How to Work from Home
with a Baby
Working remotely has been an upcoming trend for the last few decades. However, the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic made remote working a necessity. This is a good thing for mothers with newborn babies because they can work from home seamlessly.
The idea of working from home with a child is daunting. As a new mum, you know that your child demands permanent parenting and attention. If you don’t have the right skills, it will be difficult to take conference calls while taking care of your child. Thankfully, there are a few things you can do to mitigate this working schedule.
Come Up With a Schedule
Because there are so many activities that you need to do, it will be important to identify what you’ll be doing at a particular time of the day. For example, that schedule should specify the number of hours that you plan to work every day. You should be very specific on the time to return calls, answer emails, and complete some reports. You probably know that it’s all about working smarter not harder. Nevertheless, the main benefit of working from home is that you will enjoy much flexibility. While your schedule should specify activities and timing, it should have room for modifications.
For example, you may have planned to take a call at 1 p.m., but your daughter or son starts crying at that time. You will be forced to push aside some activities. Consequently, working from home requires a flexible but definite schedule. At the end of the day, you must have spent a specific amount of time performing work.
Maximize Nap Time
Nap time is the best time to complete your work. If you’re lucky, your kids will sleep for about three or four hours during the day. This is the correct time to complete any pending tasks.
Your child doesn’t have to sleep on their own. There are some activities you can engage in to help him or her to sleep faster. For example, if you put him in the crib, he will sleep immediately. Consequently, if you have a pending assignment in the next two hours, you can start putting your child in the crib now.
Share the Load
If your partner is also working from home, you can share the load. For example, your partner can feed the child, and you can take the chance to clean him or her. As one partner is taking care of the child, the other partner can start working on their reports on conferences. For instance, this is the time to determine whether if you got value for your recently purchased helmets. If there was no value, you have options to pursue.
Work During Breastfeeding
If you are doing hands-free breastfeeding or using pump milk, you can work during this time. Your child will be so engrossed in the feeding process that they wouldn’t bother you. This is also the right time to make phone calls and read reports.
Put on Formal Clothing
You need to set your mindset right to work with seriousness. One way to achieve this is to dress as if you are going to work. You can dress for work at 8 a.m. and change back to casual wear at 6 p.m. This will give you the feeling that you are engaged in an actual job.
Do Most of the Tasks During the Weekend
You might want to cook on Saturdays and Sundays. Other activities such as laundry and mowing the lawn can also be done during the weekend. It’s also a good idea not to work during the weekend. This means that you will have very few manual tasks to do during the weekdays.
Set Realistic Objectives
Unfortunately, you will not achieve as much as you could when you were going to an actual office. You will have to spend a lot of time doing home tasks. Consequently, you should set conservative objectives. These objectives should take into account stoppages and other unseen circumstances.
Leave Some Time for Yourself
Taking care of a baby and working full-time requires a lot of time and energy. This means that you should take a break once in a while. You can get a babysitter to assist you to go out and have some fun. Also, take occasional naps during the day to rejuvenate your energy.
Expect Interruptions
Your children will be demanding food and attention during the entire day. This relentless whining will lead to additional problems. However, you can overcome this challenge by planning for these distractions. For example, if you are on a phone call, always have a way to get out of the phone call when your child interrupts.
Your children won’t understand that you are attending an important conference. They may burst into your zoom call. Consequently, you should explain to your partners and contacts that you are working from home.
Seek Assistance If Appropriate
Working from home doesn’t mean that you should skip child care. There are days when you will need assistance from someone. That means that you should hire a babysitter to take care of the child for a few hours during the day.
A rising trend is the pooling of resources. Mothers who work from home can connect. They can then choose one of the mothers to take care of all the children during the day. This shift will help the other mothers to work for a few hours during the day.
Entertain Your Children
One way to distract your child is to keep them entertained at all times. As a result, you should purchase fun toys and video games. The children will be playing with these toys as you reply to your emails.
Conclusion
Motherhood is a blessing for any person. But you want to take care of your child, make some money, and keep your job. These tips will help you manage these obligations with ease.
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