Finding the Balance: Working From Home with Kids

Editor’s note: The following post originally appeared on the Army Wife Network Facebook page as a Milspouse Empowerment Moment. To watch the video, go here. 

The pandemic forced a lot of capable people to move from working in an office to working from home. Although I’m grateful to still be getting a paycheck during this time, it has not been an easy transition. However, regardless of the pandemic, I was lucky enough to score a permanent work from home job!

I didn’t account for working from home with kids, but just like I was forced to transition, so were my kids. I went from a working mom and wife, to a working mom and wife plus homeschool teacher (thanks, COVID!).

It wasn’t easy at first.

My patience was tested daily.

But, once we figured out a routine, it was easy peasy moving forward.

Raise your hand if this was you too!

I’m lucky that my husband is also finishing up school remotely, and we are able to tag team entertaining and maintaining the kids every day. If he wasn’t here, I’d be lost. I honestly don’t know what I would have done.

The key, though, is to find a balance between work life and home life (even though for many of us, at the moment, they are both under the same roof).

Here are some things that I have found to be successful for me during this time:

1. Make sure you have a dedicated work space that is separate from everything else. This is important! With the majority of the work force (that can work from home) working remotely, meetings either by phone or video have increased tremendously. Having a room that you can escape to, away from your kids and husband, will be beneficial to your success.

2. Keep it familiar. Set your house the same as you would if you were in the office.

3. Get ready like normal. Take a shower and dress for success in the mornings to get you in the mindset of work, even though you are just going to the next room.

4. Breaks are fine. If your kids need you in the middle of the day, it’s OK to take a break from your daily duties. Companies have become increasingly accommodating to the fact that many parents have kids that are also at home. They understand the new work environment. I know with my company they encourage the work life/home life balance, and if you get bogged down, it’s OK to walk away for a bit to recharge. My way to recharge is to spend time with my family.

5. The end of the day is the end of the day. At the end of your work day, it is important to physically and mentally stop working. It can be easy to continue checking and answering emails, but once you’re clocked out, walk away.

It’s all about finding that balance for family time and work time.

Fortunately for me, the pandemic allowed me more time with my fast-growing children. With my first, I had the luxury of not working the first year of his life, and when I finally went back to work when he turned 1, it was a work-from-home job.

With my daughter, I went back to work after seven weeks of maternity leave, and I didn’t have much time with her each day (other than the weekends), other than three hours out of the day, between commuting to and from daycare/work, and then dinner time.

Now, I get to soak up all her cuteness and enjoy watching her be a toddler and play with her brother. It really is a blessing.

I encourage all of you to embrace this time with your family (even though it can be difficult to balance work and home life).

This pandemic allowed my family and me to spend more precious time together, and it puts into perspective how much we take for granted. I’m truly grateful to be able to work from home, despite what our world is going through right now.