Everyone keeps talking about how much time we now have whilst working from home (WFH).
But for many of us, this is not true.
If you now find yourself at home caring for other family members, whilst trying to juggle work then you’ll feel like you’ve less time than ever to complete your work.
I’m currently in this position myself. Now schools are closed, I’m at home with two small children whilst my husband still goes out to work (he works in logistics and the supply chain – and therefore is classed as a key worker).
And with my eldest child needing daily home schooling, the role of improvised teacher now falls to me.
Pre-COVID-19, I was planning to return to work as a medical writer at the end of this month (as my maternity leave is coming to an end).
But now without childcare facilities looking to open for the foreseeable future, I need to rethink these plans.
The reality of the situation is that there is just no way I can commit fully to work, whilst caring for two young children alone.
I am fortunate in that as a medical writer, freelancing presents a viable option that will enable me to work flexibly around my husband’s work commitments (at least as an interim solution).
However, if I’m to commit to taking on work for clients, I’ll need to be productive, meet deadlines and produce quality work, all whilst caring for others.
And I’m certainly not alone in this challenge. Parents and carers all over the world are now figuring out how best to balance work commitments, whilst looking after relatives.
Today I’ll outline a few ideas that may help you manage the dual commitments of work and family care:
Go Easy on Yourself
Last week I wrote about how this is an emotionally draining time for all of us, and that protecting your well-being (and that of your loved ones) is THE top priority for getting through this pandemic.
Health and economic priorities dominate at this time, so go easy on yourself and don’t expect the same outputs as you did pre-COVID-19. I’m sure your personal goals for 2020 may now need rethinking!
If you’re juggling family care and work simultaneously it’s easy to start feeling like you’re drowning in tasks that are competing for your time.
From this point you can fall into the trap that you think you can’t do anything well. But that simply isn’t true.
You just need to do the best you can with the time available.
Prioritising work tasks on a daily basis is the key to making progress during this time…
Identify Work Priorities
For anyone integrating childcare or elder-care responsibilities within their regular working day, sticking to a 9-to-5 is unrealistic. Rather you will need to grab time where you can to work.
Your work time will probably never be so fragmented, so identifying top-priority tasks is crucial.
Don’t get lulled into a false sense of security that demonstrating productivity is important when WFH. This may result in you working solely on more immediate tasks, rather than focusing on the most important ones.
Get clear on the important tasks. Every morning, divide tasks as follows:
- Things you NEED to get done today
- Things you’d like to get done, if you had the time today
Ask yourself – What tasks are most likely to move the needle in terms of your career and/or research project? These are the things you should focus your time on.
All other work can go on the ‘if I have enough time’ pile.
Once you’ve accomplished your top-priority task(s) for the day, pat yourself on the back. Be proud of what you achieved, and shut it down!
Avoiding burnout when juggling so much, is very important.
Only attempt the other ‘if I have enough time’ tasks, if you find yourself with unexpected free time and you still have some energy left to tackle them.
Carve Out Work Time
If you’re caring for others right now, you’ll need to find pockets of time in the day in which to work.
My experience of this is largely drawn from caring for my two young children (5 yrs and 10 mos old). Therefore, a lot of my suggestions for carving out work time will be mostly applicable if you too have young families.
I’d be really interested to hearing from anyone caring for older children or adults who could offer tips and advice for others in a similar situation. If you have some suggestions for others who may be simultaneously looking after older children or adults, please hit reply or DM me at:
…leave a comment, or add to the conversation at the BB forum:
https://www.biomedbadass.com/forum/
I currently find myself in the process of career planning, registering a small business and searching for clients (for my freelancing work). All whilst trying to look after my children full-time.
If like me, you’re juggling work and small children, I’ve learned a few pointers that are useful in carving out a few hours a day to devote to work:
- Plan activities with minimal supervision: Okay so let’s be realistic, I have a 10 mo old baby so there is very little she can do right now that requires minimal supervision. This is really focused towards my 5 yr old son.
Things like movie time, reading, writing or craft activities can keep my son occupied for 20-30 mins at a stretch, and help stave off boredom for him whilst we stay at home.
Like most parents, I’ve been scouring the internet for online resources that can help occupy and teach my son.
Here’s a list of resources that we’ve found particularly fun, and can keep younger children occupied during the long days at home:
- Steer children towards more relaxing activities: If there’s a meeting that I need 30 minutes or so of uninterrupted time in the day (e.g. a chat with a recruiter, or an informational interview etc), then I’ve learnt to spend 10-15 mins or so before the meeting on calm activities with the children.
If I can get my son engrossed in a Lego or painting project for example, then this usually gives me enough time to make it through the meeting.
