Working from home while parenting can be a stressful job for most of the families where both the parents are working.
While you juggle between becoming a dedicated employee and a caring parent, the entire situation becomes stressful for you.
However, if you follow certain work from home rules and stick to a proper plan, you can manage both the things- work commitment and children.
We have gathered some helpful tips for WFH parents to help you prepare for a productive day.
1. Set up a dedicated workspace
It is always helpful to find a designated space for office work when you are working from home.
It not only allows you to focus more on your work but also indicates to your kids that you are busy with office work.
Make it clear to your kids that when you are at your workstation, you are busy and it is the time for them to engage in other activities.
Creating a separate workspace also keeps your kids away from your laptop, office files, and other important documents.
2. Follow a routine
Both children and work cannot be ignored when you are working from home.
To ensure you have a productive day, make a routine considering all the keep tasks you have for a usual workday.
Start the day with the set routine and plan time for kids as well during breaks.
While a perfect routine includes dedicated hours for your work, it should also include some breaks to give attention to your kids.
After working for some hours on key assignments, schedule a break to hang out with your kids.
Doing this will keep them happy too and you can easily get back to your work without any distraction.
While morning hours should be completely dedicated to your work, you can definitely plan frequent breaks in between to give attention to your kids.
However, it should not hamper your work.
Add more activities for kids such as reading time and free play to keep them engaged when you are busy with your work to avoid any distractions.
3. Coordinate with your partner
There are times when you can be extremely busy with office work, long hours of meetings, and deadlines.
To ensure that your work doesn’t hamper, try to coordinate with your partner where he/she can look after the kids in case they need any attention.
The situation becomes more challenging when you have young kids who need more of your attention- to fix their toy, clean a runny nose, or put them to sleep!
Dividing the childcare responsibility with your partner can help you both keep your day balanced and productive.
4. Adjust your schedule
If your company follows flexible work timings, there is no harm in adjusting to a schedule where you can easily manage your work as well as kids.
You can work more when your kids are away, engaged with other things, or sleeping, and give them time when they are awake.
Everyone has the ‘more productive hours’ in a day, use that time to deliver most of the critical work and keep updating it to your supervisor.
5. Maintain work-life balance
Working from home doesn’t mean that you are available for office work the entire day.
It is important to maintain your work-life balance and keep things clear with your manager.
Work for fixed hours and never give your best during those hours to maintain work productivity.
At the same time, make sure you sign off at a reasonable time and keep the rest of the time with your family.
6. Coordinate with your manager
While you are doing your best to strike a balance between work and kids when working remotely, there are times when it doesn’t work as per your plan.
What can you do when your kid is unwell and needs your attention!
Do not hesitate to seek help from your manager and discuss some flexibility for the day.
Be honest and do not stress too much to get everything done at a go. This will surely affect your work quality.
While only you can understand the challenge of managing kids and work from home, do not be too harsh on yourself and relax.
Hope these tips will help you to focus on both the things- workload and family!
All the best!
