You’ve Always Worked From Home. Now Your Family Does, Too.
Over the past several weeks, scores of Corporate America’s employees have found themselves adapting to working from home. Millions of students — from Kindergarten through college-age — are also home, accessing their schools via distance learning.
Social media has been overtaken by photos of people working from home, articles about how to stay focused while working from home, and tips on how to juggle work and kids while working from home.
And then, there’s you — the one in the family who’s been working from home for a while.
You are finding yourself suddenly invaded by other family members, taking up your space and your time and your air. It’s no fault of theirs, of course. They have been told to stay home.
But what about you? How do YOU adapt to this new way of getting your shit done?
As someone who has recently found herself in this exact position, I have been noodling this over the last few days. My husband has been working from home for more than two weeks, and my kids (ages 13 and 15) have been home from school since March 18. Distance learning doesn’t officially start for them until April 6 (which is the first day back from spring break), so we have been experimenting with ways to give each other space, respect each other’s space, be productive and still love each other.
This is what I have found:
Create a schedule
It can be as detailed as you want or need it to be, but creating a schedule — even if it’s fairly vague — brings some order to the chaos.
My husband’s schedule includes him going downstairs to the office every morning at 8:00, lunch with the family at noon, followed by a walk. Then he goes “back to the office.”
The schedule for the kids is a bit loosey-goosey since they are older, but they know that every day, they need to check in with their teachers, do any work that’s assigned, read for at least 45 minutes, take the dog for a walk, and practice their instrument. I imagine this will become more stringent once their distance learning kicks in on April 6, but for now, it’s working.
If they’ve done all of the things mentioned above, they can watch a show, FaceTime with friends, play outside, go for another walk.
As for me, I work around everyone else’s schedule. I usually get going around 8:00, after I tell my husband to have a great day. The kids know as long as I’m not on the phone or video call, they can interrupt me if they need anything. I also take breaks every hour, check in on them, help them with any school assignments, and see what they are up to.
Communicate
I don’t know about you, but ever since my kids were little, they seem to need me every time I hop on the phone. So, every morning, I tell my family members what call I have scheduled for the day, and at what time. My husband does the same. I also remind my kids prior to each call that I’m about to hop on the phone or Zoom and let them know if they need something while I’m on the call, they can ask their father is downstairs.
In addition, I frequently ask how they are doing and if they need anything. I need to remember that just because they are older and can look after themselves, I still need to be there for them. After all, they miss their friends and they miss school and this is a big adjustment for them, too.
Be flexible while maintaining some of your pre-Covid routines
Even though we have an office, I’ve often worked at the table in the dining room, or on the sofa in the living room, and I still find myself in those two spots these days. But before I hop on a call, I ask my kids what their plans are during that time. Depending on what they are doing, I may move to another part of the house.
I can be flexible in that way.
But, I insist that I keep some of the routines I established well before all of this started: starting my day with a workout, doing the crossword puzzle while having my morning coffee, taking the dog for a post-lunch walk. These are important pieces to my day, and pieces I need to keep in order to maintain a sense of balance.
Be open to new routines
Although I insist on keeping some of my routines, I am open to establishing new ones. For instance, rather than walk the dog alone after lunch (which I cherish), my kids and husband come along (although I insist we take the same route). And as a late afternoon break, I sit on the stoop and watch my kids play basketball in the driveway.
I also run to the grocery store in the middle of the day much more than I used to in order to buy ingredients for a baking project the kids want to do.
Get some alone time
Probably one of the biggest adjustments I’ve had to make is to find some time just for me. I went from being home by myself for more than six hours a day to being surrounded by my loving family 24/7. I am not complaining; I love them all to the moon and back, but I also know that I sometimes just need some alone time — away from everyone — to decompress, sort of my thoughts or just be.
It’s important that I realize that and act on it when needed.
As of today, things are working, and I imagine as time goes on, we’ll adjust even more. No one knows for sure how long we’ll all be at home together, and I often wonder if and how much I will miss this new when things go back to normal.
But, normal seems so far away and for now, we’re forced to work with what we have. So that is what we’ll do.
Wendy Jacobson is a freelance content writer living and working in Minneapolis, MN. You can learn more about her on her website, wendythepooh.com.
