Work From Home With Kids

Business Tips and ToolsLife of FreedomTime Management

Mar 19

Written By brandmerry

Work From Home With Kids

BY MICHELLE KNIGHT

Do you suddenly find yourself working from home with your kids? Learn from someone who has spent the last four years doing it by choice! Click to learn more about my favorite tips to help during this transition.Read more here#entrepreneur #workfromh…

**Author's note: I wrote this blog post home alone with a four-year-old. I moved my laptop once to the other room, took my headphones out three times and took a break twice to answer questions. Sure, it isn’t ideal, but it is possible.

I've spent the last four years building my online business with a baby right next to me.

That’s right when the world is getting thrust into working from home, doing it with our kids and possibly homeschooling to top it all off, this has been my life for the past four years.

So let me tell you, the questions started pouring in...
...how do I structure my day?
...how do I keep the kids entertained and busy so I can work?
...how do I balance it all without losing my mind?

Let’s all take a collective deep breath really quickly.

**Pauses so you actually breathe**

Ok.

Now, I might not have all the answers for this unprecedented time, but I have some tricks up my sleeves that have served my family over the past four years and we’re getting into all of this inside this blog.

If you find this blog useful, there is also a video presentation which you can find below. Please share this blog out with your friends and family to support them during this time.

Before we dive into it all, I promise it’s coming, let me just remind you that no one is expecting you to have this all figured out on day one. How could you?

You’re learning a new way of working, parenting and moving through your day to day. Give yourself some grace as you navigate and I promise the journey will be much more enjoyable.

ROUTINES WHILE WORKING FROM HOME

I understand that your normal routine is completely flipped on its head and that is a lot to handle, however, this allows you to create a new one #silverlining.

One of the areas I highly suggest adjusting your routine is in the morning.

When you’re working from home it’s all on you boo and so you need to be super grounded and prepared as you take on the day. Skipping this time in the morning (which is now much more flexible if you were previously commuting) can lead to short fuses, anger and feeling all over the place throughout the day.

This might mean taking an extra hour in the morning or just 20 minutes to connect, but some of my favorite tips for this time are:

Get dressed. Seriously, I know it sounds so stupid, but the days when I’m in sweats I’m way less productive. Just put on the pants with a button and a shirt and get this party started.

Move your body. Sure, you’re used to sitting at a desk all day, but that isn’t going to work at home with kids. Get your energy going in the morning by working out or taking a walk, you’re going to need it.

Get grounded. Whether you meditate or not is not important, although I’m a big advocate for 10 minutes of mindful thinking and deep breathing every morning, I just want you to chill. Take some time in the morning to feel connected to your body, your mind and mentally prepare yourself for the day ahead.

You might be thinking, “Hello! Michelle, I told you I’m doing this with kids?”

Oh, I know and that’s the joy. From an early age, I was including Cal in all my activities in the morning. To this day, we still workout, meditate and journal together. Include your kids in the activity to teach them an important life lesson along the way and to get a little space.

If your kids have never done this, be a little flexible. They might not do the full workout but might jump in and out to join you. If you have Bluetooth headphones try those while meditating and if you’re journaling you can give them crayons and paper to draw a picture.

As with everything presented to us during this time, it’s an opportunity to slow down from our normal rushed routine.

YOUR SCHEDULE WHILE WORKING FROM HOME

Let’s just address the elephant in the room...you’re not going to work uninterrupted for 8 hours, so you’ve got to adjust, but you do need a schedule.

The biggest tip I can give you when it comes to creating a new schedule at home is to pay attention to your kids' rhythms, I promise they have them!

Paying attention to these rhythms, you might not be as familiar with, will show you little pockets and opportunities for extended work periods.

If your kid takes naps throughout the day then utilize those times to dive into your work, eliminate distractions and hustle your way through nap time.

If your kid has certain times of the day when they play well by themselves or get pulled into a project, then plan to get work done during that time. Cal does well in the morning, so after my morning routine, I would dive right into working until about snack/ lunchtime.

PLAN YOUR DAY IN ADVANCE

If you have older kids I suggest having them create their schedule the night before. Take some time together to plan out what the next day might look like.

Do you have meetings? If so, when are they?
Do you have a deadline that needs to be met?
Is there a project your kid is working on with school?

Then fill in the rest. Give your kids the responsibility to map out their day, this will make them freaking excited, and then hold them to it the next day. Use tools like timers to keep track of everyone’s schedule.

You need to do the same. Identify your big priorities for the day, now is not the time to try and do everything on your list. If you go into your day with 3 main priorities and put your focus around that it will make it much easier to feel accomplished than if you’re not clear on the main goals.

Do this every single day, yes every single day! I like to use a free tool like Trello to organize my day to day activities and if you’re working with a team tools like Slack and Zoom are very helpful for team communication (seriously, can we stop emailing each other) and team meetings.

