Happy New Year!
As I write this, I am now about 4-5 weeks into school holidays with a few more weeks to go before they start back! Excitedly I have the eldest Mini-Me starting his second year of high school (Year 8!) whilst the youngest one starts Grade 6 and her last primary school year!
Today I thought is a great way to start the year off is by sharing my tips for anyone who works from home….and also has kids at home during the school holidays!
We are all in different stages of our parenthood so some of you may have toddlers, others primary kids, high school kids or a combination of them all!
Some days the struggle of the juggle is there, other days, the day and work flows really easily. So I am sharing my top tips for working from home when the kids are also there!
10 TOP TIPS for working from home with kids:
- Flexibility of hours – the main reason I started my business was the flexibility to work around my children. So during the holidays, I am often up early working before they are, then spend the majority of the day with them before doing some more work in the evenings. Be sure to communicate the hours to your clients as well if they change during the school holidays.
- Communicate with Clients – definitely let them know if you have kids at home with you during the day, especially if you are making or taking phone calls.
- Utilise friends – offer to do a kid swap for a few hours, half a day or even a day so that you and then your friends can get work done (especially if they are also working). This tip also works well if you work outside the home.
- Utilise family – the Grandparents would love to have their grandchildren! Be it for a few hours, a day or even a mini-holiday, it is a great opportunity for them to continue to build relationships.
- Utilise older siblings – they could take the kids to the park for an hour! Or dependant on their age….a movie, shops and more.
- Movies / TV – now I’m not advocating putting the kids in front of the TV or a movie ALL DAY or even EVERYDAY….however for an hour (or perhaps two?), pop their shows on that they don’t get to watch regularly and let them relax and binge-watch (I do it on Netflix so occasionally it doesn’t hurt them to do it). Alternatively my two also get to use their IPADS….as during term time they only get it for an hour a day and weekends only.
- Nanny/AuPair – I’ve seen on many pages that people often utilise the services of a Nanny or AuPair. Another alternative (depending on their ages) is to use daycare.
- Holiday Programs / Camps – if you have primary school children then use the Vacation Care – they run great programs to keep the kids entertained! Alternatively there are also camps run by many groups that you can send the kids to.
- Work whilst sleeping – the kids I mean! If your children still take naps, then try to use this time for “work”. Ignore all the other things that need to get done around the house as this is a distraction and not the priority!
- Meal Prep – get the meal prep done first thing in the morning, utilise a slow cooker, defrost the meat. It will definitely make the end of the day easier when you have already prepped/planned what you are having for dinner that night in the morning (especially if you or the kids are tired by the end of the day!).
Remember the old adage “it takes a village to raise a baby”….make sure you’ve got your tribe of friends and family or whoever it is around you to help and provide support!
And remember to go easy on yourself….the struggle and juggle is real and some days you will feel like you are winning and others days not.
Post a comment below and share with me any other tips that you use whilst working at home with kids.
Until next time!
Jo xx
Edited 14 January 2020
