4 Tips for Balancing Working From Home with Kids

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Balancing working from home with kids can be tricky! Here are a few tips to balance the work and the children while school is out.

I know I may be in the minority here, but I really like it when the kids are home from school.

My youngest is still home with me all day, but my son is now in Kindergarten so this has been our first year balancing an all-day school itinerary with me working from home.

One would think I’d like having a little bit more peace and quiet so I can get my work done, but the truth is, I just loving having everyone home! I like being able to sleep in just a LITTLE bit longer and I love having the day to organize how we see fit.

With that being said…how in the world do I handle balancing working from home with kids?

4 Tips for Balancing Working From Home with Kids

It can definitely be challenging to keep my motivation on par with my workload when we can have fun days doing anything BUT work! But… I’m also committed to making my business succeed so we can sustain the lifestyle that we have come to love.

Here are a few tips to balance work and children while school is out.

Schedule, schedule, schedule!

While this is something I’m pretty Type-A about all year long, it is especially important when thinking about my work schedule.

I make sure I block off specific times of the day for specific items, including the “fun” stuff. For me, summer tends to be a little bit more crazy than the school year, since it’s not quite as “scripted.” That means I have to watch my work schedule a bit more closely to make sure nothing falls through the cracks.

I also have to make sure to schedule my workload around the inevitable kids’ activities. If I have it in my calendar, I tend to manage the work/life balance much more efficiently.

Shift Your Workload

While I keep my same pace of work during the summer as the school year, I do tend to shift when I do things. I do a lot of my work during the day when I have a bit more free time, but if I have to, I can shift my work to later in the day and night.

While I don’t do this every day, I do shift my work 2-3 days a week. This allows me to spend the days with my kids and participate in activities the kids do, like swimming lessons, sports, play dates, etc.

I also happen to have a super supportive husband who wants to see me spend as much time with the kids as possible and is on board with the few nights a week I may need to work and catch up on my client load.

Take Your Work With You

We visit family that is out of town, travel for long weekends to different areas around us, and go camping quite a bit. What I have found that works great for me is to take my work with me.

I travel with a mobile HotSpot that I use when I’m on the go, and this means I’m able to get work done while we’re zipping down the road (I’m not the one driving, of course!). This allows me to get work done during most of the time we’re traveling, so when we arrive at our destination I don’t have to worry about it. And since I have a HotSpot that I use consistently, if there is something I need to do once the kids go down, I can quick zip through it and check it off the to-do list.

Not that I do this every time we go somewhere, but it definitely helps to know that I’m not chained to a desk to get my work done.

Enlist Some Help

This is a huge one for me! I’m lucky enough to have my mom live close to us, and she comes over consistently during the week to watch the kids in order to give me the time and space needed to get my work done.

If you don’t have a relative that can watch the kids for a few hours here and there so you can get some work done, find a local teenager who may be looking for some extra cash. Even if my Mom wasn’t able to watch the kids, I have a lot of references for local kids who love babysitting and are certified to be a Mother’s Helper. Grandma picks up the slack for me in our house and the kids love having her over all of the time to play with!

Hopefully these tips will make life a little bit more manageable if you’re working from home with children in the next room on a regular basis. Life and motherhood is meant to be enjoyed!