The struggle to juggle kids and work is so hard! When you bring that work into your home, it’s even more difficult. Many work at home parents struggle with finding the perfect balance to get work done so they can pay the bills but also pay attention to their kids so they don’t miss out on their kids’ experiences.
Today we’re going to dive into the topic of balance with work at home when you have kids. These tips will help you learn how to take a few steps towards a more balanced lifestyle when you work from home with kids running underfoot.
Get Your Kid on a Schedule
While you must have a work home schedule, every parent out there knows that their kid needs to be on a schedule to determine your best work hours. Spend a few days learning how your kid works best. Learn when their nap time should be when they need extra attention and what hours they need their meals.
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This step will help you create a schedule for your kids so that they start to develop a daily routine you can workaround.
Create a Transition
Some parents use the time from school drop off to home as their transition, other working parents stop at the coffee shop. The key is to create a transition ritual that allows your mind to get into work mode after dealing with kids. This transition ritual is something that helps you detach from parental mode.
You might find listening to music or taking a coffee break are two options to use as a transition ritual before signing out of “parent mode” and into “work at home mode” every day.
Have a Running To-do List
Make sure you have a to-do list ready to go each night. This list will include actionable steps you’ll need to take to be productive the next day. This to-do list will feature your work and parental tasks that must get done the next day with some notes to help you balance both responsibilities successfully.
The list won’t have every task checked off each day, but rather be a running list of tasks to keep you focused on individual tasks rather than too many things at once.
Take Breaks
Once you have your kids schedule all figured out, you’ll know when you should schedule your work at home breaks. Having lunchtime with your kids can be a fabulous transition from your morning work routine into the afternoon one. This time with your kids at lunch will also deter your kids from trying to get your attention as you switch over to work at home afternoon mode.
Taking breaks while working from home is essential to your mental health and productivity levels. We recommend one half-hour lunch break and plenty of ten-minute breaks for maximum balance.
These are just a few of our tips to help you balance work at home and kids. The steps you take will be dependent upon how old your kids are, where they attend school, and whether they’re home all day or not. Using these tips will surely help lead you in the right direction to morph each step into something that helps you feel more confident in your decision to be a work at home parent, though!