SET THEM UP FOR SUCCESS - WORK FROM HOME TRICK

I’ve read a lot of information online about working from home over the past four years and I swear no one is talking about this.

Either they know and they don’t want to spill the beans or it’s truly something not enough people are utilizing, but THIS right here is what saved me so many times.

If you have a meeting, a big project or an upcoming deadline set your kids up for success during those times.

I know you’re nervous about being interrupted, we all are, but your kids don’t know you have a meeting or even what that means if this is all new to them, so we’ve got to show some grace to both sides.

One way to combat the need for silence and focus it so set your kids up with a project and resources so they don’t need you unless there is an emergency.

So what does this look like?

“Setting Them Up” can be:

Creating an activity bin that you pull out during meetings or times where focus is needed is exciting for kids and gives them a “this is a special toy” feeling.

Moving your office outside. Sometimes I would take my calls outside where Cal could run around, play with the dog and explore. He was often entertained for quite some time because it was a new setting for him and I never complained about the fresh air.

Give them a project. Depending on the age of your kids you’ll have to use your imagination, but some of my favorites were creating a tent and turning on a movie, building something, doing a puzzle, an activity book or reading.

If all else fails it’s cartoon time! Look if you have a meeting you have a meeting. I’m in no way advocating for your kiddo to be on their tablet or in front of the tv all day, but once and a while momma...GIVE. YOURSELF. A. BREAK! Some of our favorites were Word Party and Beat Bugs on Netflix and the PBS Kids app.

In addition to the projects I highly recommend getting some snacks ready.

We try to have a bin in the fridge with cut-up fruit and other snacks so Cal can grab them without having to ask me. Of course, this only works for older kids, but if you’ve got kids under three you can have those snacks at your desk ready to go when they are hungry.

When you can combine a little preparedness with these activities you’ll handle your day so much better. There is a big difference in knowing you have a meeting at 2 pm, so you eat lunch by 1 pm and have the kids ready to go by 1:45 pm so you can get to your meeting VS. realizing at 1:50 you’ve got a meeting in 10 minutes.

Just sayin'.

TAG TEAM WITH YOUR PARTNER

If you have a partner at home it’s time to work as a team, seriously there is no reason to do this alone. Whether your partner is also working from home or gets home at the end of the day there is an opportunity to tag team this whole thing.

And, when this whole Coronavirus thing brings us back to some normalcy you can also lean on support from your community - think neighbors, best friends or hiring support.

I asked my husband Ben what he would recommend from this period when he was working retail and I was working from home with Cal building my business. He said the biggest thing he remembered was asking for chunks of time.

So let’s break down two scenarios.

IF BOTH PARENTS ARE WORKING FROM HOME
If you’re both working from home then together plan your schedule for the day. If someone has meetings all day virtually or projects to complete the other parent is on deck. Then you're able to flip the role when needed.

IF ONE PARENT IS HOME ALL DAY
This one is much closer to my heart because this was our life for three years. At the beginning of the week, I would do my best to let Ben know when I’d need “uninterrupted time” for calls, writing or recording. But sometimes you just can’t prepare. Don’t be afraid to send that loving, yet kind of urgent text to your partner saying, “I need two hours tonight before dinner, you’re on call!”

BE FLEXIBLE

The rules no longer apply!

You’re not chained to a desk from 8 - 5 every day with the weekends as the only time to chill, and that’s the beauty of it all.

If you need to rearrange your schedule to work on a Saturday rather than a Tuesday then go for it, I promise your co-workers are doing it as well.

If you find an opportunity to wake up in the morning before the kids do or your partner leaves then explore taking this time to get some work done during this season.

It’s hard when your kids run the show, but I promise you can work in harmony with a little grace and planning (my favorite combo always).

FINAL THOUGHTS

My top tips for you are to...

Take time in the morning to ground yourself, get dressed and move your body.
Change your environment frequently throughout the day.
Take time the night before to plan your schedule and activities for the day ahead.
Set your kids up. You’ll save yourself time in the long run if you take 10 minutes to prep (just trust me on this one)!
BABIES: Wear your baby in a baby carrier throughout the day. They love it and it’s super easy to work when you have both of your hands free.
TODDLERS: Activities. Activities. Activities, oh and snacks!
TEENAGERS AND OLDER: Now’s a great time to set some boundaries. It’s a life lesson we all need at a young age so don’t be afraid to sit them done and have them plan their schedule and openly communicate with them when you need uninterrupted time.

If you suddenly find yourself trying to play full-time employee, parent and teacher I’d love to pass along a bit of advice I received early on. Allow your kids to have experiences. Honestly, this kind of learning can teach them so much more than spending a day in school.

Encourage them to build something, play outside and garden, put on a play, etc… Sometimes the alternative learning opportunities can have the biggest impact.

I hope this post was helpful for you during this season of life. Please share it out on social media to support other parents going through the same thing.

If you want to follow along with daily tips and inspiration be sure to connect with me on Instagram @michelleknightco.