Parents: New to Working From Home with Kids? Apply these to run a smooth operation
Working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic has its own unique challenges – setting up a home office, staying in touch with my colleagues and manager, as well as staying focused in a less-structured environment. But throw children into the mix and the situation becomes even more challenging and to put it nicely, more interesting. We look back in 2017 when Professor Robert Kelly became an internet sensation while on his BBC News interview from home was crashed by his young children, causing the video to go viral.
My situation is no different, I have a 15-month-old son named Thomas. I love him and he’s unquestionably changed my life for the better, but he’s added a new dimension to an already complex situation. While I get to spend more time with him, my wife and I have found that we need to proactively make this work – literally.
Over the past 90 days, I’ve been working from home, I’ve learned through a bit of trial and error that it is possible to be productive while working at home with a child and even maintain that amazing work-life balance that comes with it. Here are 10 tips for those of you working at home with little ones.
Establish routines and stick to them
Whether it’s feeding the child every morning while your spouse sleeps or if it’s cooking dinner on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, establishing regular routines will provide you with a solid guidepost for building your work and child’s schedules – and will help maintain your sanity.
Plan the week
Speaking of schedules, plan the week in advance. What’s coming up for work? What video meetings are planned and when? What are the kids’ schedules? What will you have for each meal and who’s cooking them? Who will do chores and when?
Hold virtual playdates
When the quarantine came into effect, my wife and I were a little worried about how this would affect Thomas socially because he is not around other children. Instead, my wife participates in virtual playdates, which allow him to see and interact with other toddlers. Make the best of the situation and use the technology available to us.
Get the family moving
Thomas is just learning to walk but we try to get him outside and on the grass as much as possible. Not only does physical activity result in better sleep but we notice that he – and we – are much happier and productive when we get regular exercise and fresh air.
Set a tone of understanding and empathy
Even though he’s pretty unaware of the global situation, if Thomas was older, I would communicate as much as possible the circumstances and the importance of social distancing. I imagine that this new scenario can be uncomfortable and confusing to older kids, so I think that trying to understand and empathize with what they’re going through is really important.
Work as a team with your spouse
This might be obvious but I’ve found it’s been vital to work as a team with my wife. Even if you’re living in different households and are co-parenting, working with the other parent is crucial to ensuring that your work gets done and your child gets taken care of. During this crazy time, it is also easy to forget to say thank you. Proactively show your appreciation and acknowledge your partner’s good work.
Create a healthy workspace
As I mentioned in my intro, it’s important to set up a healthy, separate space while working from home with kids. This helps keep work and family separate, allowing you to focus on what needs to get done., This is particularly important for video meetings and work calls. Choose a space where you are comfortable and relatively distraction-free.
Involve your kids
Having said that, it is also important to let them into your workspace from time to time. A colleague of mine says he involves his 4-year-old by setting him up with a desk and headset, but makes it clear when he needs to focus and work alone – it saves him from spending the valuable energy on attempting to keep him out all day. When appropriate, I’ll let Thomas come sit on my lap while working at my computer and see what I’m working on.
Have realistic expectations
While these circumstances are what is needed, for now, there’s no benefit to pretending things are normal. With your family and coworkers, be transparent about what you’re capable of in this new, professional environment. I have found that being open with my wife and coworkers has lessened my anxiety and helped to manage both my professional and personal expectations.
Enjoy this time with your kids
Yes, the world is a bit scary right now. Yes, things that we normally take for granted are kind of up in the air. But we need to try to make the best of this strange situation as much as we can. A silver lining in this new work situation is that I get to spend a lot more time with Thomas and my wife than I did when going to the office every day. Enjoy this time with your family and you will not only be happier, but more productive as well.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Gen Handley is a Marketing and Growth Coordinator for Scatterling and is currently working from home with his wife and one-year-old son. Gen has more than 10 years of marketing and freelance writing experience.