With so many people working from home with kids right now who before coronavirus would otherwise be working outside of the home, it can be a major adjustment. Especially since kids are not in childcare so having a distraction free zone, is next to impossible. I wanted to share some tips to hopefully help make the transition easier and more productive. Not everyone has the luxury of being able to implement all these tips but I hope that this post will be able to help all working parents even just a little bit!
Tips for Working From Home With Kids
1. Have a designated work space. If you don’t have a home office then set up an area in the living room as your work space. Make sure it is free and clear from your kids toys. Our home is super tiny and while I do have a designated home office which is detached from our home, with our son home all the time, I can’t just leave him in the house while I go outside and work at my desk, so I have been setting up shop on our dining table to try and get some work done when Justin is not home to help.
2. Take turns. If you and your spouse are both working from home, try and set up office hours for each of you that rotates. I know that’s not always possible but if you can take turns it will allow for distraction free work time as opposed to working with your kids nearby.
3. Take advantage of nap time. If your kids still take naps, nap time is going to be your most productive time of the day. Plan ahead so that you can make the absolute most of that time and be as productive as possible. I make a list of my top priorities to get done so that as soon as I get that break, I’m ready to turn on work mode.
4. Set expectations. With young kids it can be hard to set expectations that they can follow so be realistic. If you know you need to be on a 30 minute distraction free call set your child up with something they enjoy doing that doesn’t require your assistance and move to an area of the house that you can close the door. The other day, I used our bedroom as my office for a call I had. I was able to focus on my call but could still hear him in case he really needed me.
5. Have a flexible work schedule. If your company will allow you to have a more flexible work schedule then plan your workday to start early in the morning before your kids wake up to get a few early hours of work in and then use lunch/naptime as your second part of your workday and then again after dinner. For the blog when Mason was not in preschool yet, I would work when he slept and also spent evenings working after he went to bed.
6. Have quiet hours. If your kids are older and have a lot of school lessons they are trying to get done each weekday too then set up their school area and have quite hours when everything is shut off except what is needed to get their homework done. Understand that they may need to interrupt you if they have questions but at least this way you are all working at the same time and the TV isn’t on to distract you.
7. Wear earbuds or headphones. If you need to have the TV on or a program running where there’s sound for your children’s virtual education then I suggest wearing earbuds or headphones so that you can focus on your work and be less distracted by what’s going on around you.
I hope these tips are helpful for you to help making working from home with your kids while simultaneously homeschooling a little easier. And if you start to feel overwhelmed, remember to take a deep breath and step away for a minute if you need to. YOUR mental health is SO important, especially during this trying time.
Also, if you are looking for resources to help you with homeschooling your kids, I recently wrote a post with the top resources recommended to me by Mason’s speech therapist! And, if you’re struggling with being quarantined thanks to COVID-19 I have a post with tips on how to prepare for being quarantined. While most of us are already a month and a half into shelter in place, you might still be wondering if there’s anything you might be forgetting that you should get in case of an emergency.
As always, thank you so much for stopping by the blog today!
