The Coronavirus Pandemic has greatly impacted almost every aspect of our normal, everyday lives. In response, our world has gone pretty much entirely virtual. Millions of children are learning from home and millions of parents are working from home. While this is a great opportunity to spend more time with family, this is also a time that can bring a lot of stress. You may be thinking, how in the world am I going to juggle all of this?
We want you to know that you are not alone! COVID-19 has brought all kinds of challenges our way, and trying to maintain your work schedule on top of all of this can feel like an impossible feat. These five tips for parents who are facing the challenge of working from home can help bring some of the order and consistency back into our lives.
1. Create a Quiet, Designated Space
Working from home can be challenging, especially with children running around. It can feel overwhelming and, at times, like little is getting done. One of the best ways to establish your work time is to create a quiet space strictly for working. Whether it’s a table in your garage, a space in your bedroom, or if you have a home office, designating a specific space for work will allow you to find some separation between when you are working and when you are off.
Creating a quiet, designated workspace will also let your children know when you are working. If mom or dad is in their workspace, then they are working. It will be easier for the little ones to understand.
2. Establish a Flexible, yet Functional Routine
As a parent during this Coronavirus Pandemic, you are juggling so many things. For the first time in your lifetime, schools are canceled indefinitely, and workers are either being laid off or sent home with their work and computers. Nothing about these times is normal.
Both children and adults thrive off routine. Knowing what to expect, especially during this pandemic, will help ease some of the chaos you and your family may be feeling. Create a routine with your family that brings out the best in everyone. If you have younger children, try and take advantage of their nap times by scheduling your important meetings and work calls then. If your children are older, you could simply schedule your more important work-related items during their school time.
An established routine will bring some normalcy, but it’s important to maintain a little flexibility. There will be some days where things will come up–whether it’s that the children won’t nap or need help with their homework. Just try your best to account for the occasional change every now and then.
3. Incorporate Family Time
This pandemic has a lot of negatives, but one silver lining is that you are with your family. What other time in your life will you have the opportunity to spend so much time with your children?
When creating your schedule for this time, try and incorporate family time into the mix. Have lunch with your children, schedule a mid-afternoon walk or family activity at the same time each day. Not only will this create a sense of normalcy, but it will also give you something to look forward to each day!
4. Set Realistic Goals
It can be easy to feel like you are being pulled in a million different directions and never getting anything accomplished. Making a list of what you want to get accomplished at the start of each day can help keep you focused and feeling more productive.
Each morning, set aside time to think about your schedule and physically write down what you want to accomplish for the day. The list can include simple things such as sending a certain number of emails or bigger things like attending a particular meeting.
With all that is going on, it can be so helpful to set realistic goals and physically mark them off as you accomplish them. It will give you more drive, and a bigger feeling of accomplishment.
5. Be Kind to Yourself
The threat of the Coronavirus Pandemic is a national emergency. With so much uncertainty going on in the world, we mustn’t be too hard on ourselves. We are all doing the best that we can. There will be days when you feel like you’re on top of the world, and there will also be days when you feel like you got nothing accomplished. And, that’s okay. Be kind to yourself and tackle each day at a time.
In Conclusion…
Parents working from home are facing such unique challenges during this Coronavirus Pandemic. On top of entertaining their children, helping them keep up with their studies, and everyday household upkeep, they are also being expected to continue working full time. It sounds nearly impossible to handle! These tips are just some of the things we have found to be successful as parents working from home, and we hope that you find them to be successful as well!
This piece is meant simply to inform, not to provide any legal or medical advice.
About Corvus Janitorial Systems
Founded in 2004 to make people’s lives better, Corvus is a full-service commercial cleaning franchisor that offers cleaning services through reputable local Franchisees. Corvus has been guided by its mission to transform people and transform places by consistently delivering independence, security, and freedom to Franchisees who deliver high-quality cleaning to offices, educational buildings, medical buildings/offices, recreational centers, industrial parks, and other spaces. The company has 17 regional support offices across the United States with nearly 900 Franchisees. For more information regarding Corvus, visit www.corvusjanitorial.com or www.corvusjanitorial.com/franchise for franchise information.
