Posted by chucke/fl on 6/2/12 6:42pm
Msg #422482

The Balance

OK ladies, I need help. When I first became a signing agent in the year 2006, I was part-time. I went full time in 2010, when thing were very crappy. Now that business is getting better for now at least, how do you balance the signings and taking care of your home(housework & plants etc.). With the increase in business there is more paperwork. I just can't seem to balance it all. All positive suggestions will be welcomed.

Reply by Roger_OH on 6/2/12 6:45pm
Msg #422483

Um, only ladies can do housework and plants?.... n/m

Reply by chucke/fl on 6/2/12 7:22pm
Msg #422485

Re: Um, only ladies can do housework and plants?....

Sorry, meant not offense :-)

Reply by jba/fl on 6/2/12 7:44pm
Msg #422490

None taken. Ask a busy person - they know management skills n/m

Reply by chucke/fl on 6/2/12 8:38pm
Msg #422493

Re: None taken. Ask a busy person - they know management skills

Thanks for all the suggestions and ideas. From your suggestions, I see I need to do my chores in the AM and not plan to do them when I get home from signings. We never know how our day will go and need to do chores while you are fresh in the morning and not plan to do them when you are dog tired after dealing with borrowers, traffic and the unpredictability of this job. However, I love what I do and the $$$$ is not bad :-).

Reply by jba/fl on 6/2/12 7:38pm
Msg #422489

Ha ha! Roger.

I get up early, make my bed immediately so that that room looks good. An unmade bed ruins the rooms look. Coffee gets me started so that I can get in the yard by 7am or so. Then, by 8-9 or so, when it gets too hot to continue, I move inside. I don't have to pick up after anyone but myself, so I have finally learned to do stuff as I go. Yep, I have finally learned to hang up my clothes. When they need to go to the washer, I take them off there - why have to move them later? Double work.

As for my plants - I leave most of them outside to be watered when it rains or they gather humidity from the air. If they make it, they can live in my yard. I tore out my grass and now have ground covers that do not need to be mowed, although they may need edging every month or so. None of that weekly stuff though.

Seriously though: A little organization goes a long way. Simplify where you can...reduce duplication of tasks. I pay my bills once a month, and I file once a month as I hate to file. But when I take my pile, sort it and file monthly, I am grateful that it seems to go quickly. I have baskets for the interim: to be filed, paid, unpaid, pending orders. Huge desk calendar that I can see month at glance and pencil as I go. Huge eraser right above it for adjustments as my life is one big adjustment.

My best tip came many years ago - I sort all mail next to the recycle bin - junk does not come into my house at all. Even envelopes don't make it inside. I handle my mail once - not over and over again.

If it is Monday, I do laundry and while the washer is going, I mop all my floors. I usually am cleaning and sorting all my week-end activity gear and replenishing my camping supplies so I am ready to run away from home again. I can be done by 10 am with everything and being in FL we don't normally get early calls from TCs and SSs so usually I am working uninterrupted.

Tues: yard work in the am - Yard trash is Wed. and the way everything grows here in the summertime there is plenty to put in for collection. I try to fill every garbage can I own for Wed. I really try to do this during the day and not the evening as the mosquitoes are out in full force at dusk.

Wed: whatever trash there may be, Thursday is the big collection...got those 5 cans to fill if need be.

Thurs: the house can suffer except for normal, routine kitchen and bath cleaning up after self.

Fri: I'm prepping to leave on one of my adventures.
Sat & Sun: everyone should just play, although Sun will find me putting out trash/recycling.

So what do you notice here? I schedule house and yard work, just the same as I schedule appts. As with my work activities, everything is adjustable.....you can do this chucke.

I hope you get lots of tips and I can find something to simplify my life as well.

Reply by Yoli/CA on 6/2/12 7:33pm
Msg #422488

What works best for me is I don't let the chores pile up. Simple as cleaning up after myself.

1. Set the coffee maker the night before so it'll be ready when I get up.
2. Make my bed as soon as I get up.
3. Wash dishes/rinse and stack in dishwasher as I finish the meal.
4. Put clothes in hamper or hang as I change out of them.
5. Designate a slow morning to do laundry, vacuum, etc. Personally, I prefer working on chores in the morning when I'm fresh rather than evening or night when I'm tired and then I tend to put it off for another day. I don't have to get it all done in one day; but, it does have to get done within the same week. If I have an especially hectic workweek, I may have to accomplish all this during the weekend.
6. Car gets washed either when I fuel up or when I take it in for service.
7. Plants get watered while I'm waiting for dinner to cook.
8. Schedule doctor appointments, blood bank, car service, etc. for early morning as most of signings are later in the day.
9. Shopping gets done early morning, in between appointments, night or weekends. I also do a lot of shopping online.
10. Take care of all paperwork for signings same night of signing (status reports, invoice, filing).

