How to Balance Working From Home and Being a Parent (Top 5 Tips)
Parenthood is a full-time job. Combine that with a job you do from home, and you’re basically working 24/7/365. Juggling your professional and personal lives can be a challenge, but when both happen in your home, creating consistent boundaries and schedules can be an even harder task. But fear not! We’ve collected many tips from stay-at-home moms and dads over the years. Here are our top five recommendations on how to balance working from home and being a parent.
1. Set expectations for your kids while you are working.
Expectations for your kids will vary depending on their ages. For example, you can’t tell a baby not to bother you while you’re placing orders. However, if your children are old enough to have certain boundaries, make sure they know when it is and is not okay to interrupt you while you’re working. As your kids get older and their independence grows, this will become less of an issue. An example of a healthy expectation is asking your kids to do their homework as soon as they get home so you can finish up your workday by the time their homework is finished.
2. Adhere to a consistent morning routine.
Whether your kids are barely able to walk or balancing school, sports, and other activities, a consistent morning routine will help you start each day off on the right foot. Not only will this give your kiddos a schedule to adhere to, but it will also help you get in the right mindset for the day. Different schedules work for different people, but as long as you come out of your morning routine feeling productive and on top of things, that’s all that matters.
3. Allow yourself some flexibility with your routine.
Let’s face it: kids won’t always adhere to the schedule you set. If your kids are home with you all day, odds are they’ll walk in on an important phone call, make a mess while you’re placing an order, or require your attention when you’ve only gotten one thing done on your to-do list. Instead of becoming frustrated, try to allow yourself some flexibility in your routine. We recommend sorting your list by priority – start with the most important thing you have to do, then work your way down form there. That way, if something comes up that disrupts your work, you’ll have gotten the most important tasks out of the way.
4. Prep on your days off.
While you may not get a day off parent duty, you should give yourself time off work. That being said, those days off can be really helpful prep days to get you and your family ready for the rest of the week. Do some meal prep, run errands, and deep-clean the house while you have the time. This will save you time and energy during the week.
5. Ask for help when you need it.
Even though we believe working moms are superheroes, we also believe that superheroes have sidekicks for a reason. Don’t be afraid to reach out to family, friends, neighbors, or a babysitting service if you’re having trouble juggling everything. This can be especially helpful when you have a lot of meetings or a fast-approaching deadline.
Find Balance with Kaeser & Blair
At Kaeser & Blair, we’ve helped hundreds of work-from-home moms build successful careers without sacrificing time with their loved ones. If you’re ready to get started as a work-from-home supermom, we’re here to help. Kaeser & Blair is a promotional products distribution company that has been helping people start their own businesses for over 100 years. Learn more about us here, then contact us today for more information.
