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got time for the family?

Philarct

hey guys, as architects do you have
time for your families? and if you
dont have a family, do you have time
to have some fun?

 
Mar 15, 07 10:54 am
JMBarquero/squirrelly

no fam (other that moms and bro and sis)

and make time for personal fun/pleasures/hobbies

why?? u soulsearching?????

Mar 15, 07 10:55 am  · 
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i eat dinner with my wife and two daughters almsot every night and i give my oldest a bath at least every other night. i try to not work weekends if i can help it (and i'm getting pretty good at it). you just have to decide you're going to do it.

Mar 15, 07 11:00 am  · 
 · 
joshuacarrell

I am always a little reluctant to divulge this, but I am married with 4 kids. I have dinner and breakfast with them every day, regularly go out on the town with the wife (once or twice a month) and spend all weekend with them. I have gotten very good at managing my time and not letting others lack of time management screw with my schedule. I refuse to sacrifice my youth to a profession that won't let me retire.
j

Mar 15, 07 11:18 am  · 
 · 
vado retro

i'd have plenty of time for my family. if i had a family that is...

Mar 15, 07 11:47 am  · 
 · 
Philarct

to squirrely
no im not soulsearching
i was just wondering cause more than
anything i want to be an architect,
but i also want a family when i get
older, just checking to see if they both
agree

Mar 15, 07 11:57 am  · 
 · 
jjh

do you want to be a star? if you do i would make sure to sign a prenuptial prior to the wedding. if you are in school, have you been able to balance relationships? i was never able to (i fell in lover with an artist that i thought could work but seven years later and in the middle of my thesis she left - still paying off that damn ring). so i have accepted that i might roam this planet alone and to be honest i am happy with my decision. ask me the question again in ten years.

Mar 15, 07 12:44 pm  · 
 · 
Chili Davis

I'm a senior undergrad architorture major. My fiancee graduated a year ago (art major) and now is in charge or merchandising at a large gallery. We both work full time and I take classes most nights. When I get home, she is usually in bed and there is dinner inthe refrigerator waiting to be microwaved. On the nights I don't have class, I get home first and make dinner for the two of us. We usually walk our 2 dogs after that and spend an hour or two relaxing. On the weekends, we usually make an effort to see our friends and families. I usually spend the afternoons in the studio at school working on projects, but we still make time to go out and have fun. It's all a question of your priorities, and I'm proud to say that architecture is not number one.

Mar 15, 07 12:56 pm  · 
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vado retro

chili that sounds so romantic...

Mar 15, 07 1:05 pm  · 
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tidalwave1

what family? what time???

Mar 15, 07 1:12 pm  · 
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tidalwave1

r u talking about work/life balance? i always hear people promoting that although i've never seen it...

Mar 15, 07 1:13 pm  · 
 · 
liberty bell

I've been meaning to post on this - I've been thinking about what my response would be - but keep forgetting. Because I'm too scatterbrained what with all the work/family balancing aka juggling I'm doing.

Did I mention on another thread that my husband and I have been to TWO movies out in the last year? The year before that I think it was one. Anyway.

Work/life balance only works with a family if you basically take your personal needs out of the equation. Archinect is my "me" time. That's about it.

Between 5pm and my son's bedtime (between 9:30 and 10:30 each night) family time rules: no phone calls, no meetings (except the occasional thing like a Zoning Board hearing at which I'm presenting). I have dinner with my family essentially every night and that will never change, no matter how old Angus gets to be, that's how I grew up and in retrospect can see how important it was. My husband and I switch off doing bathtime/bed for the boy every night. We spend almost every weekend together.

But: I also feel strongly that it's not quantity but quality time. I could realistically work from home and have Angus with me, but I'd be ignoring him to do work and that would be a terrible upbringing. As it is now, when I'm with him, I'm really there. And you make use of what little time you get: I've found great time to spend with him while we commute. When I walked him a mile in his stroller to daycare every day, I would interact with him. One of his first words was "fire hydrant" because I would talk about all the things we saw on the street while we walked past them. Now we drive to school, and I taught him the concept of addition by counting the number of school buses we see. It's about making the time you have with your family good time together. Of course it's possible.

