transit for my commute, I have the ability to read books or RSS feeds on my iPod. I have yet to try using my laptop on the bus. A 17″ MacBook Pro might be too cumbersome to be effective.
Fortunately, this job situation appears to be a good fit. I’m looking forward to this new opportunity.
Best of luck with the new job!!
Congrats on the job Elliot! I’m happy for you dude
Congratulations on the gig! You should patent and market your 50-50-50 plan to all the work at home dad wannabes out there. You’ll become known as the 21st Century WAHD Guru!
As for getting peed on, it’s about time! No parenting experience is really complete until you get all the messes checked off.
Thanks everyone! 2 days later, I’m still going back for more. The people I work with seem nice enough.
It’s a sign shop with some high profile clients in the community. I get to do layout, design, and build signs. It’s a nice variety of activities that keeps the blood circulating. There’s nothing more toxic (and waistline expanding) than sitting at a desk all day.
I don’t know if I should congratulate you or feel bad for you. Either way best of luck man…I’m actually trying to be a stay at home dad. I’m tired of the commute and getting up early in the morning.
I actually had a nightmare last night that I had to go back to work in medicine.
*shudder*
Your job, however, sounds cool. Congratulations!
And 2.57 hours of daily flex time? That’s more than I have and I’m a SAHM. Of course, I’m utterly disorganized and spend too much time online. Yeah, I’m doing something wrong.
7 months and you just got peed on that is pretty
good I got peed on before we left the hospital.
Congrats on the new job. I’m glad it still allows you to hit the 50-50-50 plan (great idea, by the way!). I’ve been thinking about a way to move towards a stay-home-dad role, at least part time. I will likely have to wait until both kids are in school and wife returns to a teaching assignment (to lock down benefits).
@Christine: My time management prowess is greatly exaggerated. I seem to have misplaced those 2.57 hours.
@Phil: You must have a boy.
@Frugal Dad: One side benefit of managing your money is a better awareness of time. Both are finite resources. We make do with what we have. I’ve let myself go in both areas, but I’m fighting my way back.
Congratulations on the job, I really hope everything works out for you. Make sure keep us update. I am really curious about how the 50-50-50 plan works out for you.