Quick Tips to Master Working From Home With Kids

Creating a schedule with a comprehensive hour-by-hour daily breakdown doesn’t work for every family – and that’s OK. However, setting standard office hours is key to keeping your sanity while trying to juggle work and kids. Although it might take a little adjusting at first, eventually your kids (if they’re school-age) will acclimate to their new schedule much like they do after a couple weeks of the new school year. Routines often make kids feel safe. If 8AM to 4PM is the optimal time for you, try to stick to those eight hours as much as you can. You can also check out these creative ways to stay active and healthy while at home.

Remember that old adage about an early bird catching the worm? Granted, this will be a lot easier to sustain if you’re a morning person, but rising early to start your day might help alleviate the stress that comes with balancing at-home work and kids. Tackle the bigger tasks bright and early if you can while your kids are still catching their Zzz’s. If you’ve got a baby or toddler with an irregular sleep schedule, hold off on the big work items until they’re taking their afternoon nap. Don’t have an at-home office? Find out how you can transform an awkward nook into a useful home office.

Setting boundaries with your kids early on is key to getting your message across and helping them adjust in the process. If your kids are old enough to entertain themselves, set up rules around business hours. For example, stress that they can’t interrupt your workflow if they see the office (or bedroom) door tightly shut. If you’ve got one or two little ones on your hands, you and your partner can tag-team duties based on your workloads that day. For single parents, the best course of action might be to reveal your situation to your colleagues and come up with an alternate plan of action for deadlines and workload. In the end, we’re all trying to make this new normal work for us. Check out all the rooms that are proving valuable for our time spent at home.

Depending on the age of your kiddos, setting up an easy-to-reach snack station is a great way to avoid frequent interruptions (“I’m hungry!”) while also offering them a sense of newfound independence. The older kids could even help their siblings put a sandwich together for lunch. For drinks, keep them on the lowest shelf of your fridge so they’re within reach for little hands. For snacks and baked goods inspiration, tackle these comforting baking projects as a family on the weekends.

Make those big tasks and projects a priority for when your kids are asleep in the morning or taking their daily nap. Save the smaller activities – reading and replying to emails, scheduling meetings, etc. – for when you’re overseeing your kids’ homework or lunch.

For weekend DIY projects, try making cloth face masks, homemade hand sanitizer and reusable disinfectant cleaning wipes.

If there was ever a time to relax those strict screen rules, now would be the time. We’re all doing the best we can given the current circumstances, so if it helps your workflow (or simply saves your sanity) to let the kids indulge a bit more in playing video games or watching their favourite TV shows, just let it happen. Your family can always re-adapt to a new routine when the time comes. You can even have a little fun with it on weekends by creating a home theatre design that will make family movie nights a hit.

And we don’t mean just for the kids! Yes, you can get a lot of tasks done when the kids are down for their afternoon sleep if you’re so inclined, but if you’ve had a particularly grueling day or find your productivity lagging, take the same opportunity to catch some shut-eye. You just might find yourself reinvigorated and ready to dive back into work (and parenting) when you wake up. Not getting enough sleep at night? Check out these surprising reasons why you might not be getting a good night’s sleep.

Suggest virtual playdates or gaming afternoons with your kids’ friends. It’ll keep the little ones entertained by giving them some semblance of normalcy while allowing you – not to mention the other kids’ parents – the freedom to complete work projects or menial tasks around the house. At the end of the day, your family can celebrate your accomplishments together – be it a completed project on your end or your kid winning during a virtual game day.

Stand up and stretch – frequently. Try stepping away from your screen for at least 10 minutes every hour. Wander into another room, do a small household task to get your blood flowing and spend a little quality time checking in on the kids. Not only will it allow you the opportunity to turn off work, if only for a few minutes, but it will give your kids a chance to engage with you on a more regular basis throughout the workday.

Related: 10 Productivity Hacks That’ll Motivate You to Do Those Pesky Household Chores