Has your employer recently instructed you to begin working remotely? Perhaps you’re excited about sleeping in a little later and saving gas money rather than commuting. But if you’re the parent of a toddler or baby, you may also be wondering how you’re going to keep an eye on your kids while working. These tips will help you figure out how to manage your responsibilities for your family and your employer.
Childcare
Sometimes, you won’t be able to work with your kids by your side. If you live with a spouse or partner, ask them to pitch in with childcare if they happen to have some free time during your typical working hours. Alternatively, you could consider hiring a babysitter. Care recommends calculating your budget, interviewing potential candidates, and running background checks before hiring anyone.
Adjust Your Schedule
Do you tend to have an easier time concentrating on your work when your children are napping in the afternoon or have already gone to bed for the night? Ask your boss if you could change your work schedule to account for this downtime. You may find that you can still easily meet deadlines with modified hours.
Support From Coworkers
For the first few weeks of working from home, you might feel like you just can’t get on top of everything you need to do. That’s perfectly normal! Now is the perfect time to reach out to your coworkers and ask for help. Ask for assistance by explaining your problem, discussing how you’ve tried to address it, and bringing up possible courses of action with them.
Further Your Career
After working from home for a few months and nailing down a schedule that works for your family, you may realize that you have more time on your hands than ever before. You might want to take advantage of this opportunity to invest in your education. If you’re considering a career change in the future, you may be interested in earning your degree online.
By enrolling in an online program, you can work and care for your children while studying at your own pace. For instance, if you’re thinking about becoming a teacher, you can earn an online teaching degree to get your teaching license. After finishing your bachelor’s program, your state will typically require you to submit your transcripts, go through a background check, and pass entrance exams and skills tests.
Stay Organized
When you’re a parent who works from home, you might notice that your house becomes cluttered more quickly. At the end of each day, take a few minutes to put away any items that have been misplaced, especially items in your home office. You may not have much time to clean, but thankfully, you don’t need to deep clean every room in order to tidy up and start the next day with a clean slate.
You don’t need to do everything yourself. If your children are old enough, you can encourage them to pitch in — this will help to instill good habits! Also, consider outsourcing some of your home maintenance to ease the workload, like lawn care service; using a site like Angi, you can compare rates and see consumer recommendations of qualified pros in your area.
As a parent, you might find that it takes some time to fully embrace working from home. After all, working remotely while trying to watch your kids at the same time is not an easy balancing act. But soon enough, your family will settle into a productive routine, and you’ll be grateful that you get to spend extra time with your children at home.
By: Carleen Moore, thebizbuzz.net
Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko from Pexels
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