How to Manage Work From Home When Your Kids Are Co-workers

Sooo, thanks to COVID-19 we are now working from home and our new co-workers are our kids and spouse.

My personal plan was:
7am=Wake up, scripture study, shower
8am=Make breakfast for family
8:30am=Eat breakfast AS family
9am-11am=I am working from home and kids are schooling from home with district resources
11am-1pm=Break/Lunch for everyone, do chores, discuss Come Follow Me, send David off to work
1pm-3pm=More working from home, kids still schooling from home
3pm-4pm=Prep for today's piano lesson students
4pm-5pm=Complete "To Do List"
5pm-5:30pm=Help start dinner with whoever was assigned to make dinner today
5:30-6:15pm=Teach Piano Lessons
6:15-6:30=Pick up nieces/nephews & bring back to my place while their parents are at work
6:30-7pm=Dinner
7pm-10:30pm=Chores again, down time (blog time)
10:30pm=Baths, prayers, showers
11pm=Lights out, go to bed

My actual day:
7am=Turn off alarm, go back to sleep
8am=Hit snooze
8:09am=Roll out of bed and onto my knees, pray, shower
8:20am=Discover I haven't done laundry
8:22am=Throw in a load of laundry, scrounge around for clean clothes
8:30am=Start Breakfast for Family
8:50am=Wake kids up
8:55am=Tell 2 kids to finish what I started making for breakfast and yell at everyone else to get busy with school work...

You can see where this was going.  It wasn't ideal.  For those of you that have BEEN working from home and are laughing at the rest of us trying to learn how--you are ROCKSTARS!!!  One of my biggest shortcomings as a mom and wife is that I often have this wonderful plan/schedule all laid out in my head and then I forget to communicate that plan/schedule to the people who are supposed to be a part of it.  Things would have been so much easier if I did.

As my day continued, I adjusted a few things that needed fixing and planned for better execution.  This is MY "How To".  I realize all of these ideas may not be applicable in your own families because you and I don't do the same type of work and our kids aren't the same ages.  But these ideas  may help you come up with ideas for you and your "co-workers".

#1 Establish a Plan-This might take some time but it will save you trouble in the long run.  Our plan includes the following:

• Assign Equipment-We have three computers, one desktop and two laptops for kid use (my work computer is off limits).  The three older kids have an assigned computer they can use and that is the ONLY computer they get to use for the duration of this schooling from home thing.  It's easier to manage that way.  Since we have 3 computers and six kids, each computer has two kids assigned to it.  
• Assign partners:  I paired each of the older kids with each of the younger kids.  If the younger kids have any computer issues or questions about school work, they are to ask their partner, who just so happens to be the person with whom they share their assigned computer.
  
  
  
• Assign duties: Chores, school work, exercise, extra-curricular activities, music practice, whatever it may be, give them some responsibilities so you can keep your sanity and your not left to do everything yourself.  

• Make them accountable:  Best way to do this is to give allow them to have some say in the plan you're establishing.  If hours are flexible for you, let them help establish hours.  If you have chores that MUST be done, let them choose which ones they will start with and then rotate as needed.
• Set a reward system:  Teachers do this at school, supervisors do this at work, why not start one in your home?  If your kids/co-workers get everything done, THEN they can play video games or go outside or watch a favorite episode.  Maybe let them try their hand at an easy and inexpensive craft like homemade play-dough, find an art project on pinterest or make a kid-friendly snack.

#2 Set a schedule-This way everyone knows when they things need to get done and helps establish a routine.  I wrote an email to the parents of each of my students and my closing paragraph stated, "Parents, I am thankful that our district has worked so hard to keep learning and education a priority for our kids.  I know this is a difficult time and there is much uncertainty for all of us.  It is my belief, however, that creating routines and keeping students occupied with positive, uplifting activities and educational opportunities will help put their minds at ease as it helps create a new "normal" for them.  It is a nice distraction from the things we cannot control outside of our homes.  Thank you for your participation in this partnership to help encourage physical, mental and emotional wellness for our students."  We're not sure how long this COVID-19 Pandemic will last and not knowing makes us uneasy.  Kids get that vibe from us and it makes them uneasy, scared, worried and anxious.  Establishing a routine will help them immensely in making them feel like everything, at least within your home, is under control.  There is a great deal of comfort in that.

• Set Office Hours:  My office hours for my students are from 9am-11am and 1pm-3pm.  This means my availability to my kids is slightly limited.  To keep things easy, my kids have work hours that are the same as mine.  Older kids get computers from 9am-11am and younger kids get computers from 1pm-3pm.  
• Meal Schedule:  Now that you know what your office hours are, work your meal schedule around that.  When will breakfast, lunch and dinner be prepared and eaten?  Don't forget to try make-ahead meals so kids can easily grab something to eat without having to interrupt you while working.  I remember many years ago having to take some early morning classes at the university.  Before I left for class I would prepare a bowl of dry cereal and leave it on the table next to a spoon.  I also had a small cup of milk ready in the refrigerator.  My 4yr old son knew that if he got up before dad, mom had already poured him a cup of milk and his cereal was waiting for it on the table.  Little things like this make a difference and help kids take those small steps to becoming more independent.
• Sleep Schedule:  Enforcing a sleep schedule is probably one of the most important parts of being a parent.  Why?  Because your kids' moods are often based on how much sleep they got the night before.  Sleep effects them physically, mentally, emotionally and even spiritually.  Not only that, but having them go to bed at a relatively decent hour might be a good chance for you to have some down-time to yourself while they're in bed.
• Breathers:  Office hours, meals and bedtime should be non-negotiable.  Schedule fillers, however, can be open for discussion.  These are things that fill up the rest of the day and give kids a chance to BE KIDS!  Riding a bike, video chatting with or calling a friend, coloring, playing with toys, watching age appropriate shows or movies and channels, running, jumping, playing, texting, gaming and all the other things that help them expend energy, de-stress and give them a brain break.

I told my boys during our 15 minute "Team Meeting" that if they wanted to learn how to cut hair, this was the perfect time.  "Why?" they asked.  "Because you won't be at school for another couple weeks so if your hair cut is terrible, nobody will see it and by the time we go back to school it will be long enough to fix."

Breathers for kids are just as important for us adults.  I took a couple of breathers by snapping some pix and shooting a text to some of my school co-workers and family members:

I don't know if it made any of them laugh, but I'm still cracking up at it.  I was taking a selfie and not talented enough to do that while sleeping.  Trust me, I was awake the WHOLE time...

#3 Open Door/Open Arms Policy-I don't know if this is a possibility or not for you while working from home, but for me this is a MUST.  I left the door to my bedroom/office wide open.  I wanted to show the kids that even though I'm working, I'm still available to them.  I called a crying toddler in once and the second time he cried he came running to me by himself.  This is what I want--I mean, not a crying toddler but I want him to know I'm there to comfort and help them.  Maybe if things were different I would ask one of the older kids to address the problem, but I'm trying to be as comforting to ALL of my kids as possible BECAUSE they are already on high alert from this pandemic.  I probably could have even worked in the kitchen with all of them, but I wanted to give them a sense of independence too.  One of these days they will have started their own life and not be living under my roof.  By that time they will be independent but it doesn't mean that I'm not still available to them should they need guidance, comfort, advice, a babysitter, anything but money! Just kidding (kind of).  And what if something like this happens again in their future as adults?  I would want them to remember the kind of system we had set up at home that helped us get through it, so they could implement something similar with their kids.  And I would hope they will have an open door/open arms policy for their kids too--pandemic or not.