When your children are young, working from home seems like the ideal solution. You can be there for them while saving on the big expense of child care. In reality, however, juggling constant interruptions, requests for snacks and drinks, and crying fits with your work schedule may be harder than you've ever imagined.
Step 1
Work unconventional hours. Do your independent work such as reports, articles or budgets during uninterrupted morning hours (try 4 a.m. until 7 a.m.) or late evening hours (8 p.m. until midnight). Free up some daytime hours to spend with the kids by working when they sleep.
Step 2
Schedule the day. Make a poster board with pictures that clearly lay out the kids' plans for every day. Include individual play, story time, nap time (if applicable), lunch and snack times and craft or outside play time at the same time every day. Schedule time to play or interact with your kids every couple of hours--even if it is just for 15 minutes. Make that time all about them so they are more likely to play alone when asked. Try to plan work calls to coincide with nap time or other quiet times of play.
Step 3
Make snacks and drinks readily available. Place drink boxes at a level kids can reach in the fridge and an day's allotment of healthy snacks on accessible shelves so you don't have to get up every few minutes to serve them.
Step 4
Use television and movies as a last resort. Pop in that DVD when you have a conference call you cannot miss--using television only occasionally makes it a special treat and more likely that your kids will be glued because it is a special event, not the usual.
Step 5
Prepare craft kits and games they can complete on their own. Pre-assemble craft projects in baggies and set the kids at the table with glue. Put together scavenger hunts--give the kids a list (with words or pictures if they can't read) and let them find everything on it that you have pre-hidden throughout the house.
Step 6
Hire a mother's helper. Look for a preteen, maybe a neighbor or friend's child, who is not quite old enough to baby sit on their own. Let them entertain your children for a couple hours in the afternoon while you work at your desk. Pay them less than a babysitter who needs to take complete responsibility in your absence.
Things You'll Need
- Craft supplies
- Drink boxes
- Poster board and markers
