Being a work from home parent is a rough job but now that school is in full swing the juggling act really begins. This balancing act is literally the number one challenge when WAH. From school drop off and pick up hours to the extra-curricular activities multiplied by however many kids you have, this work from home gig almost gets harder as school starts up again. If you are facing the ever demanding schedule that arrives once school goes back in session alongside building your own online business, then read on to learn some work from home tips for parents.
Focus Matters When Working From Home
Obviously you have to remain focused and dedicated to the work from home job you hold, whether you are building your own business or working for an employer from home; you must remained focused. The best way to ensure you are focused when working from home as a parent during the school year is to draw up a calendar schedule of events. There surely will be open house, conferences and other agenda items that pertain to your kids back to school curriculum. Build those events into your calendar, look ahead in the school yea rot ensure you are fully prepared for all that you will need to juggle on the parental side of life. From there you can start to implement a new work from home strategy that allows you to focus full on your work from home tasks.
Make the Most of Downtime
Sitting in a pick up or drop off parking lot? If the car isn’t running and you have to park to pick up your kids you can make use of that time by writing notes down in a notepad or using your smartphone to work from. Remember, most states have laws against smartphone usage when driving and it’s just not safe to use it when driving so refrain from being unsafe or illegal. Any downtime you have between kid events, appointments, meetings and pick up or drop off time make use of it! Think outside of the box and always have a pen and paper in the glove box to grab when an idea comes to you.
Prepare the Night Before
Nothing makes you more productive and efficient as a work from home parent than preparing all that you can the night before. Lay out lunches, schedule your appointments and make note of all the next day obligations the night before. When you lay your head down to sleep each night knowing what will be expected of you the next day, what order you will complete things in and how much downtime you may have – your day becomes extravagantly more productive.
Delegate Chores to Kids
Kids that can walk, talk and argue with you are able to complete chores. Seriously. Stop thinking you are overloading the kids, in the old days there were kids taking classes and learning all the while handling the family farm or other family business tasks. Kids can handle more than we give them credit. Learn to delegate chores to kids as a means to free up some of your tasks so that you may be able to sneak in some work from home during chore time.
What do you think? Does this help? I hope it will. When balancing it all, you never feel like you know what to do. Things always get dropped, you have to jump from one place and task to the other, and you feel like you are never 100% focused. That’s ok, you can and will get it done! It’s a tough game to play, but well worth it if you can get the hang of it.
What tips would you share with other work from home parents to help them manage their day?
