Working from home with kids: Tips for effective family time management

Having a family is like having a business. These days it’s 24/7. Try these tips from our colleagues to run this enterprise smoothly.

Working from home might not be for everyone. And now not only do you have your day job to do, you’ve also got your parenting duties to handle at the same time.

As a society, we’re no longer used to the model, where generations live and work together all the time.

Our time is structured, and we not only give instructions, but we are often subject to instructions. Whether it’s by signage on the road, assignments from our boss, or exercise from our trainer.

Having different roles doesn’t stop you being a parent for that time, it just runs in the back of your brain and waits for the switch to active mode. But these days it’s never in limbo. It’s on ALL the time. But maybe it doesn’t necessarily need to be. Balance your personal wellbeing with work and family. Our colleagues have put together some tips to see if they could help alleviate your new work setup.

1. Set up a daily routine for your children to keep their days structured as if they were attending school. Plan their tasks for the day and create fixed times when you can help them if needed.

2. Explain to your children that they are “at school” while you’re “at work”. Don’t forget to take regular breaks for having family time and play during the day.

3. If you’re at home with a partner working, help each other with kids. Book mornings for important calls and ask your partner to take the children out. Switch up your roles.

4. Find the calmest and the most peaceful room in your home with the fewest family distractions to use your working time most effectively.

5. Prioritise and categorise tasks according to your focus availability during the day – a lesson we should take “back to the office with us” also. Schedule your most important tasks for when the kids are napping or playing outside, and then the least concentration-demanding for when the kids might be around.

6. Find time to relax. Don’t overload yourself with work just because kids are out of sight. Make it me/we-time.

7. Keep weekends special and step outside the routine, as you used to do before the current pandemic!

8. Set aside time slots for any shopping or other “life admin” tasks.

Did you find some good solutions for child management yourself? We’re all ears. Let us know. Because sharing (knowledge) is caring. And free.