How to Work from home with Kids around during Quarantine period

Among some of the peculiar situations, lies this working from home, with kids around, where the demands of concentration are high on both sides. Striking a balance between work life and home life is not so easy when your kids are really demanding. Due to the Corona virus outbreak as the schools, crèches and play areas remain closed, most of the offices request their employees to work from home. In a home where both the parents need to work and the toddlers are very naughty, it becomes the toughest task to deal with such situations.

However, if the work stress is high or kids naughtiness is out of control or if you are unable to balance, losing temper or facing an overwhelming emotional disturbance, opting for online counseling helps you deal with any situations that might create a big
trouble for you.

Tips to an effective Work-from-home while having Kids at home

It is necessary for the parents to master on how to work from home, while under quarantine with kids at home. This becomes a concern when you have to report to your manager on the work you do, at the end of the day. Nobody can understand this complication better than you who have to finish the work on time, patiently. Parenting the kids who demand round-the-clock attention, and simultaneously attending those conference calls, attending client-requests, answering those never-ending emails, and
juggling with tight-deadlines is no joke.

Here are certain tips for the parents having little ones at home when they need to work, while bearing with the naughtiness of the kids.

Create a schedule

It is always important to create a schedule and maintain the timings so as to finish the work smartly in time. Fix your scheduled timings daily and work accordingly. It’s okay to flexibly shift your work hours if you are the boss. But if you are an employer, make sure that your office doesn’t demand traditional working hours. Once you are fine with scheduling the tasks so as to complete the whole work at the end of the day, it’s okay to work as per your convenience and take breaks in-between.

If you have a naughty toddler, or an infant, it’s good to schedule the work after they sleep. Like, you may wake up a bit early and start working or work after they go to bed, or you may schedule your work while they have their afternoon nap. Though the kids won’t sleep after having lunch, it is the time they are likely to be inactive. Create a dull atmosphere like lowering the curtains, dimming the light, and letting the cool breeze of air-conditioner soothe them etc. that make them drowsy. Infants and toddlers can be easily put to sleep by cradling.

If the kid is a bit older, make them do some sluggish work like drawing or coloring. Once you are about to work, you should make the kid understand the etiquettes to be followed. Positive reinforcements like gifting a chocolate or cake, or maybe letting them watch the cartoons, can make them maintain discipline. You may happily carry on with your work while your kid is coloring in the next room. You may also create a schedule for them and see that they follow it while you are working. The anticipation of playing together after these work-timings lets them stick to the timetable as planned.

Over-Communicate

Communicating about your work-from-home issues with your colleagues might make your work easier. So, before starting a video conference or a call, it’s okay to mention that you might have a kid walking into the room that you would take care. This has a two-way solution. One is that you can peacefully concentrate on the subject of the call without worrying about what they think if your kid pops up from under the table.

Secondly, they would be prepared and won’t be annoyed to have a little disturbance in-between the meeting as you had already mentioned. Though you feel that you are being over-communicate, it’s okay.
If you have a facility of scheduling meetings according to your convenience, do mention your comfortable timings along with your emergency contact details in a spreadsheet. Having said this, it is always better to avoid those long-meetings that could be actually replaced with a simple email. Make this a sure thing before your team starts working from home, or at least now.

Take a Break

Though you work smartly enough to finish it off, under the existing circumstances, it is not easy to put the news of the virus spreading off. Also the prevailing uncertainty and the speed with which the virus is spreading, occupies our mind and our anxiety is likely to increase. Under these circumstances, it is most common that the concentration frails. So, don’t stress yourself too much. Take enough breaks between the works and say “hi” to the kids, roam in the house, talk to your spouse, look at your plants, sip a coffee or tea, and then again go back to work. Taking little breaks refreshes our mind and improves productivity.

Share the Load

Be it the household work or the kids work, it is important to share the load. Remember that both wife and husband need to share the responsibilities. Co-operating with each other on managing the tasks of the kids would benefit you under sudden emergency demands from the office. Requesting your spouse to immediately attend the kids as you would be in a virtual meeting will be easier if you can offer help while he or she is juggling with other home tasks or office tasks. It is a common thing to have emotional highs and lows during such unexpected situations and emergencies. Professional psychological help is always there at your finger click through online counseling. Wellness Hub has a curated list of experts who are empathetic, non-judgmental and friendly in their approach. Log on to book an appointment, today.