Working From Home....With An Infant

Photo: nappy.co

It’s been over a week of working from home and almost a full week of doing so while caring for an infant and to say it simply….MAMA IS TIRED!! Lol. As if it isn’t difficult enough to balance motherhood and career under normal circumstances, now I’m balancing both at the same time…”How Sway?!“

Like many people around the world, COVID-19 has forced us to simultaneously wear the hats of employee and parent, while companies adjust to a remote work force. I’m blessed to have a job that allows me the flexibility to work from home as well as my husband who’s been working remotely for his company for over five years. We’re doing our best to create a learning environment for our daughter and keep her on a consistent schedule while being productive at work, so I thought I’d share some tips on how we are managing through it.

Communicate

Our daughter’s daycare remains open for those who need child care and while it would be convenient to drop her off while we work, we were concerned that we’d be increasing her risk for exposure. Before we pulled her out a daycare, hubby and I had a discussion about expectations, needs, schedules, etc. We added work calls onto our shared calendar so that we can take turns watching Lena while the other was on the phone. Throughout the day we check in with each other to make sure that we are both being as helpful as possible.

Communication also extends to your team at work. I started adding personal tasks on my work calendar so my team and manager know when I might not be available (feeding baby, watching baby while husband takes call, etc). I’m also vocal about project deadlines. A task that would normally take a day or two could easily take twice as long as I am now splitting my time between work and my daughter.

Work Space

My husband was clear that he wanted to have a separate area in our house for work versus a playing area for our daughter. Since he works from home regularly, I also felt it was important to not crowd his usual work space so I set up shop in the dining room. This left him his office and we created a play area for our daughter upstairs.

Try to avoid working in areas typically designated for sleep such as your bedroom or couch. If you’re like me, the couch is a nap-trap lol so if you plan to be productive, I’d advise against working on the couch all day.

In an effort to be as productive as possible, you’ll also need to limit distractions. Trust me, I know it’s tempting to binge your favorite streaming series and call it “multi-tasking” but if I’m being honest with myself, I know I’m not getting nearly as much work done while the tv is on. I only allow myself the same entertainment that I had while working in the office which is podcasts and music. Anything beyond that is a distraction.

Set boundaries

This is where I struggle the most. My first few days working from home, I was working 12 hours days with minimal breaks which is more than when I was going into the office. I found myself exhausted and with very little energy to give to my family. When you are in the office, it’s easy to cut off work when you leave the building, but when you work at home it can be challenging to sign off. Setting boundaries between work and home while you work from home is key to preventing burnout. After signing off, take a walk, practice meditation or deep breathing, maybe even turn on some music and sing and dance like you do on your commute to help you create a clear separation between your work day and your home life.

At the end of day…

Protect your peace. Times are uncertain and everyone is doing their best to make it day to day so allow yourself some grace, say a prayer, and we’ll get through this together.

Share some of your tips on how you’re managing your work from home life whether you have children or not!