When I think about my pre-child days, good lord, I had so much free time! Even working 52 hour weeks, I had so freakin' much free time!

But you manage. You will too Philarct. Arch school teaches you to be intense and passionate, about work AND family.



Mar 19, 07 3:41 pm  · 
 · 
freq_arch

I love that name, LB: Angus!
Makes me think of that guy in the Guiness Beer ads some years ago (rugby player, always looked really messed up). I know that guy, know, by the way. Adds nothing to this thread, but that's my prerogative.

Anyway, I have two kids (5&8) and a wife. Both grown-ups work full time, and I've got the more flexible schedule (she's on 12 hour shifts in healthcare), so I deal with hiccups when they come up. When she works, I'm with the kids for breakfast and dinner and evenings. When she doesn't work, I'm still (nearly) always there for dinner & the evening. Occasionally, we have lunch together.
I think the days when younger architects worked like dogs to get ahead are gone. I think other things are more important, and so does my firm (at least I think they do, since they haven't turfed me yet).


Mar 19, 07 4:16 pm  · 
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whistler

98% of time I'm there at breakfest and dinner with the family and don't work wekends unless I have a client in from out of town. Important to see them get up and go to bedd to and I think they recognize and feel comforted that both parents are indeed in the house before they go to sleep at night. My kids are 7,9,&12 and are pretty used to seeing me on the weekends too except now they are starting to have many ativities that take them away form my wife and I ....... gee maybe my wife and I can get some time together.

Mar 19, 07 5:08 pm  · 
 · 
cmu268

life is one big game of trying to balance all this stuff

Mar 19, 07 5:31 pm  · 
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apparently I'm not trying

I'm not married albeit I've been engaged twice...no kids either

I unfortunately don't even have time for a dog, nor my health really. Phil make the time or you'll regret it. Be open with the person that's in your life because its rough - I left grad school about 7 years ago and find I am in that crucial point....carving my own spot and I spend all my time on it, nothing else. Its sad really.

And don't get me wrong i don't my fiances back....

Mar 19, 07 7:36 pm  · 
 · 
dia

I have a partner, two children and two cats.

My partner is a full-time stay at home Mummy. I work each week day from 8.30pm to 5.30pm. At home on week nights, I spend up to when my boys go to sleep [about 7.30-8.30pm] with them. I usually the spend another 1.5 to 2 hours at night working after my partner goes to bed.

On weekends, I keep one day completely work free, and then usually work one afternoon. If I have more work, obviously I need to work more.

We try and get away for a weekend every 2 months or so. It is a great help that my partner can stay at home and look after the lads. We are in a very fortunate position that we can do that.

At the moment I have time for my work and my family, but not alot for more personal endeavours. The last film I can remember seeing was probably a year ago. However, over my xmas holidays I had all the opportunities to go to the movies, but didnt bother.

I would like to better compartmentalize my life so that I can pursue other activites. I will try and get that balance better sorted out shortly.

The cats dont give a rats arse if I spend any time with them, and neither do I.

Mar 19, 07 8:04 pm  · 
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FOG Lite

I ain't got time to breed...

Mar 19, 07 10:05 pm  · 
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LB is still my alltime hero. her and rem koolhaas. can't get better.

my "me" time, LB, is about 3am; wine glass in hand, half empty bottle on the table and not a sound in the flat and the only light is that cool mist you get from the city reflecting back from the clouds...lately only bout once a month that anything remotely similar happens but it is def the nicest part of the day...

it is impressive that so many of you are able to manage your time so well. LB'S version is my goal, but i find that i do work at home, far too often really, and do end up turning the kids away when i shouldn't. But if i stayed at the office i would literally only see them at breakfast time. my day usually is much much longer than 9 to 5.

on other hand cuz i am the boss i get to take days off whenever i want. we are going to Disney Sea (where they serve alcohol, thank you very much) next week, and my partner will take up the slack. would have been impossible at old job (holidays are not really allowed nor forgiven in japanese culture).

Mar 20, 07 2:12 am  · 
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