This is the second part in our 3 part series on how Fission parents handle work and life. Check out part 1 & 3! 

How have your work habits changed after having a child? What do you do for work-life balance?

Roz: I have a hard-stop at 5 to pick up my son from daycare. I often work from 8-11 after he goes to bed. Babies enforce a “balance” of sorts in that they literally require your presence.

Cindy: My work habits changed significantly. At previous jobs, I was known to be there for breakfast, lunch, and they would provide dinner. I would be the last to leave the lab at 10 or 11 at night. In one job, I (and others) would sleep on the couches at work so we would not waste time commuting essentially to our bed and back. Now, I like to think that I strive for work/life fulfillment. I do spend more time working than not, so it isn't particularly balanced by time. Instead, I try to be fully immersed in work when working, and likewise, fully immersed in family/other activities when possible. Now that my kids are older, I can spend less hours with them, but, be more focused during the time we spend together. I let other things go, like social commitments, or obligations that I do not find fulfilling, even if they are expected of me.

Lori: My answer is pretty similar to Roz’s. It’s pretty frustrating as a programmer because sometimes I find myself needing to stop just when I was making progress, or in a groove, or in the middle of debugging a tricky issue. I used to be able to leave in the evening when a natural stopping point presented itself, now I have to be much more disciplined. That took some getting used to. If you’re a writer you can relate about really getting into something and then having to stop. You have to exercise willpower. As a programmer, I’m in the zone when I’m really into it. I have to get up and walk away when interrupted by a child. “Ok, it’s 5, I have to put it down now!” I often come back to it later in the evening after the kids are in bed when I can be more focused than I can always be while at the co-work space. It’s easier than starting back up the next morning because I remember where I was.

How does your work as a tech expert help you also raise your children well? 

Roz: In the future, I hope we’re able to pass on to our child the sense that the world is his to create. That’s what I get from technology: the ability to create things, physical and web-based, that didn’t previously exist. Or to contribute to the ‘code base’ (literal and metaphorical) that generates our day-to-day experiences.

Cindy: I hope that both my daughter and my son continue to pick up my love of engineering/technology and approach life with the idea that 'I can design that, or improve it, or fix it'. I also hope to encourage them to apply this to making the world a better place for everyone, by participating in something like Engineers Without Borders for example.

Lori: My Dad taught me that a career in tech could be endlessly challenging, interesting, and fun. He never tired of the creativity involved in problem solving; and indeed he hasn’t even now that he’s retired. I hope to pass that same enthusiasm along to my kids. Whether or not they choose tech, they can choose something that inspires them.

Max: For me it’s amazing because I can see my daughter all day almost every day. If I’m not with her playing while she’s there, I can at least see her. It’s great. The other great thing is I don’t have to spend time traveling to the office. That is time that I can spend with her. The downside is that it’s hard to explain that I’m here but busy. It’s a tricky thing to explain to her. But I guess she understands. She never comes when she knows that I’m working and cannot play. Sometimes she comes here and shows me a picture or drawing that she did for a few seconds, then she tells me “I need to work Daddy.” I’m so proud of my daughter. Those things make me super proud. Those are the highs and lows of being a parent that works from home on the computer. It’s helped me with the time I can spend with my daughter. My job is a little analytic so I have do very specific things working with APIs, which makes you think in ways that you can apply to life. We’re methodical and focus on a goal. We reuse things that work well with code and identify what she likes more, what makes her happy.