The popularity of flexible working solutions in terms of hours and location has risen drastically. Of course, the pandemic had an enormous impact on this climb, and it has meant that over the last year, more and more parents had to work from their home for at least a portion of the time.
And while many parents are urging at the chance of returning to normal working conditions, just as many have found joy in most aspects of the new home office normality.
But if you’re one of those that have found it tricky to balance working from home with parenting, we have some excellent tips to make your life easier:
1. Become Even More Flexible
Being a parent, you know all about being flexible when you have a child to care for. But now that you are working from home, this flexibility is put to the test. You have to manage somehow raising your youngest alongside doing your job. And there’s no single approach to this.
You have to find the best system that works for you and your family. Keep evolving your approach and fine-tuning what will suit best in terms of schedules and tasks.
2. Get Your Own Home Office Space
In case you haven’t realised it by now, having a dedicated space to work from home is particularly important. It will increase your ambience to be more productive when you’re in it and gives you a place to leave behind after you’re done for the day or when you want to take your mind off work for a bit.
If space is a problem and you have to free up an area to create your own home working space, you can resort to self-storage. A flexible self-storage provider will offer solutions that enable you to quickly store some furniture or other items to create the office area you need at home.
3. Be Truly Wise with Time Management
Children need constant attention and don’t have a specific time of day to need your help. So, you have to make the time count when you’re working. Start with the most challenging, most crucial tasks first and then tackle the others during the day, which you can more comfortably balance while caring for the kids’ needs.
4. Take Some Personal Time
Taking some time for yourself will become more and more of a need considering your busy life, managing your kids and work. Let your partner help take care of the kids, and crucially, don’t fall into the trap of using your downtime to do some work.
A burnout is a high risk when working from home, and it will do more bad than good by damaging your personal and professional life.
5. Share the Load
Home Working and full-time parenting should be shared with your partner. Both should have the same responsibility and hour load of caring for the children and the house. Find a schedule that works for both to have work done and spend time with the younger ones.
Having this system will allow both of you to focus on work without worrying about personal aspects. And this way, kids will also be able to cope with these times better too.
This guide is not a one-stop solution to solve all parenting-related problems while working from home during pandemic times but a way to help you think clearer to take control of the new reality. We hope you can find your feet in this tricky situation and find a work and life balance that will run smoothly for you and your family.
