The Challenge Of Looking After Children And Working From Home
Due to the health emergency we are living in, more and more parents are accepting the challenge of looking after children and working from home. And we are talking about a real challenge because being able to reconcile work performance with the care and supervision of children is not a simple task at all.
The interruptions can be constant, because children naturally need us and try to get our attention. However, although we are physically next to them, we cannot be as available to them as we would like. At the end of the day, then, we have the feeling of not having lived up to either our work obligations or our role as parents.
Before the anxiety and guilt take hold of us, take a deep breath and try to adopt a broader point of view. We try to establish the best conditions to carry out our work and our family duties, but, once we do this, we avoid punishing ourselves, judging ourselves or demanding from ourselves performances that are beyond our means.
Caring for children and working from home at the same time can be exhausting, but the reality is that we shouldn’t be demanding too much of ourselves. Won’t our job performance be at the top? It does not matter. And in any case it is something temporary.
How to care for children and work from home
Choose an appropriate space
Since we are forced to stay at home, we may succumb to the temptation to evade some formalities regarding the performance of our work and end up carrying out our tasks anywhere in the house. However, if we want to be productive, it is important that we have a workstation specifically dedicated to this purpose.
This choice will help our mind to create a separation between family routine and working hours. And, when we enter this space, we will be able to understand that the time has come to focus attention on our professional duties.
So make sure you can count on an organized, clean, bright and well-ventilated environment. As far as possible, make sure it is a room with doors, in order to avoid interruptions and consequent distractions. Above all, try to make this makeshift office feel welcoming and help you focus.
Schedule times for looking after the children and working from home
Being able to rely on a routine is important to our well-being and our productivity. If we do not set schedules, we will end up trying to carry out several tasks at the same time, in a piecemeal and non-continuous way. And all of this will only lead us to need more time to reach our goals or to do everything in half.
For this reason, it is good that you decide in advance which times of the day are reserved for each activity and that you try to follow this timetable as faithfully as possible. This means trying to avoid interruptions from your family members while you are working, but it also means giving them your full time when it’s time to do so. Establishing a timetable will allow you to avoid interference between one task and another, because each of them will have its own preset time.
Get organized
However, establishing schedules and following them is not always easy, because you are not in the office but inside your home and therefore have to take care of the children. For this reason, it is very important to get organized.
If you are living with your partner or other adults, try to plan a time together. Determine what are the moments in which each adult can work with the peace of mind that the other is taking care of the children. Trying to work and take care of the little ones at the same time could interfere with your work, because part of you will always be attentive to the needs of the children.
On the other hand, if you are the only adult in the house, you can take advantage of your children’s hours of rest to devote yourself to your professional duties. Get up before them and work while they have their afternoon rest or after they have gone to sleep in the evening.
And if all of this is not possible or sufficient, try to involve the children in the work routine. In other words, explain to them that there are times that need to be dedicated to work and suggest that they do their schoolwork while you are working. During these “working hours”, children can also read or do some other quiet activity.
Be indulgent
Above all, be forgiving and understanding with yourself. You must remember that we are in an extraordinary situation that we are trying to adapt to as best we can. It is not so bad if your children spend a little more time watching television, if one day your work commitments do not go in the best way or if you find yourself with a burnt dinner.
We are facing a large number of demands right now and the only way out of this situation is to take a broader point of view and be less demanding of yourself. Do everything to the best of your ability, but allow yourself to enjoy your family and don’t let anxiety take over your days.
