5 Tips For Working From Home With Kids during the Pandemic
A cheat-sheet for mommies working from home to balance work and life efficiently. COVID-19 or not, manage your work-from-home game better.
Parenting is never easy. No matter what social media shows you with its tinted glasses, being a parent is not limited to clicking dreamy pictures with babies and going on picturesque vacations with the kids. Being a parent comes with a set of responsibilities that is never akin to any other responsibility in the world.
Yet somehow, we all managed pretty well so far. Thanks to the child care facilities, playschools, and diligent nannies helping us, we could all manage to bring healthy work-life equilibrium in our lives – till 2020 happened. And now, when the entire world is facing a lockdown owing to the rising cases of COVID-19, the pressure has suddenly doubled for the working mums. Like everyone else, she has to work from her home while, at the same time, run the household and take care of her kids.
If you’re someone facing exactly the same or similar situation and don’t know how to manage everything together, we’re here to help you. Here’s sharing a few handy tips for working mums, which will help you to keep stress at bay and handle the situation better –
1. Follow A Schedule For Your Kids
When it comes to kids, they behave erratically when their schedules go haywire. So, try not to deviate from their schedules much.
If you have babies, try to feed them at appointed hours so as to enjoy a seamless time at work.
And if you have toddlers or kids, do set a curriculum for them – like a set at-home activity hours, which would keep your kids busy, and you fuss-free in managing the daily activities.
2. Maintain A To-Do List On A Daily Basis
Maintaining a To-Do list for all your daily work is an absolute must, especially when you’re trying to juggle between professional commitments and personal life.
Here’s a 3-min video from Charles Duhigg on how to get started with to-do lists.
A to-do list in place will also make sure you attend to all your kids’ tasks as well while not missing out on any important meeting or presentation.
Also Read – Fitness without a gym – a one-stop guide for being healthy amidst pandemic
3. Have A Dedicated Schedule For Official Work
Working from home often sees employees spending an obnoxious amount of time at work.
Some bosses just don’t know they shouldn’t ping you too early in the morning or too late in the morning. You may feel as if you’re spending more time working in a WFH schedule than you did on normal days (with fixed shifts).
We understand that online correspondence and collaboration often requires going back-and-forth, but that’s really not an excuse to work 11 to 12 hours (sometimes even more)!
A healthy balance requires not only balancing the personal time well but also managing the work hours equally efficiently. So, try to log in and log off at stipulated times to experience a stress-free quarantine.
4. Sneak In Some Much-Needed Exercise In Your Schedule
We know you’re pressed for time and are finding it hard to manage work and home together. However, no matter how busy you are or how worked up you are, try to take out at least 15 minutes to half-an-hour for yourself at least 5 days a week.
A bit of at-home exercises or practicing some essential yoga asanas will not only keep you active all through the day but will also ease your pressure to some extent.
After all, a healthy body is a gateway to an efficient mind.
Also, if you’re too much stressed with all the work, try practicing deep-breathing or meditation for at least five minutes every day before going to bed.
We promise you’ll feel way better and more rejuvenated with every passing day.
5. Share The Household Work With Your Partner
If you’re not a single mom and are staying with your partner, make sure you guys divide all the household chores and babysitting responsibilities among yourselves.
For example, if you’re the one cooking, let your partner be the one responsible for the dishes, and so on. Similarly, if you are more adept at babysitting, let your partner maintain kids’ activity schedules. A happy and complete family is one that shares their responsibility together, isn’t it?
We hope our little advice has been able to help you in some way or the other. Not just for the COVID-19 quarantine phase, this article is also aimed at women who regularly work from home or freelance. If you have any more tips to share with our viewers, kindly mention in the comments section.
