5 Musts for the work from home parents!
If you don't know already I have two kids under two...yes, two children 14.5 months apart! And these are the items you cannot live without when working from home.
A Sense of Humor
Seriously this is first on the list because you CANNOT go through a day working and trying to be professional while also managing to wrangle an 18-month-old and a 5-month-old. So if you can't laugh at yourself or your toddler for doing or saying something CrAzY!
You are on the fast track to Crazytown!
🚂🤪
🛑 STOP 🛑
Take a deep breath and f#cking laugh it off 😂
A Support System
This can include anyone you are comfortable "rollin' up & pushing the kids out of the car" and quickly speeding off 🏎...maybe not even coming to a full stop.
When you need to get an important task done it is best to get rid of those kiddos-- allowing you to focus on one important item at a time.
Communication with Clients
Be sure you are clear with your coworkers, clients, and subcontractors. Letting these important cogs in your working machine know that some of your standard operating procedures may change.
For instance, if prior to creating offspring you were always answering the phone at the first ring📱
But now you sometimes have to call back at a later time 🕣
These details help keep the trust between you and your clients but also show how you have grace for busy schedules.
Let's be honest who isn't elbows-deep in some form of sh!t.
Headphones
Just buy good noise-canceling headphones.
That's it! And if you don't know why you don't have kids at home...
A Schedule
Okay, this is the biggy ➡️ A schedule that fits with your family!
Making sure you are balancing both work and family is important. Trying to "do it all" is killing our work-from-home parents. You cannot work 40+ hours a week & raise kid(s), at least not without help and a schedule.
For our family, we use google calendar--syncing both my and charlie's calendars. All fire shifts go in on the rotating days, kids appointments, pet appointments, group events, client meetings, college classes, bills, date night, EVERYTHING!
I block out about 2 weeks at a time, meaning I am only looking two weeks ahead for hours need for tasks like...
Current Projects
Regular client maintenance
Database check-ins
Follow up with Leads
Internal Admin BS
Gone is procrastinating! No more "cram it into nap time"! Plan ahead, even one day at a time.
BONUS POINTS
Remember to relax, take a deep breath, call the sitter, get a pedicure and respond to some emails!