Working from Home with Kids
Our typical routines have been turned upside down. Families started spending much more time together at home. It means working parents suddenly got two full-time jobs. This situation cannot be either smooth or perfect. We’ve prepared some strategies for you from successful remote workers who managed to balance their career working from home with kids.
Go Easy on Yourself Working from Home
Working from home is not just your choice anymore. It has become a must nowadays. The circumstances we’ve all been forced into is far beyond the ordinary. Nobody knows how to deal with it, and there’s no magic recipe waiting for you. Therefore, go easy on yourself and make this situation as tenable as possible. The first step is to set realistic expectations. Forget about your perfectionism and accept that more screen time for your kids is inevitable. In fact, you’re performing two full-time jobs right now. So cut your usual to-do list and reset your reality.
Separate Parental and Business Roles
You need to learn how to keep your roles separate from each other. Working from home home with kids makes you forget about around-the-clock attention. In order to get the best results in anything, full concentration is a must. Holding a meeting, interviewing candidates or playing with your child. You cannot feel like you’re doing either well, unless you concentrate on it. Of course interruptions are inevitable, but setting such a simple rule will help to hold it under control.
Setting a routine Working from Home
Your next task is to figure out when you will be most available to each of the roles. Infants, toddlers or teenagers require different levels of attention. Different age groups come with their own challenges. That’s why you should set a routine. What hours will be optimal either for doing your job or for playing with your children. It’s recommended to set a maximum of five goals for the day. They are two things which really need to be accomplished at work, another two things done by your kids, and one more for a family activity.
Reward good behaviour
You also should acknowledge and reward good behaviour of your children. Let them know when you’re busy and can’t be interrupted by giving some visual cues. It can be a stop sign on the laptop or a poster on the wall. It can be some special piece of clothes which you can take on. In any case, give your kids the chance to decorate or make this homemade stop sign. Not only this is one more craft activity to keep them busy, but it will help respect the no interruption rule. And what is the most essential here, children need to know that if they follow such instructions, they will get a reward for that.