Like many of you, I’ve been working from home starting this week. That presents a set of challenges for folks, particularly those who have young or school age children at home. Even if you don’t have kids at home, setting up an office space or figuring out a new routine can be a challenge. I have put our old family friend, the wolf puppet (named Wolfie-Guff) on guard to keep me on task (you can see in the photo above that he is quite effective at glaring).
In talking with folks who have young kids at home, I’m reminded of how challenging it can be to juggle having kids around and…well…doing anything else! Working at your job at the same time is even trickier than tasks like dishes and laundry. I found this article by with some advice on working from home with kids, maybe that will help. The people who wrote it are a person who works from home and her 11 year old son.
I encourage you to approach this new reality with kindness and compassion for yourself and your kids (and even if you don’t have kids, cut yourself some slack as you adjust to the new tasks and routines). It might be that kids need you more right now as they get used to things. Allow for some time to chill out with them. Be aware your day will not look at all like your regular work day–you might have to spread out working over a longer period to allow you more flexibility. You might not be able to put in a completely full day. As everyone gets used to the new reality, this will get easier.
Take care out there!