Seasons of Productivity

Summer has arrived in Alaska! It’s glorious and bright and everything Alaskans live for.

The new season also brings about a change in routine with the kids being home all day. It always feels like a huge adjustment after 9 months of working home alone with both kids in school.

If you didn’t know this about me already, I live by a routine. I thrive with a to-do list. But I also want to soak up every minute of summer adventures with the kids. I mean, that’s the whole point of being my own boss, right?

So, my routine has been rearranging. I’ve lessened the amount of hours I work each day, and have been migrating my schedule to mimic my husband’s so that we are all “off” together to chase our glorious midnight sunshine.

To make the most of my limited work hours, I define the 2-3 things that must get done in order to keep moving my business and my projects forward. I get up early to begin my day by 6am, and work through 10am.

To encourage the kiddos to allow me to work, I created a daily checklist, which includes a few chores, free play, and brain work, all of which needs to be completed before they get any screen time.

If all goes well, they’ve allowed me time to work, gotten chores done, and played well together, they earn a “FUN FACTOR” for the afternoon — these are things like have a picnic at the park, ride bikes to Hot Licks for ice cream, play mini golf, go gold panning, etc. We have a master list posted, and our goal is to check everything off by the end of summer.

There's also an "I'm Bored" cheatsheet, a daily routine schedule for them to reference and follow, and even a list of how to score more screen time. You fan find the templates for everything and modify to your family and lifestyle on Canva.

We’re still working on fewer interruptions during my morning work block, but I’ve been really impressed with them both respecting this boundary. This new routine allows me to maintain a sense of productivity while cherishing precious summer moments with my kids.

TLDR; Accepting that there are “seasons” to productivity, I’ve learned to adjust my work schedule for the summer to spend more time with my family, setting key tasks for early mornings and creating a daily routine for the kids to encourage cooperation. This new balance allows me to stay productive while enjoying summer adventures with the family.