Here are 10 tips for parents who work at home with their children.
Working from home can sound like a dream to many people. You can stay at home, less travel and more time with your family.
Unfortunately, the flip side also has its unpleasant realities. This is particularly true for parents who must manage childcare and work.
It's not difficult to feel like you haven’t done enough on your WFH days. You can manage to work while looking after your kids, but this requires you to reevaluate your expectations and working styles.
For making your remote work experience more functional, here are some of our best tips for parents working from home.
10 Tips for Parents who Work at home with their children
1. Focus on the positives.
While some parents are content to work from their home, others had to suddenly adjust to this new reality.
Although this type of work comes with its own challenges, there are many benefits of working at home.
It's not always simple, but keeping your eyes on positive aspects (and remembering what you're avoiding at work) can help enormously on stressful days.
2. Adjust your schedule.
Adults thrive on routines just as children and are more productive when they have a defined timetable.
WFH assists us in staying focused and avoid the distractions of continuous interruptions and multitasking.
A routine for your morning will assist you plan your day and make it more predictable. When it's wake-up time to get up and prepare for the day in the same way you would prior to going to the office. Then, head to your office at home. Whatever it looks like, get in an office mentality.
Your work schedule must be altered to allow you to have a better day.
Flexibility is a must and create an effective routine for you and your children. Remember, you can always modify it to meet the needs of your children on a daily basis.
This is an excellent tip from our remote work team.
3. Do not be shy with your colleagues.
Although there are many ways parents can keep their productivity up when working from home, interruptions are bound to occur. Your children will scurry into your office or get angry during the Zoom phone call, or ask you to help with an emergency in the home.
The most damaging thing you could do to make it seem that everything is fine is pretending that there is nothing wrong.
Inform your team in advance what working from home looks for you. Consider what you can request to make it easier and more efficient. This might be an adjusted schedule that gives you greater flexibility, or a bit of extra patience.
4. Focus on your work environment.
This doesn't mean you have to be doing it all the time. But, designate one part of your home as your work space.
This lets you concentrate on your work and minimize distractions without letting it affect your personal life.
Your mind can inform that you are at your workspace with a cup or coffee and wear casual clothes.
It is ideal to have a separate space that can be used as a home office. If that's not an option, try to find an area that is not part of your home to turn into your workspace. Agree with everyone in your household on the proper time to work and how they will get your attention.
Parents can also get their kids involved in designing office signs. Green is a good color to say "yes you are welcome to enter" and red to mean "don't think about it."
5. Don't do it in short bursts.
Babies and toddlers are more difficult than others because you can't leave them to themselves.
Your best option if you are in charge of the childcare of children is to do it in small bursts, such as when the kids are asleep.
If you're fortunate enough to to work from your desk while your spouse takes charge of your children and other household chores, you must plan your schedule so you're able to set a goal to leave your workplace every now and again, instead slaving yourself to your computer for the entire day.
6. Nurture creative activities.
It's unlikely that your child can sit and read for hours as you're working. If you're the one responsible for child care, make sure you keep your kids engaged in their play through encouraging creativity.
You may find that switching between toys or activities can give the child more time to play and allows for more intense playing. If your children don't like playing alone, it's possible to encourage their creativity by making the game an activity. This can enable them to work on puzzles or design something new with art supplies. It will be interesting to discover what they come up with.
If your kids are fine with using your computer when you make important calls or concentrate on work, Scholastic Learn at home is a great option. It offers games on the internet like music, spelling as well as virtual tours of museums is an excellent educational tool.
7. Make sure you plan your meetings carefully.
Nearly all parents who work from home experience an incident of some kind.
Although a good portion of this is normal and all you and your colleagues can do is smile, plan to be prepared for interruptions by giving your kids an unspoken 'do not disturb' when you're on conference calls.
It isn't always feasible when you have toddlers that roam around. In these situations, it might be better to schedule calls during the normal hours of sleep. Sometimes, it's sufficient to mute or reschedule calls when you're on childcare duty.
8. Technology is available to you
Cloud computing is precisely the reason remote working has been able to grow. Instead of needing to manually copy documents or log in on-site to user accounts, employees can now access all the information necessary to perform their work online.
With collaboration platforms such as Microsoft Teams, project-management software such as Trello as well as the web-based CRM (customer relationship management) software, it's now easier than ever before to get work done at home.
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There is a lot of fun with your video conferencing background using Zoom, or you can build an tech stack that makes it much easier. Choosing the right applications will make a huge difference.
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9. Learn when it is time to switch off.
Finding the right balance between work life and home life has never been more difficult. Although many people are quick to point out the advantages of working from home, it can be difficult to feel like you're working all day long. It's important to be aware of when to go to sleep.
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Being a parent, chances are you'll need to allow for some flexibility when drawing up your daily schedule. It is still possible to say that you are finished for the day. You'll need to be able to establish clear boundaries and have self-discipline in your team members to accomplish this.
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10. Be gentle with yourself and be willing to assist others.
Parents who must balance work and child care deserve a medal.
This could include asking your family members for help, hiring someone who can care for children, or asking your employer to give you flexible hours or more lenience during WFH.
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However do not expect yourself to balance everything seamlessly and efficiently all the time. Be open to opportunities that can make your work-life easier. However, be gentle with yourself when things don't go as expected. If things are hard to manage Try taking some time off if you can, and remember to take care of yourself as well. You can find yourself in a stressful circumstance.
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