12 Secrets to Efficiently Work from Home with Children

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Disclaimer: This post Disclosure might contain Amazon affiliate links. Any purchase made through such links will award me a small commission (or referral fee), at no extra cost for you. Regardless of whether or not I receive a commission, I only recommend products that I personally use and/or genuinely love (I would never promote any products or services that I wouldn’t pay for myself), and I always have my readers’ best interest at heart.

Efficiently Work from Home with Children

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many parents have to work from home with children now more than ever and need advice on how to be productive and cope. I have been a work from home mom for the past 3 ½ years. Let me tell you we’ve had our ups and downs. I am an RN and when I had my daughter I was working full-time at a hospital.

Working 12-hour shifts is not the best schedule for a newborn. My daughter quickly protested my work schedule. On the days that I worked, my husband, who works as well, had to drop off our daughter at my mom’s house and pick her back up when he got off work. She would be fussy and at times refuse to eat until I got home. We all decided that a change was needed. Being a stay at home mom was not an option for me.

I sometimes jokingly complain to my husband and I tell him, unfortunately, I married for love and not for money so now I have to work. We both get a kick out of that. Since being unemployed is not an option for me, I had to find a job that would be a better fit for my family and me. My friend’s sister is also an RN who works for an insurance company and she got me on at her job and it has been the best decision I could’ve ever made for my family.

I love being a nurse but I am a mom first. While I am working from home with my children, I still devote my time to them. It is a balancing act, raising children, working from home, cooking, and managing the house all at the same time. I’m only one person, how do I maintain my sanity?

I normally don’t, I just own my crazy and work with it. When I have too much on my plate, I become very forgetful. I accept that and it’s not going to change so I manage my house by setting reminders for myself.

My husband is very helpful as well. I have a list of tips that helped me become more productive at work, proactive with nurturing my kids’ education, and keeping the house organized enough! I can’t always have a spotless house with two toddlers.

How to be productive and work from home with children?

  1. Get an Early start: 
yellow alarm clock that will help you to wake up early so that you can efficiently work from home with children
Wake up early to do as much as you can. It is tempting to wake up when it’s time for you to start working. Take time to review your list of priorities and what is on your agenda today. Plus you get an extra moment to yourself before the kids wake up unless your kids are like mine. My kids must have a tracking device on me because it doesn’t matter how deep of a sleep they are in, they can sense my whereabouts so they will usually wake up less than 5 minutes after I do.
  1. Use a Planner: 
Pink Planner that will help you to efficiently work from home with children and maintain organization.
The key to being efficient is to be organized. Whether it is a to-do list, daily/monthly planner, or calendar. Use whatever you can keep up with to write down your routine, list of daily priorities, and any other reminders that are important to you. My most productive days are when I plan out each day ahead of time.
  1. Prioritize: 
A Black letterboard that says things to do and it is numbered 1-3. Number one says own today.
I sometimes find it easy to brain dump all of the tasks that I need to complete for work and my kids on a list. Then I prioritize them and write them down to establish a routine that we can all be consistent with.
  1. Be Efficient: 
Computer monitor that says Do more is promoting productivity and being efficient
Prioritizing your schedule and coming up with a routine that you can stick to will help you be more efficient in your secular work and also with spending quality time with your kids. That is very important. Working from home is only beneficial if it allows you to be more productive, get things done around the house, and spend the right kind of time with the kids. It is not about the quantity of time spent with your children, it is about the quality. 15 minutes of undivided attention is more beneficial than two hours of ignoring them, yelling at them to be quiet while working on the computer. This brings me to my next tip that will help with efficiency
  1. Time Block: 
An Alarm clock and a duo colored background with pink on one side and sea green on the other side. The alarm clock is to indicate the need to time block to be efficient
When it comes to organizing your home there should be a place for everything. The same is said for time. When it comes to working at home with your kids there should be a time for everything. Look at your schedule and block out time that you will devote to the kids, and time that you can devote to work. Plan out what activities you will do with your children and have them prepared. This prevents wasting time trying to find things that you need before playtime. Do the same thing with work. Plan out what tasks you have to do with work and how you will execute them so that you can work as fast and efficiently as possible. This has been my most successful tip. Because of my efficiency, it does not take me an entire 8 hours to do my job each day. I can get things done within no more than 4-5 hours a day! This gives me more time to do a daily load of laundry, read books to my children, do fun activities with them, etc.
  1. Have a dedicated workspace: 
work from home with children using this designated workspace that shows a table with a MacBook computer and a coffee mug on top of it.
This goes along with having a place for everything. If you are going to work from home with children then having a designated workspace will keep your work life more organized and separate your work from your personal world. I don’t have space in my house for an office so my desk is in my bedroom and it works for me.

