If you’re going to be working from home as your kids participate in remote learning this school year, it’s important to start your preparations as early as today. This back-to-school season is going to look very different from past years, and so will your standard workday. However, there are a few simple things you can do to make each work and school day smoother and more productive.
Creative Hacks Abound
Parents everywhere have always leaned on each other for hacks and ideas that ease their workload. As one example, creative home hacks from Mommifried can help to make your life easier and home cleaner. From using lemon juice to remove stains to dusting household surfaces with coffee filters, there are simple tips that will take some of the struggle out of each work and school day at home.
Parenting hacks extend beyond other moms and dads, too. To simplify meal time during the week, for instance, Taste of Home offers 56 quick and easy dinner recipes to make school night meals a breeze. If you’re lucky enough to have a middle schooler at home with you, he or she could even help to prepare family dinners during the week.
Start Your Preparations Now
As you brace yourself for the 2020 back-to-school season, there are some steps you should take now to prepare for the challenging year ahead. For instance, you may need to upgrade your home internet connection if you’ll be working online while your children participate in virtual learning each day. You can still get a reliable high-speed WiFi connection if you live in a rural area and don’t have access to broadband internet, or you could try using a Wi-Fi extender or booster to enhance the strength of your internet connection.
Before the start of the school year, you’ll also want to create a designated workspace for yourself and your children. While your home office space will help you to stay productive and focused on your work, your kids will need a student workspace in order to stay organized, comfortable, and on track with their school work.
In addition to creating designated workspaces and ensuring that your home internet connection is reliable, you may wish to look for a nanny, babysitter, or pet sitter to assist you during the workweek. Finding the right nanny, babysitter, or pet sitter can take some time, so start your preparations as early as possible.
Create Smoother Work and School Days
After making a few important preparations for the school year ahead, you’ll want to start thinking about some of the challenges you could face while working from home with your kids — as well as the things you can do to overcome them. From the interruptions and distractions you’ll be faced with while working from home with your kids, to a general lack of productivity and focus, the school year ahead could very well test your sanity.
However, you’ll create a smoother day and boost productivity while working from home with your kids if you:
- Start each day with a good morning routine for you and the rest of your family.
- Create healthy boundaries that you and your children must follow while working, schooling, and playing from home.
- Use productivity apps to minimize outside distractions, track your time, and manage all your different projects.
- Give yourself time to destress and unwind after especially challenging days.
The Bottom Line
Working from home with your kids amid COVID-19 may be more than you bargained for, but it’ll get easier and less chaotic once your household gets into the swing of things, establishes some healthy boundaries, and adjusts to this new normal. Plus, knowing your children are safe and healthy at home will help you to get by during this challenging time — as well as the knowledge that the coronavirus crisis will eventually pass, and things will slowly return to how they once were.
