Working From Home With Kids During a Pandemic

This time we have at home right now is so different for everyone. I have long been a stay-at-home mom who homeschools AND works from home and it can still be difficult for me just as it is for you! I have been thinking about all the practices our family has put in place over the past few years to survive — and thrive! — in the middle of busy and intense seasons, and I want to share with you.

 Today I’m going to talk about how I mentally and physically accomplish working at home during the week.

 WHEN

 To start, I try to get all my work done while my kids are napping and or having quiet time. Only one of ten kids naps and the rest are in their rooms during quiet time. I have set activities for them to do during this time so that expectations are clear of what they can and cannot do during quiet time. While they don’t fully prevent every interruption during “quiet time”, these pre-set expectations help curb them so I might get 3 instead of 30.

 Click Here for a list of age-appropriate quiet time activities and educational apps!

 WHERE

 Having a dedicated workspace is incredibly important. It sets this space aside so that your (and your peoples’) expectations are in place when you arrive at this spot to work.

 My personal workspace is in my bedroom. And here’s my kicker… not only do I shut the door when I go into work, I have another physical gatekeeper up. An actual baby gate! When my people see the gate is up, they know I mean business about my business and it’s not the time to interrupt.

 Where is your workspace? I would love to see a picture of your spot! Email me or tag me on social media. 

 HOW

 Set parameters around your work time and what kinds of tasks and activities you will and won’t do in your dedicated workspace. Do you want to set a timer and work on tasks in 20 minute increments? Do you want to put your phone on Do Not Disturb? Are you going to batchwork your hour/day/week? 

 When you arrive at your spot, it’s time to work! Make sure your mind is ready and you’ve set your expectations for yourself so you’re ready to go.

 One method I use to maximize my effectiveness in working (and school and home projects) is batchworking. I block my time into 1-2 hour blocks of time and do like-tasks within each time block. For example... 

 First block… Complete client charts

Second block… Respond to emails and follow up with people

Third block… Media relations, record podcasts, do interviews, social media content

 This batchworking keeps my mind from jumping from task to task. I have an entire mini-course dedicated to batchworking… that’s how passionate I am about how well it works!

 RECAP

 The theme you’ve seen repeated here is expectations! Setting expectations for yourself and your family are key to succeeding at working from home. The second part of having expectations is communicating them. Succinctly (and repeatedly at first) communicating these expectations will help everyone know what’s required to make the most of these work-at-home times.