This is what works for me and there's probably other items I didn't think of. Remember, some things can be done at the same time - ie. turn on dishwasher and clothes washer/dryer and prepare meal and as it's cooking you can water plants or sweep or vacuum or dust. Multi-task.

OR, get a housekeeper.

Reply by Shoshana/AZ on 6/2/12 7:48pm
Msg #422491

My DH does most of this stuff. All I have to do is sit there, look pretty and go to my signings, referral groups, etc. This works for us. Married 39 years tomorrow!

Reply by RickG/CA on 6/3/12 8:30am
Msg #422505

Congrats and Happy Anniversary! n/m

Reply by HisHughness on 6/2/12 9:20pm
Msg #422494

Retired signing agent daily schedule

1. Get up.
2. Pee.
3. Make coffee.
4. Turn on Internet.
5. Pour coffee.
6. Turn on coffee maker.
7. Pee.
8. Actually pour coffee.
9. Check Notary Rotary.
10. Decide which JPol poster to piss off today.
11. Finish coffee.
12. Pee.
13. Take Lucy the Chihuahua out to pee
14. Try to remember if I did the same.
15. Call Lucy in for nap. Lay down.
16. Get up to pee.
17. Lay down.
18. Nap long enough to have to go to the bathroom again.
19. Check sink for dirty dishes to see if I've had breakfast.
20. Can't tell if dirty dishes from yesterday's breakfast, so have a bowl of cereal.
21. Go back to bed to rest up for afternoon nap.

As so it goes. I hope this helps. Sorry I don't have time to finish it. Maybe after my nap.

Reply by CJ on 6/2/12 11:17pm
Msg #422497

Re: Retired signing agent daily schedule

That certainly sounds like a man's schedule.

When I sign a single woman, her house is usually very tidy and nicely decorated.

When I sign a single man, it's just the opposite.

Reply by Buddy Young on 6/2/12 10:23pm
Msg #422495

Re: Am I supposed to do housework???? n/m

Reply by CJ on 6/2/12 11:30pm
Msg #422498

What I do.

My kids are grown and gone, so that helps. But when they were here, I spent all my non-signing time stocking the fridge.

Basically, I let the housework go until the EOM is over. Then I vacuum, clean bathrooms or whatever. I also do my filing at that time. I do a load of laundry in the morning when we run out of clothes. I wash a load of jeans, and then drape them on the porch to dry in the sun. (It's less work: no need to keep checking the dryer). I wash the t-shirts the next day and hang them on the shower rack. No need to babysit them in the dryer either. I dry socks and underwear in the dryer, but it's okay if they wait and get wrinked. I spend about 1 day entering all my work orders into quicken, then next day matching up the check stubst that came in, and the third day calling everyone who forgot to pay me.

I am lucky that my husband is a foodie. He does a lot of shopping and cooking. I shop at smart & final and buy in bulk. We don't have creative meals. I buy a huge hunk of meat on sale, someone cooks it, and then we snack on it for lunch and dinner until it's gone. If we have to eat a roast 4 days in a row - oh well.

We don't have a dishwasher, so I tell everyone to rinse their dish and set it in the other side of the sink. I wash them in the morning. They are rinsed, so it goes quickly. If I have a swamped morning, oh well.

I do crock pot meat a lot too: throw the meat in with some kind of liquid and my husband can figure out if he wants to fancy it up (burritos or whatever) when he gets home. I always make sure we have tortillas, cheese and salsa in the fridge: they can turn any leftovers into a burrito while I am out signing. Everyone likes burritos. I always have fruit on hand too.

We don't have any animals or houseplants: they are just more chores.

Reply by ToniK on 6/3/12 8:56am
Msg #422506

Well for me....

I have 4 children ranging in age from 5-15 yrs old and I put them to work to make sure my home is in pristine condition at all times. I run a tight ship! lol

Reply by jba/fl on 6/3/12 9:05am
Msg #422507

I know what you mean ToniK - I miss my kid power! n/m

Reply by kathy/ca on 6/3/12 10:22am
Msg #422511

Back when we were really busy every day, the phone started

to ring every weekday morning at 8:00. I would make sure to be up and be fresh by then every day, to answer it. Things would start happening early and throughout the day, so when there was "free" time, I would take care of household chores. Other than that, things got done around the house on the weekends if I was not out of town or had other fun plans.