The baby is a little more challenging, but putting out some favourite toys or creating a play area with some interesting objects usually does the trick.
I may still need to juggle a few things during the meeting, but these can usually be managed quite smoothly if the children are occupied.
- Give quality time: I’ve found that if I give the children a good block of quality playtime with me, where I interact with them in a project, or through games etc., it will usually set them up to occupy themselves for 10-20 minutes afterwards.
This is another technique I use, if I know I have a meeting during the day.
- Capitalise on nap time: If I can get the timing right of my daughter’s nap with engrossing my son in a 30 min minimum-supervision project, then it provides a golden moment in the day where I can grab my laptop and take on a priority task.
I may not complete it, but at least I’ve made a start!
- Arrange virtual playdates: Zoom has been super helpful here for keeping my son in contact with his friends, whilst he can’t play with them in person.
Unlike older children, whom I’m sure can wax lyrical with their friends online and generally wouldn’t want their parents hovering over them whilst doing so! At least at the start, younger need an adult there to facilitate the flow of the playdate and ensure there’s is good interaction.
Setting both parties up with toys before (Lego or a favourite cuddly toy etc.), gives the playdate a theme and helps the children focus.
Depending on your child (and if the virtual playdate is going well), you may find you can snatch 10 or 15 mins to fire off a few emails during this time.
- Work shifts: If you have a partner, you may be able to work shifts where possible. This is particularly effective if they too are WFH.
- Work after bedtime: This is my fail-safe. We now have a good bedtime routine established in our house. It’s taken some work, but we’re now reaping the rewards.
I can normally get a good few hours of uninterrupted work done in the evenings, making this the most productive period of the day for me in terms of work.
Homeschooling Young Children
If you’ve children of school age then you’ll be facing the added pressure of homeschooling during the lockdown.
I’ve read a lot about this topic in recent weeks, as I try to gather information on the best approaches and how to make the most out of it.
Most resources suggest implementation of a solid structure and routine to the learning day.
This advice is helpful to some extent. For example, I find my son engages in educational activities far better in the mornings, but by the afternoon is more driven by free play, rather than a rigid learning structure.
A strict routine per se doesn’t work for us. My son is far too young for a rigid timetable. And he’s at home, not at school. It’s different. Home is also the place he relaxes.
Therefore, we treat the homeschooling schedule more flexibly. I like to think it as more of a flow. There’s a rough idea of learning tasks that we could achieve in the day, and sometimes we do them and sometimes we don’t.
We’re not treating it like holiday time, so the mealtimes and bedtimes remain fixed. But I’m not stressing or feeling guilty if we spend most of the day playing. After all children learn through play.
I’ve definitely found regular reading together is one of the most rewarding experiences. So this is something we do try to incorporate somewhere in our daily routine.
Using some of the resources listed above, we’re trying to engage in fun activities and enjoy the homeschooling experience together.
But the simple message is that for young children who require a lot of adult support with distance learning: A little goes a long way.
…Don’t put yourself under too much pressure to be your child’s teacher and try to have fun with it.
Take the Positives
I like everyone else, am worried about what the future holds right now – Will my loved ones be okay (especially my 74 yr old mother and my sister who works on the healthcare front line)? When will childcare facilities reopen? When will I return to work? What will the post-lockdown employment market look like? And will my husband still have a job after the economic downturn?
And yet, amidst all this uncertainty, I have to admit I’m enjoying this time with my children.
We’re at home, staying safe, doing our bit not to spread the virus, and bonding through inventive games and play that we otherwise wouldn’t have had time to do whilst my son was at school.
I’m taking each day as it comes, working when I can and enjoying time spent with my children. Right now, I’ll take that as a blessing and make the most of these moments.
In Summary
- Striking an effective balance between the conflicting demands of WFH and caring for relatives is challenging
- Your emotional wellbeing is your top priority, so don’t overwork yourself
- Identify the top priority tasks that will positively impact your career and focus on these
- Capitalise on:
- Nap times
- Calm play activities
- Engaging projects
- Minimal-supervision activities
- Virtual playdates
- Shift work with partners
- After bedtime
…to provide moments of time that you can work, whilst simultaneously looking after young children
- Be flexible when homeschooling young children and provide plenty of opportunity for them to learn through play
- If you’re at home safe and well, enjoy this time with your family
Next time: With lab work on hold, what can you do to keep your research alive and push your project forward? Remote teaching is also something academics are having to juggle right now. I’ll discuss practical steps you can take to move forward with your academic work during the lockdown.
‘Til then, stay home, stay safe, stay connected and speak soon!
Vicky (BB founder)