Juggling childcare and work in the holidays
Some top tips from those doing it right now!
I am in the midst of the ultimate childcare juggle. Aged 7, 9 and 12, my three can for the most part entertain/fend for themselves, so for that reason we no longer pay for clubs or childcare in the holidays like we did when they were younger. Instead I cut back on work and sort of try and manage. Flexibility is one of the main reasons I like freelancing but this is the time of year when that is stretched to its maximum.
Whatever your approach, and mine has certainly evolved over time, it can be a complex task to keep on top of it all as well as finding some down time for yourself and we all have a tendency to try to do too much. So here are our top FFJ tips for making it work. I should stress we certainly do not have all the answers and what works for us may not work for you, so let us know what tactics you have developed to get through those long school holidays.
1. Take an actual break if possible
Everyone’s circumstances are of course different and much of this will depend on your income, family set up and support, and age of your children. For the past three years, I have got by with no paid for childcare in the six-week summer holidays. Instead I have used some savings (put aside throughout the year for this purpose), taken two or three weeks off for a family holiday and worked fewer hours the rest of the time.
This summer I managed two and a half weeks away and the rest of the time have done just enough to tide me over after some careful sums. My partner works a four-day week so on that one day I have kept my regular weekly news shift and I have taken on a couple of other bits of work that I know I will be able to do in and amongst some trips out or activities. I needed the break and with rubbish Wi-Fi and no phone signal, it was easy to avoid work.
Environmental journalist Anna Turns whose children are 7 and 12 says: “I try to really switch off when I am not working and enjoy family time – kids are only little once and I don’t want to be that mum that tries to do everything but ends up doing it all badly. It means wearing different hats and switching those hats can be exhausting but I also think it’s important children see the women in their life are strong and self-sufficient and proactive.”
2. Plan, plan, plan
It has taken time and careful planning to find the right balance for us but I think we have just about got there. If we weren’t able to have an actual holiday, my planning may look a little different as spending the summer trying to be all things to all people would definitely not work for me. It also means financial planning and remember as a freelancer it won’t necessarily be the summer when you’re skint because the invoices from previous work will be coming in. Instead you will feel the pain in September/October time.
I have a list of tasks and deadlines up on my wall so I don’t have to carry everything in my head and my diary for the summer is carefully marked out. I have been found at certain points doing interviews sat on a bench in the playground but it is fairly likely those you are interviewing are having the same issues.
3. Be upfront with clients/editors
I told all my regular editors in advance that I wouldn’t be working as much over the summer and also turned down some things I knew I wouldn’t be able to fit in or commit to. Just this morning I politely said no to a news story that needed a fast turnaround (even though I was very tempted by the money) because I am only free until lunch and have a ton of other things to get through. Past experience tells me that saying yes to things that are going to cause immense stress or that you won’t be able to fit in is not productive in the long run.
Everyone has been very accommodating and I have a couple of commissions for September that have come out of these conversations so it doesn’t necessarily mean missing out. I have also still been adding things to my future ideas list for when term starts again and I need to get the ball rolling.
3. Take on different types of work
Articles with longer deadlines or an opinion piece you can bash out fairly quickly in a morning may be a better option if you’re juggling childcare and work in the holidays. Anna adds: “I only take on longer form pieces, no fast turnaround stuff so I make sure I can be more flexible.”
I have also taken this approach this summer and the handful of things I have said yes to have been features with a longer deadline where I can do interviews spread out over a few days and write up during evenings and weekends. Rates of pay have also taken on extra importance because time is so precious at the moment. I am more likely to say yes to a commission that might mean being sat at my desk until midnight if the money is worth it.
4. Change your working hours
Outside the summer holidays, I try really hard to not let work spill over into evenings and weekends because that is no fun for anyone. But at the moment that rule has been put to one side for necessity. I will have worked two evenings this week and I did a couple of hours at the weekend. I have also been getting up early to check emails and do some admin. Anna says she takes the same approach. “I check my emails every morning early to keep on top of things/chase payments and let the kids watch TV for an hour first thing so I can get a few essentials done if necessary. I sometimes set aside a full long weekend day to blitz loads of work without incoming daily emails.”
FFJ co-founder Lily Canter adds: “When my kids were younger I signed them up for lots of holiday clubs as it was the only way to get work done. Now they are older (8 and 10) I tend to work in the morning and let them chill, and then take them out in the afternoon. I only work about a third to half of the summer and have money saved to cover this.”
5. Be productive when you do have childcare
Childcare can be anything from a playdate, grandparents coming to stay, paying a babysitter for a few hours, or full on kids club but however long you have, make sure you are productive. Make a list of everything you need to get through, including admin tasks, get rid of distractions, make a fresh cup of tea and crack on. It is amazing what you can get done in an hour when you focus.
Also when you write your lists of tasks, make sure you prioritise. Don’t get sucked into tasks that don’t need to be done now and personally I need to make sure I stay off social media or nothing is getting done.
7. Ask for help when you need it
It is really hard and tiring and when you’re chopping and changing between work and children it can become exhausting to hold everything in your head (mental load and all that). You may drop some balls, you may need to move some deadlines and you may need to call that good friend or neighbour to say can you please have the kids for an hour and I will repay the favour later in the week.
If something isn’t working or you are feeling too overwhelmed, it may be you need to reconsider your approach. Or just need to vent to someone who knows what it’s like. I have freelance friends who have given really good advice on this because they’re also in the midst of it, so do not feel like you are the only one having a hard time making it work.
8. Lower your expectations
Sally Howard is a freelance journalist with a six-year-old son and 9-to-6 working male partner who has written The Home Stretch (Why It's Time To Come Clean About Who Does the Dishes), a book looking into who carries the can on the domestic labour front.
“We often look forward to summer holidays as a time to kick back with loved ones in the summer sunshine,” Howard says. “Sadly for freelance parents the reality seldom lives up to the Enid Blyton idyll as summer camp days are expensive and short and our fantasies of dipping in and filing a few stories between beach trips are rendered more complex by the fact that everyone you're trying to interview is OOO for the duration of August.”
For freelancers who work flexibly with partners manning (usually it’s manning) the 9 to 5, the juggle is particularly tricky. She advises a radical lowering of expectations for what we can achieve.
“This is the time to take on the dull, stock or filler work you can do with ease and not feel guilty about it.” Most importantly, don't give yourself a hard time, she adds.
“Post Covid, many more of us are acting like Europeans and breaking up for August. It's tougher to achieve this as a freelancer, but seeing this as a down time will find you refreshed when editors are back in autumn (and commissioning).”
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Triumph of the week
Tackling the email inbox after three weeks off
That feeling when
You get a commission out of the blue
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Bye for now!