How can you Work from Home and take care of your baby?

  1. Baby Wear: This is very helpful when you need to multi-task. I used the Baby K’tan when my son was an infant and it was a lifesaver and my favorite gift I received from my baby shower. This is an absolute must-have for any mom with an infant regardless if they work from home or not. You can wear your baby while doing chores around the house, walking around the neighborhood, etc. It is also breastfeeding friendly so I was able to breastfeed while wearing him and work on the computer or do some housework all at the same time. You can wear your baby with this wrap in many different ways.

How do I keep my kids busy while working from Home?

  1. Encourage Independent play: 
work from home with children while they are playing together safely on the floor and keeping each other occupied.
Depending on how old your children are you can block time for them to play independently in a safe space so that you can work while hopefully having a clear visual of them. We have a pack and play set up and our son will play with his toys in the pack and play but only if his sister joins him. That works for me! Also, I recently found out my kids play together for hours at my mom’s house and it was all due to a playroom that she set up. I do not have the space to set up a dedicated room just for play but I noticed that legos and role-playing toys are what keeps them occupied.
  1. Have a list of activities for the kids: 
work from home with children by keeping them busy with activities such as coloring with markers and crayons or painting.
There are a ton of activities that you can do with the kids that could keep them entertained for hours. This is essential if you want to work from home with children. You can do activities with them during your designated time block that you have for them and you can also have them engage in safe activities independently during their free playtime so you can get things done.
  1. Call for back-up: 
work from home with children by using a babysitter for help when necessary
If you work from home with children then you know that there are times when you will have to call for back-up. Have a good plan for childcare in place for times when you just need a moment to work alone. I sometimes have scheduled WebEx meetings at work and it is unreasonable to think that my two toddlers will stay quiet during my 1-hour meeting. Times like this, I bring them to my parents’ house. Oma and Pa love to spend time with the grandkids and my children love to spend time with them. Mainly because there are no rules at their house. What an extreme contrast to the days of my childhood with them.
  1. Be flexible: If at all possible be flexible with your schedule. Things won’t always go as planned. My work hours are flexible. I don’t have to be strapped to the computer from 8 am-5 pm consistently. There have been times when I just had to spend the day with my kids so as far as work I would do what I could and when my husband came home, he would spend time with the kids so that I can quickly catch up on work. It’s a win for us all. The beauty of being able to work from home with children is that it allows us to be flexible with our schedule.
  2. Be Patient: 
An hourglass filled with hot pink sand shows the need to be patient when working at home with children
It can be stressful and frustrating when working at home with children, but be patient. It takes time to learn to juggle and come up with a routine that works for everyone

Read: How to Keep a Clean House with Kids.

Disclaimer: This post Disclosure might contain Amazon affiliate links. Any purchase made through such links will award me a small commission (or referral fee), at no extra cost for you. Regardless of whether or not I receive a commission, I only recommend products that I personally use and/or genuinely love (I would never promote any products or services that I wouldn’t pay for myself), and I always have my readers’ best interest at heart.

9 thoughts on “12 Secrets to Efficiently Work from Home with Children”

  1. These are all awesome suggestions. So often, we think we need to be supermoms when in reality we can do our thing and the kids can entertain themselves. My kids have learned they can be with me without interrupting me.
    I would also add that you want to schedule in time to give your family your full attention without work distractions. My kids tend to respect my working hours a lot more when they know they will get my attention at certain times.

    Reply
    • That is so true Crystal, it is very important to take out time to give our kids our full attention. Kids tend to act out when they feel neglected, but We want them to know how loved and important they are and we can do that by giving them our undivided attention. It can be hard to juggle our time, I find it easier if I plan out my day and set out a specific amount of time to spend with my kids.

      Reply
  2. These are great tips for working from home with kids! Even as a SAHM, I use a few of these to get things done around the house during the day. Waking up early, independent play and babywearing are key to my sanity! 😛

    Reply
  3. such a valuable post.
    working from home with kids around is a challenging task, but I seriously believe that implementing some of the tips in this article will surely work.
    thanks for sharing this awesome post.

    Reply
    • Thanks Hari, I have been a work from home mom for 4 years and it definitely is challenging to balance being productive at work while also giving your kids the quality time that they need and deserve. I am so happy that you enjoyed this post!

      Reply

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