I love my children. It is a joy to be with them (usually). However, the reality is they can bring a project to a screeching halt with no warning. My two year old can do it with two words; "Potty bad!". I take her potty, on the way back, I check the source of some very loud noises coming from my other children, clean up some blood.....Before I can get back to my project, an hour has elapsed! "Why has your wife not helped?" you may ask. The kids always time it precisely to coincide with the feeding of the baby.
At the end of a day of work, almost nothing is done. This is how things were at the beginning of Snail's Pace Challenge. It quickly became apparent that something would need to change if there would be any chance of success. The change, I realized, was that I needed to get the children involved and eager. To do this, I made a "Master Checklist" with 118 tasks. Every tenth check, the children get to choose something special to do. The child who helps the most gets to have the most say in the decision. If we finish the entire list before September 14, the on year mark, we will go on a family vacation and the children can choose the destination. The last trick up my sleeve is the Public Humiliation Challenge. This is an incentive to keep me going and also to keep it fun for the children.
Since starting Snail's Pace Challenge, I have found that the more I keep the children involved, the less they sabotage the effort. Also, having children present while I work, teaches valuable skills and a good work ethic. My nine year old son summed it up recently; "Dad, I have really learned to like working".
At the end of a day of work, almost nothing is done. This is how things were at the beginning of Snail's Pace Challenge. It quickly became apparent that something would need to change if there would be any chance of success. The change, I realized, was that I needed to get the children involved and eager. To do this, I made a "Master Checklist" with 118 tasks. Every tenth check, the children get to choose something special to do. The child who helps the most gets to have the most say in the decision. If we finish the entire list before September 14, the on year mark, we will go on a family vacation and the children can choose the destination. The last trick up my sleeve is the Public Humiliation Challenge. This is an incentive to keep me going and also to keep it fun for the children.
Since starting Snail's Pace Challenge, I have found that the more I keep the children involved, the less they sabotage the effort. Also, having children present while I work, teaches valuable skills and a good work ethic. My nine year old son summed it up recently; "Dad, I have really learned to like working".