Two more evenings off per week

Today I have decided to make some changes with regard to my work week and work time/free time devision. Among other things, I will have two more evenings off per week (Wednesday and Sunday, in addition to Saturday). The aim is to attain a better balance between work and family time (including more housework), now that my wife is pregnant with twins. I should also be offline in my free time (afternoons).

Current work routines - organization of work week in-between child care

There's been some back and forth with the organization of my work week as I have entered the second period of my parental leave. Changes include that 

• now and until March 15th, at least, I will not routinely work during the daytime at all when my son is at home. Except for during naps and days in which he is in kindergarten (without me accompanying him) during daytime, I am routinely only working after hours, after his bedtime. 
• But one day a week plus a further evening is relationship time (date with my wife).
• Thirdly, after a couple of evenings where I tried to put my son to sleep but he only cried himself to sleep (given the sudden absence of his ever-present mother) the first time and didn't sleep at all the second, I now take part in putting him to sleep EVERY evening yet for now leave the finish to my wife. As soon as he's truly calming down with me, I'll start putting him to sleep alone at times. With regard to work this implies that I get ca. 3 1/2 rather than 4 hours work time each working evening.
• In consequence of pt. 1 I do not plan for a full hour of email and incidental tasks in daytime plus a further full hour in the evening, but only 1 full hour whenever I am working. This occasionally puts pressure on my overall flexibility and ability to go through with all scheduled tasks.

See also:

Graded parental leave, part 2

Work and family life - a few new work routines

Working time, autumn 2013 - spread over 3 counties, daytime and evenings

This Spring I had a high percentage of parental leave combined with a 20% contract at University of Stavanger - though I worked long weeks even so, in combination with family life. The puzzle game is perhaps even more complex this autumn. My soon 1 year old son has started in kindergarten 3 days a week in Arendal, where my wife now teaches portuguese. Every second Thursday, when my wife is not working, I am taking him to kindergarten. I teach in Stavanger every Monday (first 9 weeks of the semester) and some Wednesdays (5), and also stay there every Tuesday.

Today I looked over my work weeks this autumn, and arranged tasks. The regular routine when I'm working from home, in Kristiansand, will be that I work 12-15 and then again 19-23. This results in a full work day, and maximises the time to be spent with my son (and wife). Every second Thursday I'll have the evening off, and every second Saturday my father is babysitting our son while my wife and I have a day to spend together. Sundays are workdays, given that I'm commuting between Kristiansand and Stavanger and teach Monday morning.

Remaining parental leave; plans for spending time with my son

I have applied for taking what remains of my parental leave, after the birth of my son Matias Laurits October 10th 2012, January 1st - March 15th 2014, with 75% graded leave and 25% work for University of Stavanger. This amounts to 39 full days of parental leave.

Furthermore, my wife and I are making plans for the care for our son this next academic year. I want to have some time with him some weekdays at daytime as well, and will therefore alternately work on daytime and in the evening. The same goes for next Spring, both during my remaining parental leave and after. We are hoping to get a kindergarten to have him in its care for three days a week.

See also:

Another round with Norwegian bureaucracy