During quarantine, many parents have to work from home. On the other hand, schools are closed and as a result, they have to fulfil both the responsibility of working and taking care of the children at home during this period, but what do you think are the best ways to working from home with a baby? In this article, SOJECT introduces some of these methods.
Working at home with a baby or babysitting?
If you believe: “How good! I work at home and take care of my children.” I should say that this thesis has mostly failed. Working at home and having children is a combination of water and oil. Although they are mixed for a few moments, this mixture does not remain stable. Of course, if you want my personal opinion, these conditions are better than working outside the home. But you have to be realistic anyway.
When you make a video call to your child several times a day from your office, all your little one does is smile at you and say he misses you. He does not have access to your documents to tear them all down or write his cartoon on your document CDs. But when you work at home, everything is different.
This article will help you to balance the two responsibilities as much as possible.
Plan
Try to show that the living conditions and routine for your child are not much different in comparison to the past and it’s the same when they went to kindergarten or school. Having a timeline takes children out of the world of chaos and into their daily activities. They are required to go to bed at the same time as in pre-Coronavirus times, and when and to what extent they are allowed to watch television.
This will allow you to have a clear plan for your work and avoid clutter
Be realistic
Make your expectations realistic. Surely you can not work with a baby at home like the previous. Your colleagues will notice this too. Not being realistic when working from home with a baby can only result in excessive fatigue, frustration, and possible quitting. When your co-workers see that you still have high expectations of yourself and take on heavy responsibilities, they think you can handle it and give you more work. So be honest with yourself and others and limit your work.
In addition, one of the problems with working from home with a baby is unforeseen accidents. Your child may be injured, sick or need your help while playing. It is clear that in this situation, you should prefer your child to work and treat him kindly.
Remember that nothing in the world replaces your child and your negligence is irreparable.
Be flexible
When you work at the office, you have a fixed work schedule which after it you can do your personal chores. But you need to be flexible in working from home with your child. You probably can not work all the previous hours without interruption. In other words, you may need to adjust your work to your child’s concerns. Although this is not possible for all jobs, most jobs have tasks that you can do before or after office hours. Maybe when your child sleeps or plays. In other words, you have to wait for the opportunity to work.
If your child has a set bedtime, it may be easier to stick to a pre-arranged schedule, but flexibility plays an important role in the case of children whose daily activities are unpredictable.
You can set tasks that have priority or time constraints for office time and do the rest of the work during the hours you find.
Specify a particular room to work
Although you may have to do some things while breastfeeding or putting your baby to bed, generally try to find a suitable place when you work from home with a baby. This is a place where you are present during office hours and other specific times. Your business meetings will probably be in this part of the house. For these reasons, you need to keep part clean and tidy – I know that this might be a little unrealistic for working from home with a baby – but try anyway.
One of the best ways is to take care of your baby outside of this place. If your child is older and can understand you, gently notice over time that this room is not allowed.
Separating the workplace helps you to be more focused and to have better conditions in the case of voice and video calls.
Get help from technology but don’t overdo
Entertaining your kid with TV and tablets can also help. Schedule certain hours of the day to play your child’s favourite cartoons. This time can be your office hours so that you can work more safely. Many educational films and cartoons have been produced in recent years that not only entertain your child but also teach him things. Even if the kid can use Hand Free, he/she can be by your side during working hours. You work, and he/she watches his favourite cartoon.
In addition to cartoons, puzzle software and other entertainment which can be found inside your tablet may also help.
Work shifts
If both you and your spouse work from home with a baby, you can work shifts. When you work, your spouse will take care of the baby and feed him/her and vice versa. By doing this, you can work more uninterrupted hours, and will feel more comfortable.
Of course, if you are the mother of a child, you will probably have to check her a few times during your husband’s shift. However, I think things will be much better than before.
Get help from a babysitter.
Although hiring a babysitter is a risk in this recent epidemic, as our article can work after these circumstances we can say it is helpful to hire a part-time babysitter. You do not have to hire a full-time staff member, but if you can leave your child with him or her during working hours, you have won.
Count on your child taking a nap and playing time
Working at home with your child requires that you take advantage of the smallest of opportunities. When you add up the short time, it becomes a considerable amount of time. So even count on your child taking a nap and playing time. Always try to keep your laptop on. You can also do some work through your smartphone; things such as answering messages, checking calls, scheduling, reading or editing reports. All you have to do when the kids snooze or play is go quickly to your mobile phone and laptop and do the small tasks.
In addition, if there are audio and video reports that you need to listen to and see, you can do this when you put your baby to bed or breastfeed. Listening to files while cleaning the house, washing dishes and other daily chores is also a good idea.
You can even do some of your work while exercising or walking. This is the audio part of the work. I do a lot of voice coordination or making my own calls while walking. Of course, if I find time for that!
Give yourself a break
Working at home with a child requires a lot of mental energy. So it is natural that you need more rest. Give yourself a chance sometimes. If you work non-stop and try to fill all your time, you may get sick. Make the most of your weekends and try to get more sleep.
Be sure to set aside time to exercise. You can do this with your child. Go for a walk or park together. You can exercise as long as your child is playing.
Also, make time to play with your child. Remember that you are the only one he has at home. When playing with your child, try to forget about work problems and have a good time.
Old methods are sometimes useful
Remember your childhood, when there was no virtual world, tablets, mobiles, and laptops. Try to remember your games and entertainment. Try to provide opportunities for your children to enjoy the real world and engage in physical activities. These activities help them to be more creative and healthy. In addition, it gives you a good opportunity to work. When children play physically, they spend a lot of energy and will sleep well to provide a good chance for you to work. In addition, you can use physical puzzles, logos, kite making, and other fun activities.
Do not turn down kind offers from others.
If one of your relatives and friends suggests that he/she will take care of your child for a few hours, this may be a good opportunity for you. So, accept the kindness of others and thank them. Working with a child at home is hard, and you deserve help from others.
Explain your situation well to your bosses
You do not need to explain the details, but your boss needs to know how and at what times you are available. Make sure you get online and do your duties during the hours you commit.
When you go online, show that it works effectively and that you care about the details. For example, tell your colleague that the report he or she sent you was very helpful, and point out any bugs or issues if necessary.
Although it is difficult to work with children at home, SOJECT hopes to help working parents at home with the tips it has provided.
