Balancing Kids and Working at Home – Time-Proven Techniques to Get You Through
Working at home is the dream of almost everyone employed by someone else. You might picture yourself at your computer desk with fuzzy slippers and bathrobe, sipping a coffee and easing into your workday. Perhaps you like the idea of taking your lunch break in your kitchen with a nice hot meal rather than the sandwich fare you usually eat for lunch. Or maybe you like the idea of being home with the kids rather than having to farm them off to sitters, daycare, and after school activities to make the money needed to keep yourself afloat.
Yet did you know that balancing kids and working at home is not as easy as it sounds? Oh sure, you would be physically present in your home with your children, but this does not mean that you will get any work done. As a matter of fact, it might actually mean that you will get nothing done; after all, having mom or dad at home on a weekday is a rare treat for many kids, and it may cause them – and you – to want to make the most of the opportunity and thus instead of sitting in front of your computer finishing your work, you may find your self at the park tossing a baseball or pushing your youngest one on the swing.
Here are some time-proven techniques to get your through your workday, successfully balancing your work and your kids.
Set boundaries – for your kids and your work. Help your children to understand that even though you are physically at home, you are still working. Explain in age appropriate terms what it means to be working, why you do it, and what you expect from them. For example, you may wish to craft a little sign with a colorful pencil and pad of paper, and when your children see that this sign is up on the refrigerator, they will know not to disturb you in your work, but instead play quietly in their play areas. On the other hand, when you take down the drawing, you are fair game, whether you are seated at your computer or not. The same, however, needs to hold true for your business. When you are finished with your workday, your clients will need to know that you are no longer available for business, and whatever they need to let you know will have to wait until tomorrow. Very often the schedule for home workers appears a bit blurred, and clients will think nothing of calling at eight or nine o’clock at night to impart some information or ask questions. This is unacceptable, and it is up to you to enforce that boundary as well.
Set your work schedule with your children’s schedule in mind. For example, if you know that your kids will be out the door by a quarter to eight in the morning to catch the school bus, make sure not to answer your business line before then. Instead, focus your time and energy on them. Have breakfast with them, play some games, help them to get ready, and generally make the most of the time you have in the morning. Then, as soon as they leave, get yourself ready for your own workday so that it will mimic closely their own school day. Thus, when they return from school in the afternoon, you should be able to finish up your workday as well. If little things are left undone, leave them until after the children are in bed, and give yourself an hour to finish up your work. This will be a lot harder during the summer months when the kids are on vacation from school!
Make a promise to yourself and your kids: while you will not be able to play with them during every waking moment that you and they are at home, you promise that you will not miss birthday parties, little league games, mealtimes, and good night stories. Do not put your work before your children, and they will reward you by being more understanding and respectful of the time you do have to put in.
Enlist help of reliable friends and family. Perhaps grandma could take the kids for ice cream once a week, or maybe a friend from church could do some craft activities with them. Whatever the case may be, helping hands will make your burden easier.