How To Work From Home With Kids During the Coronavirus Pandemic

Have you ever had to pull up to a drive-thru and order for a car full of kids?  There is so much going on and people are yelling out the orders while the fast-food worker is on the other end with zero patience probing you to spit out your order with absolutely no mistakes.  Then you give up driving away in shame.  That’s what my home has felt like lately.  Now that I think about it, that is probably not the best depiction of my home. I guess I am saying that my house has been full of chaos.  The takeaway word here is chaos!  

We are living in some crazy times.  The Coronavirus Pandemic has changed everyone’s life on the planet in a profound way.  Our family had a vacation planned for Hawaii during spring break.  But as the virus spread, we realized that we would have to cancel our trip.  So what did we do in its place?  We traded in palm trees and beautiful beaches for paint rollers and a new rug.  That’s right.  We decided to give our living room a makeover.  That’s because this was the same week that the government asked the public to not fly out unless necessary.  Many states also banned crowds of 10 or more and shut down restaurants, department stores and pretty much everything else except for essential places like grocery stores.  I would now have to work from home.  Then things got real when the schools closed.  My wife is a teacher and we have three kids.  That meant that during the Coronavirus pandemic everyone would be together and I would still have to work from home with my kids while they are bouncing off of the walls from boredom.

I always tell myself, “Don’t be that juice that comes out before the mustard!” 

So I had to find the silver lining in my cloud of doom.  We had to do some major adjustments and get a routine in place that would allow me to still get work done.  Now we have put together some steps on how to work from home with kids effectively during the Coronavirus Pandemic.   Our kids are ages 7-12 but you can modify as you like to the needs of your family.

9 Steps To Work From Home With Kids Effectively

1.  Set a bedtime – I chose this one first because getting enough rest the night before will help determine how rested you and your kids will be.  
2.  Set a time to wake up – You can plan on getting up a little earlier than everyone else to get a head start on getting some work done.
3.  Get focused work done before they wake in the morning – What do I mean by that?  Studies show that the morning is when you are most rested and focused.  So work on parts of your job that require focus as opposed to items that require a small amount of time.
4. Play with your kids early – If you have got some work done and then your kids wake up, take a break and go play with them.  Even if they wake up early with you, spend time with them at that moment.  Then you won’t have the guilty feeling of going straight to work while they are in another part of the house.  And they will have some satisfaction being with you at the start of their day.
5. Get a schedule set for them – This includes reading, school work, playtime without you, playtime with you, snacks, naps, chores, outside time or anything you deem necessary.  
6. Let them have some control over the day – Most of the time when kids are upset or acting out, it is because they don’t have any control over what happens in their life.  Let them pick what to do during playtime.  Let them pick lunch or even dinner.  If you end up watching a movie, let them pick that.  This will give your kids a sense of control and will give them a better attitude during the day.
7. Set boundaries on your workspace – Kids need boundaries.  Explain to them your work boundaries and why you are working in the first place.  My kids know that if I am on a phone call with a customer, that they can not come knocking on my door.  I will usually tell them that I am going to be on a call so they aren’t barging into my room.  
8. Let your kids help you – Towards the end of your workday, you should be able to have most of the important things done.  If your kids are older, maybe they can help print or copy a document.  They can hit the send button on an email.  You get the picture.  Kids love doing grown-up things.  So they will think this is fun!
9. End your work on time – This is the most important one.  Don’t let your work time bleed into the time you would normally be off.  So if you tell your kids that you are done by 5pm, then keep that promise.  If something is lingering that didn’t get done, go back to it once the kids are put to bed. 

Like I said, some of these tips can be modified to your family. But if the schedule doesn’t get followed, it’s ok.  If all of your work didn’t get done for the day, it’s ok.  Kids and even adults take time to adapt to new schedules and routines.  The goal is to be as productive as possible with your work and as a parent.

During this time, why not put together a fire escape plan.  Click here for one of our articles on putting one together.

What are some tips you find helpful when working from home with kids during the Coronavirus Pandemic?