15 Ways to be Successful Working From Home With Kids
Working from home can be nice: you don’t have to drive to work, you get to sleep in longer, and of course the casual dress code. But it also presents many distractions you won’t encounter in a traditional office setting. And if you have children at home it might seem impossible to get any work done.
Both Noah and I have been working at home with kids in the house for a couple of years now, and while it’s certainly not a perfect method, we’ve learned a few things along the way.
During this time of uncertainty, we thought it would be helpful to share a few ideas to help you be more effective as you work from home with your little ones running around.
We put our heads together and came up with fifteen different strategies that we use to get work done at home each day.
15 ways to be successful working from home with kids
You definitely have an advantage if only one of you is working. But if you and your spouse are both working plus you have small children running around it can get a little crazy. But hang on and consider these fifteen methods we use to accomplish our work each day.
01. Review your schedules together
Before the week begins, Noah and I sit down to review our schedules. We cover any appointments, meetings (whether in-person or not), projects, and what family activities.
This way there are no surprises when we wake up. We know exactly what the other person is doing each day.
You can go one step further and share your online calendars so you can make sure there aren’t any conflicts when scheduling your own activities.
02. Start your day earlier
It serves you well to wake up earlier when you’re working from home with small children and toddlers. Yes, that means going to bed earlier.
Some of my most profitable hours are the ones before our kids wake up.
03. Take advantage of naps
This is might be common sense for parents with babies and toddlers. But when you’re working from home, naps (or rest time) can be a much needed hour or so of reprieve. Use this uninterrupted time to accomplish a task that requires extra focus.
Leave things that you can do while the kids are awake for before and after nap time (the laundry and dirty dishes can wait).
04. Take it one week at a time
At first, you might need to take it one day at a time. I feel like our lives are constantly changing with small children. As soon as we get semi-adjusted to one stage another begins.
At the end of the week (or day), identify what worked and what didn’t. Maybe you need to wake up earlier or maybe you need to change your schedule. Continue tweaking it until you find what works best for you.
05. Go for walks
If you’re not careful, you can quickly begin grinding away without ever taking a break to catch your breath. Forcing yourself to take a break during your day is important for your mental health.
As nice as it is to work from the comfort of your own home, you don’t have the same built-in breaks you might enjoy in a normal work setting.
06. Set an end time
It’s important to have a separation between work and non-work. It’s so much easier to get lost in your work when you’re working from home. You don’t see the end of the day queues like coworkers getting up and going home.
Before your day begins set an end time so you and your family know when your day will be complete so they can expect more of your attention.
07. Schedule time to be active
Living and working in the same four walls can start to affect your mind. Being active is an important part of staying physically healthy. But while working from home it’s also an important part of keeping your mind sharp. You’ll notice the mental benefit of exercise even more while working from home.
08. Follow your schedule
When you’re working from home with kids you need to stick your schedule. Unfortunately, you don’t have the luxury of spacing off or being frivolous with your time. Your uninterrupted quality work time is often more limited (such as naps, early hours, your kids are distracted by a movie, etc.).
Staying on task will help you make the most of the time you have each day.
09. Get ready each day
I’m not going to lie, there are days I stay in my pajamas. But taking the time to get ready puts you in a better mental state. You’ll also start to feel like a bit of slob if you are in your sweats for multiple days on end.
10. Stay hydrated
Drinking water is an important aspect of health. I’ve also found that when I stay hydrated I’m able to focus easier. Working from home presents plenty of distractions, so trust me, you want to use every trick imaginable to stay focussed.
11. Take regular lunches
It can be tempting to overlook lunches when you’re working from home. Or you might grab a snack from the pantry, sit back down in front of your computer, and carry on. But I encourage you to take a regular lunch break and eat an actual lunch just like you would if you were at your office.
A regular lunch is good for a couple of reasons. First, eating lunch is much healthier than grabbing a snack from your pantry. Second, it provides another mental break in your day.
12. Learn to share
When both you and your spouse are working from home and handling your kids it’s easy to become selfish with your time. You might find you have to share the working hours with each other.
Noah and I have gone through seasons where one of us wakes up a little earlier and the other one stays up a little later to get everything done. Sometimes one of us has to hold a baby while the other one takes a call.
If you’re both willing to be flexible, you’ll find a way to make it work.
13. Tag team conference calls
Conference calls + kids = not ideal. There have been a few times for both of us when we’ve had to inform the person on the other end of the call that, “yes, that was my baby screaming in the background.” Most people are understanding.
If you have a scheduled conference call, this is the perfect time to implement the previous point and share. Ask your spouse to play with the kids in a preferable, not adjacent room so you can talk without distraction.
14. Take five-minute play breaks
Working from home during this time can be difficult. But I encourage you to realize how much of a gift it is to be able to be with your kids…
Yes, these are strange times. But take this time you’ve been given and connect with your children. It’s not every day that you get to press pause on your workday and go be silly with your kids.
15. Understand it’s only for a season
Working from home isn’t for everyone: some people love it while others can’t wait to get back to a traditional setting. If it seems difficult and frustrating, realize it’s only for a season.
While it can be difficult in the meantime it does get easier with time. You will start to find methods that work for you. And then eventually, things will go back to normal.
While it may be less than perfect and far from ideal, embrace it while it lasts.
Conclusion
Working from home with small children can be great and it can also be quite frustrating. The walls can start to close in around you when working from home. Add a couple two or three screaming kids to the mix it’s easy to lose your grip.
Take a breath and implement these fifteen strategies for working from home with kids to make the most of your day.
And if you have any other suggestions please share them below. I’d love to hear what ideas you have.
About the author:
Kara Swanson is a certified nutritionist and founder of Life Well Lived. She is married to her best friend and the proud mother of three. Her passion is to make nutrition simple+easy+delicious!