Tips for Working From Home With Young Kids Underfoot

 

By Janice Russell

Kids make remote work a lot harder than it should be. Whether you run your own home-based business or work for a remote company, trying to stay focused and productive can seem impossible with little kids running—or crawling—around underfoot. How are you supposed to get anything done? The good news is that many remote working parents have found success in this role, and you can too! The trick is discovering what works best for your family, your individual needs, and your personal workflow. Here are some tips from Family Days Out to help you maintain your sanity as a remote working parent.

Set Up Your Workspace Strategically

If you’re working from home with a baby, you’ll need to create a home office where your baby can hang out while you sit at the computer. Set up a spot for your baby near your desk. They might be less fussy if they’re positioned right next to you. A combination home office and nursery could be an excellent compromise, especially if your home is short on space.

If your little one is going to be crawling around on the floor while you work, be sure to babyproof your home office so that they don’t get into trouble. As a result, you’ll be able to spend less time shielding your baby from potential hazards and more time focusing on your work! Look for solutions to keep your baby away from cords, electrical outlets, sharp corners, trash cans, and furniture that could tip over.

 

Delegate Work Whenever Possible

Delegating some of your work can save you a lot of stress. By outsourcing work tasks to freelancers, you’ll free up time and mental energy for your most demanding projects. Plus, you’ll have more time in the day to do things that make you happy! Whether you spend this extra time bonding with your kids or relaxing alone in a hot bath is up to you.

Administrative tasks are some of the best candidates for outsourcing. Consider hiring a virtual assistant to help you field phone calls, schedule appointments, manage customer support issues, respond to daily emails, and tackle all of those other small, tedious tasks on your plate. It’s easy to find qualified virtual assistants through freelance job boards like Upwork.

Remember that you can also delegate your household chores. Hire a professional house cleaner or have your groceries delivered. The cost of outsourcing these tasks is nothing compared to the extra free time you get out of it!

 

Split Shifts with Your Partner

If you have a partner, they’ll serve as a valuable source of support as you get used to working from home with a baby on your hip. Sit down with your partner and decide how you’re going to split up your responsibilities. Try to divide parenting tasks and household chores so that you shoulder the burden equally. If you both work from home, consider splitting your childcare shifts into blocks instead of working all day and fending off distractions the whole time. You can get a surprising amount of work down in a solid, uninterrupted four-hour block of work!

 

Find Inventive Ways to Keep Your Kids Busy

The longer you can keep your kids entertained and engaged, the more time you’ll have to focus on work. Of course, this is a lot more challenging if you have a toddler or baby. Sprout + Thrive suggests hanging household objects from your baby’s activity gym, like a whisk, handheld mirror, or bath loofa to keep your baby busy when you need to focus. Sticker activities, busy books, and sensory bins can also hold your toddler’s attention for a while. These activities can provide just enough of a distraction for your little ones so you can hop on a work call or write an important email without breaking your focus.

 

Make Time for Your Kids

If you spend most of your day looking for ways to make more time for work, you might be going about this the wrong way. Instead, focus on finding time for your kids! According to Today’s Parent, giving your kids just 15 minutes of undivided attention every day can deepen your connection with your kids while at the same time improving their behavior. This might help prevent your kids from demanding your attention while you’re working. Look for activities you can do together during a break in your workday and spend this time giving your full, undivided attention to your kids.

 

Go Easy on Yourself

The most important thing to remember about working from home as a parent is that things won’t always go smoothly, and that’s okay. There will be days when work and parenting are too much to handle. Try not to let feelings of guilt or stress overwhelm your life. Let go of control, learn to laugh when things get messy, and remember that life has a funny way of working out in the end. Missing a work meeting isn’t the end of the world. Neither is letting your child enjoy a little extra screen time so you can make a deadline. Go easy on yourself. As a parent, you have the hardest job in the world!

It’s easy to neglect your own needs when caring for a young child, but self-care will keep you primed and ready to handle anything that comes your way. According to Healthline, you can practice self-care no matter how busy you are. If all you have is a single minute, use the opportunity to down a glass of water, practice deep breathing, pop a couple of vitamins, or cuddle your baby. A brief moment of zen can break up a hectic day and help you keep your head on straight.

Nobody realizes how hard it is to work from home with a baby until they find themselves in the same situation. Believe it or not, it really is possible to juggle a remote job and a young child at the same time. Get comfortable delegating work, keep looking for new ways to keep your kid busy, and try to cherish every moment working with your little one by your side.

 

Are you looking for family-friendly weekend activities? Family Days Out can help you find fun things to do in your city, whether you’re looking for free rainy-day activities or exciting outdoor adventures. Check out the website today!