The Frenzied Solo-Parent!

Almost all kids and teenagers begin the annual ritual of crossing days off the calendar. An ‘X’ through another day is like a badge of honor for students everywhere.

The countdown to the end of school is certainly a force to be reckoned with and it’s full-on at our house as well. The fact that I have to be out-of-town the last three days of LE’s school year is dampening my own enthusiasm, but he’s celebrating in spite of it.

Celebration and Worry

Despite all the celebration for the kids, summer can be a cause for worry as well: Worry for the working solo-parent who now needs to juggle their schedule and come up with extra cash for childcare or summer camps. If you have child-support payments coming in on a regular basis, that can help.

One solo-mom I know splits the cost of the summer camps with her Ex who, to his credit, pays her both a regular monthly payment for ongoing child support and splits the cost of martial arts training and summer camps.

Not a bad deal if you can get it.

But many more solo-parents, moms and dads alike, are not so lucky.  They’re forced to adjust monthly expenses and manage the additional costs of summer activities and child care in whatever form it materializes.

Solo-Dad’s Summer Solution

Usually summer sneaks up on me and I’m unprepared. The scramble for child-care begins; I ruminate about working from home, and I experience a huge amount of stress in the process.

This year I decided to take action earlier and it’s paid off.

I recently sat down with my supervisors at work and hammered out a deal that would allow me to work a split schedule for the summer months.

While LE sleeps in M-F, I’ll work 8a – 1p.  I’ll leave work with laptop in tow and take my normal lunch break.  That way I’ll be home around 1:15 to facilitated lunch for LE (generally be around while he fixes it for himself) and then plug back in and work from 2-5p in my home office.

There isn’t a policy with my employer, per se,  for this kind of arrangement. I had to demonstrate both the need and the solution and how it would work for the company.  When I did this, the plan was approved in writing.

As a proposal manager, 90% of the people I interface with during the workday are located in other states.  I’m used to working remote in that sense. Because of how I work and the nature of my position, this works out for me and I’m very grateful for it.

My summer plan doesn’t decrease my travel woes, but it’s going to make a difference in how much summer activities I need to plan for LE.

Secrets to Making It Work

In Tim Ferriss’ book, The 4-Hour Workweek, (a book I’d recommend to anyone, especially solo-parents) he makes the case for anyone looking to alter their current 8-5 cubicle life with definitive instructions for change.

Even if you don’t the title’s premise, the book has many great tips for making your life work on your terms. (Tim’s blog is here.)

Now, to be fair, I’m not looking for a 4-hour workweek…not just yet…but working out of my home half of the day during the summer is something I could get used to.

From my perspective, I’ve got to do the following for this arrangement to work:

• Make every afternoon a productive time in terms of deliverables
• Provide proof that I’m not 2 blocks away at the beach taking calls on my Blackberry
• Communicate with my team on a regular basis during the afternoon
• Make email, phone, and laptop a seamless trio

In other words, it needs to be like I never left my office.  I’ll report on how it goes as summer progresses.

What About You?

What do your plans for summer child-care look like?  If you’re a working solo-parent, how have you compensated in the past for the heady days of summer?  Can you create a solution like I did that works for both you and your employer?  Add your two cent’s worth below!