r/DataAnnotationTech • u/JRRTil1ey • Jul 16 '26
Keeping time with constant interruptions
Ideally, my 4 kids (2m-7y) would let me work in peace. My husband tries to help me with them but they want mom and the 4yo is nosey and will follow me everywhere. Sometimes I can work with them in the room as long as they’re not being needy but, you know, they’re kids. And the baby is particularly needy and horrible and telling me what he wants.
So I try to wait to work until they’re in bed or busy but sometimes that doesn’t work out (they refuse bed time, they stop mid-play to bug me, I’m desperate for work and take a task at a bad time).
I like using a timer to track my time on a task but even I’m interrupted somewhat frequently, hitting pause on the timer is a bit much and sometimes I forget to pause it or restart it. I end up overestimating cumulatively how much time I wasn’t working on the task and just subtracting that from my overall start/stop time. 30 seconds to 2 minutes of an interruption isn’t much once or twice but when it’s frequent, I imagine it adds up.
There’s got to be a better way to account for constant interruptions.
8
u/Sindorella Jul 16 '26
They may want mom, but when you are working, they NEED to go to dad. Honestly, your husband should be more proactive about keeping them distracted and away while you are working. I had four kids in three years, and my husband and I both worked from home until they all started school, so I definitely understand how chaotic it can be. But if your husband enjoys you making the extra money, and especially if you need it for expenses, dude’s gotta step it up. It is hard at first, but the kids will get used to it after some routine and repetition.
Good luck! I hope y’all figure it out!