A challenging but very rewarding endeavor
This is a challenge but something that we should all embrace. How many times have you heard parents bemoan “I wish I could spend more time with the kids?”, well, now is your opportunity! However, we strongly advise you to approach this in a very systematic and coordinated manner.
Here are a few things we recommend:
You are most likely going to get the bulk of your work done early in the morning and late at night when the little ones are in dreamland. Plan your day accordingly. Morning and night time should be your focus time, especially morning time.
- Have the kids in a routine, create spaces in the house where they do different activities. Drawing, jigsaw puzzles etc.
- Don’t put them on screens all the time, only when you’re on a conference call, what’s rare is wonderful. Just make sure they come off the screen as soon as you’re done.
- Get them involved in your work. a them to make a PowerPoint presentation or get them to draw something that you can share with your colleagues on a video conference. Many kids don’t fully understand what their parents jobs are, it’s a great time for them to learn now.
- Manage expectations with your company accordingly. You need to explain to your colleagues, I need to take a 30 minute break to play Lego at 10:00am and then another break at 4:00pm. This was time you would have ordinarily stepped out to go to Starbucks with your colleague before the lockdown.
- Add up the amount of time you actually spend working when you’re at home. You’d be amazed. Compare this to when you were in the office. Needless to say, this is on a case by case basis but for instance, you don’t need to:
- Commute
- Go outside for a coffee
- Go outside for lunch
- Attend unnecessary meetings (we’ve all been there)
- Attend leaving drinks
- Attend company parties
- While none of these things waste time individually, the accumulation of them all starts to add up.
- You need to take breaks, if you now start at 6am instead of 9am, you need to take a mental break, park nearby that’s empty in the morning? We say go for it…
- Lastly, being with your kids should not be seen as a chore. Don’t treat it as such.