You have to learn to multi task, not be so particular about everything being perfect or take a day to get caught up when you feel like catching up is more important than working. Nothing wrong with taking a day off when we want to, remember we are self employed!

Reply by BrendaTx on 6/3/12 12:34pm
Msg #422518

Kids some in two speeds -

Messing up or Cleaning up. There is nothing static about them.

Reply by Jessica Ward on 6/3/12 12:34pm
Msg #422520

Love that! :) So true!! n/m

Reply by Jessica Ward on 6/3/12 12:28pm
Msg #422517

I have two small businesses (mobile notary service, and a writing/editing business). I also have two special needs kids that I teach at home (ages 6 and 13). I also actively volunteer with my church and help several elderly neighbors.

My husband works a regular job, but at nighttime, so he's home during the day sleeping.

My process is this:

Get up by 7:30, fix kids breakfast (it's oatmeal or eggs nearly every day).

Prep dinner and have it in the fridge ready to go at dinner time, meanwhile kids have started on their coursework, and I'm typically taking scheduling calls by 8:00-8:30.

My husband and I alternate gym days, so if it's his resting day, he takes over for the kids, and I hit the gym, otherwise I teach and schedule while he goes to the gym before he goes to sleep.

I run a load of wash on Wednesdays but otherwise most of the household cleaning gets done as the day goes along, deep cleaning gets done on Sundays/Mondays. (Mondays are typically slow days for me, and my husband has Sunday/Monday weekends so we tackle the house/yard/and errands like doctors/dentists/etc, we have more than the usual number of doctors appointments because of the kids' needs.

I will often have one loan to close in the mornings, and then in the afternoons/evenings anywhere from 3-7, but I try to limit myself to no more than six loan closings in a day.

I keep on paperwork and busy work (invoicing, A/R, mail) throughout the day (see msg: Msg #419727)

If I'm home at 5:00 I make dinner, and pack a lunch for my husband as he goes to work around 6, if I'm not home, either my daughter or the babysitter cooks and packs him a lunch.

When I get home each evening (anywhere from 6:00-11:30) the babysitter goes home, and I check the kids' schoolwork, and complete status reports/filing for the day. I try to get to sleep by midnight each night. Depending on how busy the day is, we may or may not use a babysitter. We have one about five to six days a month, because most days I'm home at a reasonable time and our oldest is old enough to be home alone for a little while. During the day, my husband is home, so they're not alone.

I typically don't work on Sundays/Mondays except for writing projects sometimes if notary work has been especially busy (EOM for instance). Rob and I tackle the house, work with the kids on any school subjects they're struggling with, Rob grocery shops and meal plans for the week, I pay bills and do the budget, and we usually get the whole crew to church, as well as fun family activities like a bike ride or the zoo or something.

On days when there's little or no notary work, I either work on my writing more--pitching more new clients or working out ahead of deadlines, or it becomes "field trip day" with the kids and we go do something fun/educational.

RE: Printing/driving, etc, I just recently changed how I'm doing this. I'm still not set up for mobile printing, though if the weather is bad, I do take a printer with me. I live in a really central place, so frequent trips back to the home office for documents are no big deal at all--chances are, I'd be coming back anyhow. I also live 2 minutes from the Fedex World Ship Center with the latest drop off time next to the airport (the airport is 12 minutes away).

When I get docs and I'm on the road, rather than coming home and standing around waiting for them to print, I use my Samsung Galaxy Tablet with an application called "LogMeIn" which allows me to remotely control my office computer. I open the docs and start them printing so they're printed and ready when I get there.

Reply by Yowheelz on 6/3/12 12:36pm
Msg #422521

Get up early

First walk 5 miles, its the time I take for myself and keeps me energized, then breakfast and chores, shopping between closings. Weekends make big meals that can be heated on busy days. Don't let thing pile up and if you have a husband or kids make them help, you don't have to do it all yourself.

Reply by chucke/fl on 6/3/12 4:19pm
Msg #422525

Re: Get up early

Thanks for more advice. I see I need to get a husband and 2.5 children :-)

Reply by Linda_H/FL on 6/3/12 4:23pm
Msg #422526

ROFL Chucke...good one!! n/m

Reply by MW/VA on 6/4/12 2:06pm
Msg #422546

This is a good topic, and timely for me. I saw a quote the

other day that said, "You can do anything, but you can't do everything". I'm a single person and since I got into this biz, spend a lot of time at the computer or on the road, etc., priorities have shifted. I'm not getting a lot of other things done. I now use my Sunday's for general household catch-up. No, I'm not going to get up at the crack of dawn to do those things. LOL :-)