How to work from home with children
The combination between teleworking and children can be difficult, especially if they are young and/or cannot attend school (holidays, exceptional circumstances, minor illness…).
However, it is a unique opportunity to acquire new learning and improve work from home with children, social and family relationships.
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How to work from home with children
In most cases, the main complexity is usually to keep them entertained without this mission hampering work performance. Here are 8 initiatives to work from home with children situation successfully:
1. Create your own workspace
It is important to have a place where you can work at ease just like in your office. If you live in a big house, turn one of your rooms into a temporary office.
If you live in a less spacious home, build your “office” in the living room, dining room, or even a bedroom.
Creating a place dedicated to this purpose will make it less conducive to unnecessary interruptions and more prone to concentration to work from home with children.
The space must be as far as possible well lit, tidy, and conditioned with the necessary tools and technologies to be able to carry out your work function.
2. Get up early
If you work from home with children, an advantage is that you do not waste time commuting to work, this factor will allow you to have extra time in the morning.
Use this occasion – probably before your children wake up – to dedicate yourself to those tasks that require more attention.
Getting up early and starting work early will allow you to finish earlier, so you can spend longer periods of time with your family.
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3. Plan fun and varied activities for your children…
Organize various exercises or leisure plans for your children. There are many activities that do not require constant action or interaction from parents such as crafts, drawing, reading or painting.
Just like at school, you can divide your room into different play corners: a space for crafts, a reading area, a corner to play with dolls…
Do you need to make a Zoom call? Let them watch TV for a while or play with their tablet, put on a children’s podcast or let them record a fun video for your family members.
The most important thing is not to offer them everything at the same time or on the same day, but to maintain a variety so that each activity has its own function, at all times.
4. While still establishing a routine
Keeping the kids busy while you try to focus on your work is no easy task. Establishing a good daily structure based on routine with your children will greatly help you to work from home with children.
Organizing and communicating a daily activity program through which they have to dedicate a certain time to carry out and complete each task is usually very effective.
A good routine consists of establishing the same time slot every day for them to do their homework, and ending the day with a “creative” hour.
This will allow you to “innovate or rotate activities” in the rest of the bands.
For example: if the weather is good and you have a garden, a patio or a terrace, you can organize a sports activity to keep your children entertained and active.
5. Set clear goals
It is advisable that your children get used to it or not lose their learning/study rhythm, since later it will be very difficult for them to resume it.
You can assign them some daily homework and exercises or ask their teachers for help in establishing their academic routine.
In this way they will keep their knowledge active and/or establish a (first) learning routine. The key is to set clear goals for them throughout the day and review them at the end of your work.
In the event that your children are exempt from academic tasks and have the necessary age, they can be assigned internal responsibilities.
Eg participating in small household chores such as washing the car, taking care of the garden, filling and emptying the dishwasher, tidying up their room, taking care of pets, among others.
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6. Choose the right time to make video calls
If you need to be in daily contact with your co-workers or external partners, make sure to schedule these meetings at the quietest/least busy time of day.
It can be early in the morning, when your children are still sleeping or going to sleep, during their nap or when they are more entertained.
You will have to adapt and make your schedule more flexible according to both needs and obligations.
7. Alternate responsibilities with your partner
If you are both teleworking, it is beneficial to alternate daily time with your children. While one person concentrates on their work, the other person can play with them.
Through this division of responsibilities, both of you will be able to work uninterrupted and productively while spending quality time with your family.
8. Ensure a good balance between work and family life
Once your workday is over, switch off your mind, turn off your computer and enjoy the rest of the day.
Finally, it is important to ensure an optimal balance between your work and your private life.
Once your workday is over, switch off your mind, turn off your computer and enjoy the rest of the day. For example, plan something fun like a family game night after.
