Advice on how to get things done when working from home without childcare

Work from home and parenting

Sure, I’ve worked from home for seven years combined, as a magazine editor, a stay-at-home mom, a freelance journalist, a book reviewer, a blogger, and a content creator. I wrote a post a year ago with my top five tips to working from home. Working from home with kids underfoot is a totally different story. I’ve gotten a few jokey/desperate messages from friends lately asking “how have you worked from home with your kids all this time?” since we ALL work from home with our kids now.

Spoiler alert: I don’t. Not really. Not anymore. Well, until now.

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Advice on how to get things done when working from home without childcare #workfromhome #homeoffice #workfromhomewithkids #kidsathome

How to work from home with children

When my kids are home with me in charge, I’m not typically working. This has gotten a lot easier since both girls are now in school. I work while they are at school. I work evenings when I need to. I put in hours over the weekend when I need to. My schedule is flexible and that is key for our family.

Now it’s a lot harder again since both girls are no longer at school. And not only are they not in school, I now have to facilitate their learning, at the same time as balancing work. Just like many of us.

Before they started school, I worked during nap time and evenings and the few hours a day the few days a week they were in pre-school. When I was on deadline, they went to spend time with their grandparents or other family members. The workload was much lighter to reflect the time I had.

Have I held my breath during an interview with a city councillor, fingers crossed, praying a baby doesn’t wake up early from their nap, wailing? Yes.

Have I totally ignored the kids and let them run wild while I frantically file a story on deadline? Of course.

Have I conducted an interview from the side of the playground after school? Yuppers.

So while I don't typically work a ton while I’m with the kids, I have done it before and it looks like I will be doing more of that now, just like many of us. Here are some tips on how I do get things done while my kids are here with me.

Working from home is a pleasure, working from home with your kids is torture! #workfromhome #homeoffice #workingfromhomewithkids

How to get work done with kids around

I really hope employees are compassionate and understanding to all the parents working from home right now along with their kids. These are extenuating circumstances and unprecedented times. I don’t have an employer per se, but various clients I serve, including myself. I determine my workload and the time I take to get work done. I don’t understand how any employer can expect parents to work at full capacity, full-time from home, with no child care. Employees just aren’t going to always be readily available at their employers beck and call.

We all remember this guy. Now we are all this guy. #workfromhome #workfromhomeparenting #workfromhomewithkids

Kids will be in the background. Your work may have to slow down. It’s inevitable. You can’t do it all, so prioritize and forget about the rest. Maybe you can get your time in but not in traditional hours. Mute is your new best friend on conference calls.

credit: Philadelphia Museum of Art. #workfromhome #workfromhomeparenting #workfromhomewithkids

If you can, get up early and get some work cranked out before the kids are up and running. When they do wake up, how amazing for them to get to have a bowl of cereal in front of the TV, while you wrap up whatever you’re working on in the moment.

Try to schedule your day into chunks if you can. I find devoting attention to my kids in solid chunks fills them up to give me some time to devote my attention to work while they are happy to do their own thing for a little while. You could also try getting them going with something (lego, play-doh, colouring), then slip off very quietly to your computer. Set up reading time or a writing (or scribbling) workshop, so you can participate in the activity alongside them, doing your own work. I can usually get through a bunch of emails at least. Your kids are now your colleagues.

set up some activities for kids to work on along side you. Your kids are your colleagues now. #workfromhome #workfromhomewithkids #homeoffice

How to keep kids busy when working from home

It’s very hard to spend an entire work day juggling both at the same time, as I am sure you are all now well aware. If you can, switch back and forth between work and kids, kids and work. Let it be known. “I’m going to play this game with you but then I have some things to do.”

What’s working at our house for now is splitting the day. If you have the luxury, one parent can work 8 or 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. (starting as early as you can manage), the other 1 p.m. - 5 or 6 p.m. When you’re not working, you’re parenting.

For those of us with school-aged kids, this also opens time to help facilitate whatever is going to come from their teachers. Which really, for younger kids, just needs to be play-based learning, reading, and writing (please don’t stress about setting up a full-blown school day in your house. There’s no need. Your house is not a school).

If you can’t split the day in half, at least try for a couple hours on and a couple hours off rotating between parents. If you don’t have someone at home to share the load, rotate between hands-on and hands-off parenting by providing a distraction. For instance, if we both have to do something at the same time, it’s screen time. This can be cartoons, a movie, an educational game, or online stories. You could also set them up on a video call, if you have an extra device, to hang out with a family member or friend while you tackle some tasks. Maximize your productivity during their screen time.

Fun activities our kids have been doing online

Storyline Online (“streams videos featuring celebrated actors reading children’s books alongside creatively produced illustrations”)
Lunch Doodles with children’s author Mo Willems (learning to draw all the popular characters & other art lessons)
Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens Home Safaris (learn about a different animal each day, including an activity)
P.E. with Body Coach Joe Wicks (a home workout aimed at kids)
Go Noodle (movement and mindfulness videos)
Cosmic Kids Yoga (Yoga, mindfulness and relaxation made fun for kids)

When it comes to calls, I have tried to prime the situation. Set out more than enough snacks, put on a show, and explain (beg) NOT to come to me unless it’s an ultimate emergency. It never fails. Three minutes into a phone interview and there they are next to me whining for MORE SNACKS WTF. My dagger eyes and death glares have gotten really good. I swear sometimes if I didn’t even let them know I was getting on the phone in the first place, they wouldn’t bother me.

#truth This pretty much sums it up! #workfromhomewith kids #workfromhomeparenting #homeoffice

This last suggestion is going to make for long, exhausting days but anything you can save until later, save until later. Do that work in the evenings once they go to bed. You’ll achieve far more in two hours alone at night than you will over four hours with your kids, trust me. It’s also totally acceptable to work with a glass of wine (or fun beverage of choice) as your company at night. This makes this option slightly more appealing and a little less painful (but let’s get real, these days an earlier drink is probably also acceptable).

How to work from home and look after a child at the same time

Get up early
Prioritize and let go of the rest
Flex your schedule - get work done but not in the traditional hours
Mute button = new bestie
Schedule your day into chunks
Set up quiet activities you can work along side (lego, play-doh, colouring)
Divide and conquer the day with your partner if you have that luxury
Provide solid distractions, like TV, online games and stories, a video call with a friend or family
Maximize your productivity during their screen time
Master dagger eyes and death glares to shoot while you’re on the phone
Catch up on work once they’re in bed if you have too.
Breathe

If you have to plow through work with them right by your side - godspeed. Just clench those teeth, breathe and remember this is not the new forever. It’s a moment in time. Take it in 15-minute increments and roll with the punches. Do what you need to survive, let go of any guilt, and lower your expectations. We’re all in survival mode now. Also, some kids respond really well to bribery. Just sayin’.