Structure is your friend (not fiend)

I had a “brainstorming playdate” with a fellow mom who had recently left her full-time job. She mentioned how much more productive she was when she was working in an office. I had to agree. Though I mainly work from my studio, sometimes I work onsite at a client’s office and those can be my most productive days: I manage to work an 8-hour day, plus visit the post office, bank, and Target Why is that? Structure. The strict structure of the day, with a specified start, end and lunch time makes it easier to get things done Admittedly, I’m not much for structure. My days tend to be pretty fluid—which I think is quite common for us creative folks. But being a working mom, structure is a necessity: I have a specific number of hours to get my work done before I pickup my son from daycare. The main way I’ve added structure to my day is in my marketing: I’ve assigned a specific marketing task to each day, rather than doing it when inspiration strikes. I must admit it’s been a difficult transition, but I feel more productive at the end of the day. So, maybe structure isn’t so bad after all. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a toddler to pickup for his soccer class…  

How do you structure your day—or not?