Many people, in recent years, have chosen to work from home. With an increase of around 100% in the last 10 years, many are now working from home at least one day a week and reports have shown that it can be, not only, successful but produces more productivity. No distractions from co-workers chatting too loudly or walking into the office at various times of the day. You can also work longer hours as the commute has been removed from the day. This all sounds wonderfully blissful.. until you place kids in the mix… and what if your children are under 12. Now we are getting serious!! 

The world has recently been thrown a curveball and many of us are scratching our heads as to how to get through this next season.  I have worked from home since my two, still quite young, children were born. I am going to be brutally honest and tell you now, it isn’t all roses and Kodak moments. I don’t blissfully sit on my computer getting exponential work done while my children sit at the dining room table and drawer for 8 hours. But, for the most part, it does and can work. But it does look a whole lot different to that ephemeral picture some people may have in their head.

For those of you who are new to the home with kids while trying to work, the next few weeks, as you may have already found, could be an interesting journey. But, do not despair or start freaking out. It’s a wild ride but it can be done. Many parents have had great success in the work from home with children game, and if others have done it, so can you. Here are some ideas to help you on your way.

Make a dedicated space for your work 
We are very lucky to have an office at home, and it is now kitted-out with everything my husband has ‘needed’ to work from home. It even features a whiteboard on the wall filled with goals and strategies. But, regardless of how big or small your house is space can be made for you to work – even if it is just a chair in a corner of the room. Working and living in the same space will function better if you have a space that you can work from, and call your ‘workspace’. Having a regular workspace will help distinguish when you are working to your children. It will also help in making your house feel like home rather than work if you have the one space you identify with as separate.   

Prepare lunchboxes and snacks ahead of time 
This may sound a bit looney but it can save you a lot of time and distraction. I always find it takes me much longer than I think it will to prepare lunch, and that doesn’t include trying to feed myself. If you can get the food prep out of the way it is one less thing to think about when your brain is a puzzle with everything needed for your business or work. You also allow yourself to actually have a lunch ‘break’ rather than spending most of the time serving or preparing food.

Stick to a routine 
If your children usually have a snack at 10, lunch at 12, quiet time at 1 (or whatever the routine) try to stick to it. It is great in the holidays to lose the routine and have fun. But if you are trying to work from home you are, unfortunately, not on holiday. Children thrive on a little structure and as much as letting them run wild and fend for themselves is enticing it may not work in your new ‘workspace’. Likewise, if you have a routine at work and it works for your productivity try to keep it going while at home.  

The special Box 

So, what is a ‘special’ box? Basically anything which excites your child that you can pull out when you have something important needing your attention with the least amount of interruptions (like all the time right!). Though, it is good to note, ‘the specialness’ is removed if they get to use or play with it all the time so do make sure it is something only allowed in these hours of need. My children like to paint, but because of the messiness, I like to use the cheap watercolor paints that come out if anything unfortunate happens (regardless of how many times I ask them to paint only on the paper!). Playdough is also a winner with my family and, fortunately, super easy to make. I love that anything can be used from the utensil drawer to help make a special playdough creation, just use what you have. Whatever it is that your child loves put it in this special box/ cupboard/ drawer for times of need. 

Be present when you need to 

One of the best things I have found is to structure my time so that when I do get to pull myself away from my computer the 5 minutes, 30 minutes or hour I have is completely focussed on my child. You will find that most children will crave attention and start to act up if you don’t focus on them completely. But even with the little time you have showering attention on them helps ‘fill their bucket’. Make that break all about them and ask them what they would like to do with you. One of my children is crazy for baking, another for science experiments. A couple of days ago I had them both in the kitchen while we worked on these projects side by side. Even though there were two of them doing separate things I was able to focus on them by giving them tasks and having them work on either side of me. I was fully engaged and made sure I wasn’t distracted by my phone or another task. Though you can’t give them the whole day you can give them what you may have. We all need and have the right to breaks, regardless of where we are working, so use them wisely. 

Don’t do housework 

This is my one downfall! When I am home I see the dishes on the bench, the washing piling up, the floor that is desperate to be swept or vacuumed (sometimes I wonder if any food actually got in their mouths there are so many crumbs left on the floor). I start to focus on the housework rather than what I need to. But, many will love to hear this, cleaning is just another distraction, leading you away from work. I’m not saying let your house become a zoo. But have set times, perhaps at the end of the day where you can focus on tidying up, and you can also get the kids to help – most schools and preschools have a tidy up time at the end of a session where a song comes on and everyone is focused on tidying up for the end of the day. This can be fun and is another ‘routine’ which can help children feel balanced. But..if you want to let your house get wild, ain’t no one coming around for a while, so do what you want to do!

Take Turns 

Some of us have a partner, spouse or someone living in the house who could potentially help with the children. If you are both working set up a timetable where you each have time to work or time with kids. This won’t work for everyone’s schedule or household, but if you have some kind of schedule in place it can definitely help. 

Be Kind to Yourself and Your Children

Like I mentioned earlier working from home with children isn’t always easy, especially in this incomparable season right now and all it’s restraints. If you have a day where you are finding it particularly hard remember people are only a phone call or message away. The rest of the world is in exactly the same predicament, facing the same challenges. Hopefully, we can all find, somehow, a little comfort in that.