I am going to be totally honest with you here....working at home with little ones doesn't always, well, work.
Today has been a great day working from home. Which made me think about what has been different today, and in general what makes a good day versus a bad day.
For me, a bad day is a day when I am stressed out and have a deadline I need to meet and of course my kids are super needy, or a day when I get a little carried away and try to do too much work.
I wanted to share some tips that should help with work-life balance and with eliminating the stress that sometimes comes with trying to work and take care of your little ones.
Tip One:
Always plan and schedule tasks well in advanced and give yourself a lot of cushion between when you think you should be able to finish it and when it needs to be done.
Tip Two:
Make an easy to complete to-do list every day with tasks broken up into bullet points that take just a few minutes each to complete.
Start out by scheduling less than an hour of work into your day in this way and as you check each task off (or don't depending on the day), re-evaluate if you can get a few more things done today or if you need to move some stuff to the next day.
Tip Three:
If your kids are being needy, stop what you are doing and spend time with them.
If they are playing quietly by themselves grab your list and try to check off one thing at a time until they need you again or once you have a few things checked off go play with them and enjoy :)
Tip Four:
Set timers to keep up with household chores and to keep yourself from getting sucked into social media.
Set a ten minute timer and clean as much as you possibly can. Set another timer for a few minutes when you need to do something on social media or when you just want to check social media. Make sure you get off your device when your timer rings.
Tip Five:
Make a to-do list before getting on social media and use it so you don't end up mindlessly browsing when you need to be working.
Bonus Tip:
Ask for help. Tell your spouse you need some uninterrupted time a few times a week (or once a week or whatever you need) to work. Come up with an easy activity for him/her to do with the kids if needed.
You can also swap childcare with another work from home parent. You can take the kids once a week and play while your friend works and your friend can take them once a week while you work.
What works for you? I would love to hear your work from home tips!! Leave a comment below with what you do to work from home. :)
Thanks for reading!
