{"id":9176,"date":"2020-04-10T10:34:58","date_gmt":"2020-04-10T17:34:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.springboard.com\/?p=9176"},"modified":"2023-08-29T10:27:52","modified_gmt":"2023-08-29T17:27:52","slug":"working-from-home-with-kids-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.springboard.com\/blog\/career-advice\/working-from-home-with-kids-tips\/","title":{"rendered":"Tips for Effectively Working From Home With Kids"},"content":{"rendered":"

So, you\u2019ve found yourself working from home with kids during the coronavirus lockdown. Odds are, it\u2019s an entirely new adventure for you and your family, and as the days have gone by, you may have found it challenging to maintain a work-life balance. The reality is, just because you\u2019ve come inside doesn\u2019t mean you\u2019ve left the distractions at the front door: more often than not, our lives inside the walls of our home require just as much\u2014if not more\u2014attention as the world outside.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Navigating around the routine of working from home full time doesn\u2019t just happen overnight, especially if you\u2019re simultaneously caring for your children. Finding a structure to your day that keeps you energized, focused, and productive is a challenging undertaking.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here are seven tips to make your adjustment to working from home with children a little bit easier.<\/span><\/p>\n

1. Set a schedule and stick to it.<\/b><\/h4>\n

Don\u2019t take your time with your morning cup of coffee for granted: when you\u2019re just starting your day, it\u2019s a great opportunity to think ahead and sketch out an hourly breakdown of all the things you want to accomplish.\u00a0<\/span>Try to plan out activities that correspond with blocks of time that you\u2019ll need to complete smaller projects. For example, coordinate coloring time with a shorter project, and give your kids some screen time during a period when you have some back-to-back calls.<\/span><\/p>\n

2. Designate \u201cparent\u201d time and \u201cwork\u201d time.\u00a0<\/b><\/h4>\n

The more tasks you have, the more difficult it can feel to get them fully completed from start to finish. So, don\u2019t tackle them simultaneously. Instead, try to keep them separate. If you\u2019re dedicating time to help your kid with homework or an art project, try to schedule that time during a period right after you\u2019ve finished a task for work. That way, you can take advantage of some working downtime where something you\u2019ve worked on is either being reviewed or you\u2019re waiting on somebody else to complete an assigned action item so you can focus on quality time with your child.<\/span><\/p>\n

3. Get outside!<\/b><\/h4>\n

The last thing you want to battle when working from home is a case of cabin fever. Optimize your lunch break for a walk around the neighborhood with the dog, or even spend some time doing yoga or meditating together in your backyard. When following current safety advice, <\/span>Wirecutter recommends getting creative:<\/span><\/a> \u201cT<\/span>ake the kids out for a bike or scooter ride away from other people; if you have a yard or deck, consider a hula-hoop or jump-rope session.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Mother<\/p>\n

4. Make sure to take breaks to refuel and reset.<\/strong><\/h4>\n

To accommodate the shift in your schedules, consider rethinking what your \u201con-time\u201d vs. \u201coff-time\u201d looks like. Instead of working in two-to-three-hour intervals with longer breaks, consider taking shorter hour-long focus sprints followed by 10 or 15-minute \u201cenergizers\u201d with your kids to play some music and get some pent-up energy out together.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

5. Account for interruptions\u2014and have a plan for when they happen.<\/b><\/h4>\n

Our kids demand our attention: so interruptions, unfortunately, are an inevitable part of adjusting to working from home with our children. Consider a non-verbal \u201cDo Not Disturb\u201d tactic: maybe you can put a big sign on your office door when you\u2019ve got a series of calls lined up. Or, if you\u2019re working out of a shared space, try putting on a hat or a colored sweatshirt that signifies you\u2019re busy. If you find yourself wrapped up in mitigating a burst of their energy or calls for attention and you\u2019ve got someone on the other line, don\u2019t try to push through. Instead, end the call, and reschedule for after your child has calmed down.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

6. Don\u2019t be afraid to seek outside help when you need it.<\/b><\/h4>\n

As much as every single one of us hopes to be a superhuman, balancing children with working or learning online full-time can be extremely difficult to tackle by yourself. Whether your partner is also working full-time or you\u2019re a single parent, it can be a good idea to offer your child activities that require a \u201cthird party\u201d such as an instructor. There are many options for online classes for kids, or, you can offer to do a service swap with a close friend via video chat. As an example, she can teach a piano class via FaceTime in exchange for a home-cooked meal or dessert of her choice.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

7. Set your boundaries\u2014for yourself and your work.<\/b><\/h4>\n

Shifting from an in-office role to working from home full-time is challenging in and of itself, so make sure you account for the learning curve that comes to follow. You\u2019ll likely have to adjust to a new measure of productivity as you take on more responsibilities in an adjusted setting. Make sure that during these times,\u00a0 you remain kind to yourself and while holding yourself accountable, also give yourself\u2014and others in your\u2014a little bit of breathing room to adjust to the new normal.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ready to learn more?
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So, you\u2019ve found yourself working from home with kids during the coronavirus lockdown. Odds are, it\u2019s an entirely new adventure for you and your family, and as the days have gone by, you may have found it challenging to maintain a work-life balance. The reality is, just because you\u2019ve come inside doesn\u2019t mean you\u2019ve left […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":89,"featured_media":9205,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_eb_attr":"","_eb_data_table":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[125],"tags":[],"marketing_tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-9176","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-career-advice"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.springboard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9176"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.springboard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.springboard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.springboard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/89"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.springboard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9176"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.springboard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9176\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49441,"href":"https:\/\/www.springboard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9176\/revisions\/49441"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.springboard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9205"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.springboard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9176"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.springboard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9176"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.springboard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9176"},{"taxonomy":"marketing_tags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.springboard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/marketing_tags?post=9176"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}