Working from home is a challenge for many people, but it’s an even more significant challenge for parents working from home. Having to manage and remain productive is tough when you’re by yourself, but it’s challenging to deal with kids all day.
Since your kids are also at home for the entirety of the day, they can disrupt your workflow, and they’ll distract you from the work you’re supposed to do. Aside from that, you also need to manage household chores when you’re working from home. When you have to juggle all of this at once, it’s going to be challenging.
Even though it’s challenging, parents can find a way to stay as productive as they can be when they’re working from home. There are many ways that you, as a parent, can manoeuvre your way into a productive workday. Here are a few helpful ideas:
1. Keep your kids busy
Sometimes all your kids need is something to distract them. You want to get them to stop distracting you from your work by giving them something to distract them as well.
If they’re young, they can have a grand time playing around with bubbles. All you need is dish soap and water, and they can spend a lot of time playing with those.
If they’re a little older, you can let them play some video games. Of course, if they have schoolwork to do, they should do it too.
If they’re too young for video games and you don’t want them to always watch TV, you can get them to play around with an old keyboard. Young kids might enjoy the stimulus of smashing down on keyboards over and over.
At Maid Sailors Hoboken Cleaning Service, we advise our clients to give their kids some cleaning assignments. This will make the little ones busy, but you get some quiet time for work while teaching them how to be responsible.
2. Setup a dedicated home office
If you don’t have the environment fit for working, you should get started on that as soon as possible. Working on your couch or while lying down on your bed is not going to cut it. You need a dedicated home office or workspace to stay productive if you’re working from home.
Some people might have a spare bedroom that they can finesse and change into a home office. But for those who don’t have the luxury of space, you don’t need all that. All you need is a corner of the room or so and a reliable and ergonomic table and chair.
As long as you have a physical space that serves as an indicator that people shouldn’t disturb you, you’re right.
3. Bargain with the kids
Negotiation skills will come in handy for many parents now that many of them are at home working with their kids around them. If your kids are bothering you while working, tell them to hold off on their questions.
To further convince your kids, tell them that they’ll receive an award if they wait until your break.
Giving your kids an incentive to behave better will make them want to do it more, so bargaining with them in this way can be an excellent solution.
4. Set a schedule
Setting a schedule allows you to have a better idea of what goes on in a day for you. It’s going to feel very chaotic if you live your life on a day-to-day basis without planning things out for you and your kids.
With a schedule in place, it will be easier to figure out how to manage your house chores and your work.
Plus, if your kids are old enough to understand the concept of a schedule, they’ll have a good idea when they can chat with you and off-limits. Of course, this should apply to them as well.
5. Prepare a day ahead
Once your kids are asleep, you can use it to prepare for tomorrow or even a day ahead of your schedule or plan. Prepping everything beforehand reduces the workload you have to deal with in the future.
You won’t have to hurry through everything. You won’t need to feel bad if you’re unable to tick everything off your to-do list.
6. Take little breaks
You also need to make sure to take small breaks now and again. Recognise that you are human too. Even as a parent, you need a breather. Otherwise, you’ll tire yourself out.
Worse, you’ll be unable to take care of your kids or do your work.
The little breaks also allow you to catch up on what your kids have been doing throughout the day.
7. Ask for help
Sometimes, it’s tough to balance parenthood, your career, and taking care of the household. Don’t hesitate to ask for help.
You’re not a worse parent for needing help. Whether through hiring a professional cleaning service or getting a babysitter, having that help puts you in a better mood. Plus, you won’t be running yourself ragged.
Being a parent is tough work, and it’s tougher when you’re working from home. It can be challenging to be productive when you have kids to take care of and do house chores. That said, the tips listed above can help you get a lot of things done while spending time with your little ones.