The Coronavirus pandemic has forced schools to close across the country, and many employees are already working from home. With social distancing keeping people at home for the time being, school and work are now taking place at home, and largely at the same time. If you've ever worked from home with little children in the house, even for a day, you know it's no jokeBut don't panic just yet! If you're struggling to navigate your new life outside the office, these tips from full-time work-from-home mums may help.
Create a scheduleThe purpose of a schedule is not to add stress to your life - it's simply because children respond well to routine, and a switch from a school day to a month of free play might be hard. To overcome the impulse to slack off, create a daily routine and stick to it. In the morning, shower and get dressed as you would for work. Block out time each day for focused work as well as lunch and short breaks in between.
If there is another adult in the house capable of splitting up childcare responsibilities E.g. relative, nanny or spouse, try to assign blocks of time with them when you are not on a break. Most importantly, remember to log off and end your workday when you normally do - it's easy to overwork when you are at home as it is to procrastinate.
Communicate with your co-workersWhen it comes to work life, it's OK to be transparent about the fact that you're also juggling the needs of your children, so your coworkers aren't caught by surprise. If you are on a conference call it is acceptable to alert them when your children walk into the room.
It is also important to create a schedule with your line supervisor and the rest of your team where you all align on your availability to do virtual meetings. Be sure to set up and get used to
Zoom,
Google hangouts and
Skype as conference calls are happening across platforms and you want be ready to go.
NB: Looking to set up a home office, get a printer and office supplies from
Text Book Centre. Get outside if you canKids who are cooped up indoors all day can become cranky and overactive. You're likely to buy yourself some time later in the day if you build an early break in the day to get outside for a few minutes. Of course following the current precaution, it means staying away from public spaces and playgrounds where kids will be inclined to touch surfaces that others have recently touched. If you have a DM at home ask them to accompany your children for a bike ride away from other people. If you have a yard, consider sitting outside and enjoying some water or sand activities.
Having children at home also means you will need to take intermittent breaks in your workday to spend time with your child..
Read a book with your child, have lunch together or any other bonding activity. Try to stay away from your devices during that time
Get smart with screen timeLet's be real, your children will likely want to play games or watch shows as they would when they are home on the weekend. It takes a little effort to curate your child's
screen usage towards shows that have more substance but if you can use this time to get them
watching educational videos then it will make you feel better about the time they spend using screens. If your child is doing online learning with their school do not worry too much about content being strictly educational.
Outside of being more flexible about screen-time, you should also tell your kids when you need to be in "do not disturb" mode. Having this and scheduling screen time when you are on video calls or when you need to focus with less distractions you are more likely to get a lot done in a short time block.
Editor's tip: For school-going children old enough to understand, have a physical sign on the door with a thumbs up, thumbs down for when you truly cannot be interruptedRead more on MumsVillage website